Florynce Flo Kennedy - (Gender and American Culture) by Sherie M Randolph (Paperback)

About the Book

Based on author's thesis (doctoral - New York University, 2007) issued under title: "Alliance of the alienated": Florynce "Flo" Kennedy and black feminist politics in post World War II America.

Book Synopsis

Often photographed in a cowboy hat with her middle finger held defiantly in the air, Florynce "Flo" Kennedy (1916-2000) left a vibrant legacy as a leader of the Black Power and feminist movements. In the first biography of Kennedy, Sherie M. Randolph traces the life and political influence of this strikingly bold and controversial radical activist. Rather than simply reacting to the predominantly white feminist movement, Kennedy brought the lessons of Black Power to white feminism and built bridges in the struggles against racism and sexism. Randolph narrates Kennedy's progressive upbringing, her pathbreaking graduation from Columbia Law School, and her long career as a media-savvy activist, showing how Kennedy rose to founding roles in organizations such as the National Black Feminist Organization and the National Organization for Women, allying herself with both white and black activists such as Adam Clayton Powell, H. Rap Brown, Betty Friedan, and Shirley Chisholm.

Making use of an extensive and previously uncollected archive, Randolph demonstrates profound connections within the histories of the new left, civil rights, Black Power, and feminism, showing that black feminism was pivotal in shaping postwar U.S. liberation movements.

Review Quotes

"[A] stirring biography. . . . This important book is the story, as Randolph handily tells it, of an extremely brave woman who used the courts as well as the media and worked with a multitude of groups to build and maintain coalitions and create lasting change." -- Library Journal, starred review

"An excellent and welcome biography of a fearless radical activist who has been overlooked for too long." -- American Historical Review

"Randolph . . . has done an important service for anyone who cares about fashioning a complete and complex record of post-World War II feminist activism" -- Women's Review of Books

"Sherie M. Randolph has written an important biography of an important figure in twentieth-century American feminism and Black Power. I repeat 'important' because Florynce 'Flo' Kennedy self-consciously worked--actually, she agitated--at the confluence of feminism and Black Power with the conviction that racism and sexism were not only foundational in American society but also inextricably intertwined." -- Nell Irvin Painter, in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society

"Successfully recounts Kennedy's dynamic life: bursting with stories of rebellion and triumph, with a backdrop of historical context and, always, a hint of mystery." -- ESSENCE