Skin Deep_ African American Women and the Building of Beauty Cult

Thesis Overview

  • Title: Skin Deep: African American Women and the Building of Beauty Culture in South Carolina

  • Author: Catherine Davenport, University of South Carolina, 2017

  • Focus on how African American women established beauty culture and businesses from 1900-1960 amid Jim Crow segregation.

  • Used memoirs, newspapers, city directories, and the Negro Motorist Green Book as sources.

Abstract Summary

  • Examines how black beauticians created community spaces and became centers for activism.

  • Beauty culture provided pathways for financial independence, beauty, and political engagement.

  • Thesis divided into:

    • Academic paper detailing the influence of beauty culture on black women's lives.

    • Exhibit plan for a museum display about beauty culture during Jim Crow.

Section 1: Impact of Beauty Culture

  • African American women transitioned from domestic work to beauty culture, challenging societal norms.

  • Beauty culture was subversive against the racial biases of Jim Crow, promoting black women's self-worth.

Key Figures

  • Madam C.J. Walker and Annie Turnbo Malone: Key figures in the beauty industry who trained women and increased entrepreneurial opportunities.

Market Dynamics

  • African American women became primary consumers of beauty products, creating a significant market over the decades.

  • Racial dynamics pushed black women to embrace beauty culture as a means of empowerment and self-affirmation.

Political Activism through Beauty Culture

  • Salons evolved into safe havens for political discussion and activism.

  • Beauticians played critical roles in the Civil Rights movement:

    • Bernice Robinson: Used her beauty salon to teach citizenship and increase NAACP memberships.

    • Beauty parlors as meeting places for community organization and actions against racial inequities.

Exhibit Plan: Skin Deep

  • Aimed to highlight the beauty culture as a site of empowerment for African American women amid Jim Crow.

  • Sections in the exhibit will include:

    • Discovery of the "White Life" skin lightener bottle during excavations.

    • Historical analysis of the impact of beauty products and the transition from harmful white-manufactured cosmetics to healthier alternatives.

    • The evolution of salons from home businesses to active commercial centers.

Conclusion

  • Beauty culture was not merely an attempt to emulate whiteness; it provided African American women avenues for economic independence and social change.

  • The narrative of beauty culture is vital to understanding the broader history of African American entrepreneurship and resistance in South Carolina.