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Having It All?: Black Women and Success [Paperback]

Veronic Chambers (Author), Karen Grisby Bates (Foreword)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Book Description

January 13, 2004
A behind-the-scenes look into the lives of successful middle- and upper-middle class African American women, the groundbreaking HAVING IT ALL? is sure to spark discussions from cocktail parties to boardrooms.

In a single generation, black women have made extraordinary strides academically, professionally, and financially. They’ve entered the workplace at a far greater rate than white women; increased their enrollment in law schools and graduate programs by 120 percent; and many are now running top companies, or in some cases, the country. Isn’t that enough? Not necessarily. With sharp insight, award-winning journalist Veronica Chambers explores the challenges and stereotypes she and other African American women continue to endure, and answers the question most often posed to her: What does success mean for black women?

Twenty-first century black women draw their inspiration from a wide range of sources: Claire Huxtable to Audrey Hepburn, snowboarding to basketball, Gloria Steinem to bell hooks. They choose what they like. Yet they are misunderstood by mainstream America and lack an accurate portrayal in the media of their lives. HAVING IT ALL? interweaves the thoughts and reflections of more than fifty women who occupy this territory. The voices range from Thelma Golden, chief curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem, to a Silicon Valley executive, to medical and legal professionals, and stay-at-home “mocha moms.”

Successful black women today want it all: marriage, motherhood, engaging work, and prosperity. The difference is that they come to the table with the strength, courage and wisdom of black women ancestors who-did-it-all, even when they didn’t-have-it-all. What has gone so undocumented by the media is that modern black women are coming up with creative, satisfying answers to the juggling act that all women face.

Veronica Chambers chronicles this topic for the first time in her absorbing, riveting and groundbreaking book HAVING IT ALL?

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a series of interrelated essays, Chambers (Mama's Girl), explores the lives of middle- and upper-middle-class African-American women. Throughout, Chambers nicely weaves historical and literary anecdotes into her insightful narrative. While identifying this population as linchpins in the astronomical rise of a black middle class, she pursues such questions as how their "creative and indomitable spirit" translated into corporate reality while black men languish; why they no longer feel the need to choose allegiance between race and gender; what the image of Aunt Jemima declares about today's affluent African-American woman; and why they are more likely to be alone than any group of black women before them. Nonetheless, these women, Chambers says, have a strong sense of community and a renewed feeling of empowerment, which enables their transition into a predominantly white mainstream culture. Largely based on interviews of black women defying conventional perceptions, and written for those "who have crafted successful lives without role models or media coverage," the book lends a panoramic effect to such figures as former Whitney curator Thelma Golden, television host Star Jones, Barbara Bush's former press secretary Anna Perez, Anita Hill, and the growing population of African-American stay-at-home moms.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Yes, agrees journalist Chambers (Mama's Girl) as she peers into the lives of successful middle- and upper-middle-class African American women, these go-getters have progressed academically, professionally, and financially. But they still have to deal with being stereotyped in the media.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Broadway (January 13, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 076791239X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0767912396
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,138,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
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1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Chambers, Teachers ARE Successful, College-Educated Professionals!, March 9, 2007
By 
Ms. Green (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Having It All?: Black Women and Success (Paperback)
I have one peeve with this book: The author excludes teachers as successful, college-educated professionals (pg. 6 Introduction, hardcover)! Teachers, at the time she wrote this book and today, are required to earn a Bachelors degree, to receive specialized, professional training to be certified, AND they must obtain a Masters Degree within about 5 years after completing the training just to keep their jobs. With all of those educational requirements, how could Chambers say that teachers are not "college-educated professionals"? Then to make matters worse, Chambers says that she uses "success" in the "broadest terms" to include teachers. So teachers aren't successful in her eyes. According to her, a successful Black woman must be an attorney or a doctor or have earned an MBA or have earned a Bachelors degree from an Ivy League school. Even though I meet her standards for the successful Black woman, I can appreciate the ambition, brains and professionalism in my past teachers. Moreover, I have family members who are teachers, and they are just as ambitious, smart, and (dare I say) more humble than some of the women Chambers praises in this book. I hope she realizes that it took successful teachers to help those Black women she features in this book to get to where they are. And those teachers, as well as many others, are just as successful as any other degreed middle and upper-class professional she'd put on a pedestal.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, January 23, 2003
The only book I've ever read that makes discussions about race and gender exciting. Perfect for anyone trying to understand the changing face of success in America.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!!!, May 22, 2003
By A Customer
This book should be read by everyone! Its depth, humor, intelligence and sensitivity reflect the predicament of resilient African-American strivers. But, its real value and appeal lie in the complex, universal humanity conveyed by the interviewees. Whether you're the object of the the issues so expertly handled by Chambers, friends, loved-ones, or allies in addressing them, or interested newcomers, you will benefit from this affirming work.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
THANK GOD FOR Clair Huxtable. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
marriage crunch, successful black women, professional black women, more black women, many black women, strong black woman, other black women, young black women
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Aunt Jemima, Los Angeles, African Americans, Studio Museum, Anita Hill, Thelma Golden, White House, Josephine Premice, Tracie Howard, Mocha Moms, The Cosby Show, Brown University, Clair Huxtable, Jim Crow, Prince Charming, Anna Perez, First Lady, Lorraine Touissant, Sheila Bridges, Sojourner Truth, United States, Wall Street, Zora Neale Hurston, Barbara Bush
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