Black Women at Work: On Refusal and Recovery

(Hardback)

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Details, and offers vignettes to illustrate, how patriarchy and white supremacy have restricted Black women at work, both historically and currently. Around water coolers and over glasses of wine, Black women come together and process the ways in which their labor is taken for granted and their excellence called into question. Black Women at Work: On Refusal and Recovery makes the direct connection between these contemporary experiences and the long legacy of Black labor exploitation. Through the trafficking and enslavement of Africans, European Americans laid the inhumane foundation of their present-day wealth and privilege and established oppressive labor dynamics for workers that persist to this day. In Black Women at Work, Wendi S. Williams moves the conversation beyond the stubborn audacity of inequity, focusing instead on the powerful history and example of Black women's labor and refusal practices and on the potent role that choice and voice can play in dismantling seemingly impenetrable systems of unfairness. Through the interweaving of personal narratives and social media reflections, Williams crafts a larger narrative of recovery and refusal that articulates a liberatory path toward recovery and reclamation through refusala path that will ultimately help to bring us all closer to freedom.

Reviews

As she takes her reader on a journey through Black womens professional stories coupled with academic analysis, Williams shines a light on both the freedom and bondage that exist in workplaces. Her skillful interweaving of anecdotes of shared and connected realities across centuries invites new understanding through examination of our societys fierce commitment to maintaining systems of oppression at work. I find truth in these pages that encourage me to no longer seek answers, but rather seek spaces, as Williams highlights, where I can speak my truth and have it held with honor and regard. * Precious J. Stroud, Founder, BlackFemaleProject *
This book speaks to ruptures in my heart that I didnt realize needed healing. Ruptures caused by the years of workplace racial trauma. Dr. Williams conceptualizes what many Black women experience as the "slash-and-burn," calling attention to the ways Black women are overworked, underpaid, and undervalued in the workplace. Black Women at Work highlights the pressures Black women face. * Kenya Crawford, LMHC, Licensed Therapist and Racial Equity Consultant *

Author Bio

Wendi S. Williams, PhD, is the provost and senior vice president of Fielding Graduate University and co-chairs the national board of Girls Leadership, USA.