Customer Reviews

The Making of "Mammy Pleasant": A Black Entrepreneur in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco (Women in American History)

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One can only criticize this book for the word "Mammy" in the title if one has not read the book. Note the quotation marks. A central theme in the book is the racial stereotypes and misperceptions of Mary Ellen Pleasant. Actually the book needs to focus on the racial context because of Pleasant's struggles for equality and because of her need to keep opaque many details of her life, personality and business affairs. Despite the somewhat sketchy nature of what we know of these matters, the topic is still fascinating and the book is pleasantly written.

I've done a little research on this powerful black woman who wanted to help black people become free of slavery and I came across her writings that she never wanted to be called Mammy. That's what the white mind saw her as and called her in those times. Why would someone want to call her Mammy in this day and age???

This is a reflection of the unconscious racism that exist in the minds of some white people today.;