Dr. Crystal Moten is sharing the details of how the Black women of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, resisted employment inequity in the postwar decades of the 1940s through the 1970s.
Titled “Continually Working: Black Women, Community Intellectualism, and Economic Justice in Postwar Milwaukee,” the book offers a vital look into the ways Black women built community and stood up against numerous challenges as they navigated their postwar careers.
“One of the main contributions I see the book making is really thinking about Black women’s contributions to the struggle for civil rights and economic justice, which tend to be masculinist in nature,” Moten told Madison 365 in an interview. “We tend to think about the charismatic male leader to the detriment of understanding Black women’s contributions.”
Through her extensive research, Moten found that building community was a key factor in Black women’s push to overcome the oppression they faced while exploring economic opportunities in Milwaukee. This included the creation of the Bronzeville District — which still exists to this day.
“Bronzeville is really important because of Black people and what black people create there,” Moten said. “It’s the ultimate example of taking lemons and making lemonade. Black folks were segregated into a very small, square footage in the city of Milwaukee. But what do they do with that community? They create their own businesses, their own organizations, their own community activities, they create love, joy and happiness and peace and community.”
Moten added that those communities became a space of resistance.
“Not only in the sense of fighting against injustice, but fighting to live, thrive and be alive,” she said.
The book comes as Black women continued to speak out regarding systemic issues in the labor market that include pay inequity, microagressions, racism, and hair discrimination.
Moten is hopeful the book will inspire a broad audience of people to “just listen” to what Black women have to say.
“I really hope that people will be inspired by the creative ways that Black women have understood and responded to whatever circumstances they find themselves in,” Moten said. “I do believe that there’s so much that we can learn from the folks who’ve come before us. And that we should treasure and share these stories.”