Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired: Black Women's Health Activism in America, 1890-1950 / Edition 1

by Susan L. Smith

Overview

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired Black Women's Health Activism in America, 1890-1950 Susan Smith Winner of the 1996 The Frances Richardson Keller-Sierra Prize from the Western Association of Women Historians Winner of the 1997 Lavinia L. Dock Award from the American Association for the History of Nursing "Susan Smith's book addresses one of the most understudied aspects of African American and American public health and medical history: the emergence of black health activism in the United States. . . . Drawing upon an impressive range of archival sources deposited at historically black colleges, and upon interviews and oral histories, Smith's case studies of the work of black midwives, public health nurses, and sorority women support her argument that black women played a key role in black health reform for much of this century."--Bulletin of the History of Medicine Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired moves beyond the depiction of African Americans as mere recipients of aid or as victims of neglect and highlights the ways black health activists created public health programs and influenced public policy at every opportunity. Smith also sheds new light on the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiment by situating it within the context of black public health activity, reminding us that public health work had oppressive as well as progressive consequences. Studies in Health, Illness, and Caregiving 1995 | 288 pages | 6 x 9 | 10 illus. ISBN 978-0-8122-1449-9 | Paper | $27.50s | £18.00 World Rights | African-American/African Studies

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780812214499
Publisher:	University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/1995
Series:	Studies in Health, Illness, and Caregiving
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	970,854
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d)
Lexile:	1660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	18 Years

Editorial Reviews

"Susan Smith's book addresses one of the most understudied aspects of African American and American public health and medical history: the emergence of black health activism in the United States. . . . Drawing upon an impressive range of archival sources deposited at historically black colleges, and upon interviews and oral histories, Smith's case studies of the work of black midwives, public health nurses, and sorority women support her argument that black women played a key role in black health reform for much of this century."—Bulletin of the History of Medicine

From the Publisher

Explores the gender, class, and political dynamics of one dimension of the black struggle for improved health. Refusing to see black women as passive recipients of aid or victims of neglect, focuses on activists who tried to create public health programs and influence public policy. Evolved from a 1986 doctoral dissertation (U. of Wisconsin-Madison) on black women's public health. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews