From Booklist
Clark-Lewis conducted interviews with African American women born in rural areas of the South around the turn of the century. It is with great respect that she presents the life stories collected from these stirring oral histories. Each woman migrated to Washington, D.C., while still very young in order to find work, and in this way contributed to her family's welfare by sending money home each month. Clark-Lewis portrays the background for this vast migration, illustrating the harsh conditions that existed for the young girls once they assumed live-in positions with the families of Washington's white elite. Throughout her study, Clark-Lewis shows the strength of the African American community and the inner fortitude of a generation of women who networked in order to find the day work that would eventually lead to more independence and release from an enduring form of servitude. Alice Joyce
