The Face of Our Past

"We have travelled along two parallel paths, black history and women’s history, to bring black women onto center stage," wrote historian Darleen Clark Hine of Michigan State University in the introduction to a new, oversized book of photographs published by theIndiana University Press. Presenting more than 300 carefully chosen images from throughout American history, writer Kathleen Thompson and photo researcher Hilary Mac Austin celebrate the glorious diversity of black women in The Face of Our Past.

Seldom has photographic attention focused on the lives of ordinary black women. The costs of photography for many black families were prohibitive, and when photos were made, they likely represented the visual ideal of a white photographer.

So frequently, black women have born the burden of stubborn stereotype– the "Mammy" or maid, the mulatto or temptress, said Hine. The Face of Our Past confronts those myths in answer to the important questions posed by Hine: "What do black women look like? What do we look like at work or with our families? What faces do we choose to present to the world, and what faces has the world forced us to assume?"

The Face of Our Pastis available at bookstores or by calling 1-800-842-6796. Or visit this IU Press Web site:

http://www.indiana.edu/%7Eiupress/books/0-253-33635-X.shtml

Photographs used by permission of the editors and the Indiana University Press