Bibliograph

'Til death or distance do us part, love and marriage in African America, Frances Smith Foster

Type

Label

'Til death or distance do us part, love and marriage in African America, Frances Smith Foster

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages [171]-179) and index

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

'Til death or distance do us part

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

216938541

Responsibility statement

Frances Smith Foster

Sub title

love and marriage in African America

Summary

Conventional wisdom tells us that marriage was illegal for African Americans during the antebellum era, and that if people married at all, their vows were tenuous ones: "until death or distance do us part." It is an impression that imbues beliefs about black families to this day. But it's a perception primarily based on documents produced by abolitionists, the state, or other partisans. It doesn't tell the whole story. Drawing on a trove of less well-known sources including family histories, folk stories, memoirs, sermons, and especially the fascinating writings from the Afro-Protestant Press, 'Til Death or Distance Do Us Part offers a radically different perspective on antebellum love and family life. Frances Smith Foster applies the knowledge she's developed over a lifetime of reading and thinking. Advocating both the potency of skepticism and the importance of story-telling, her book shows the way toward a more genuine, more affirmative understanding of African American romance, both then and now

Table Of Contents

Adam and Eve, Antoney and Isabella -- Terms of endearment -- Practical thoughts, divine mandates, and the Afro-Protestant Press -- Rights and rituals -- Myths, memory, and self-realization -- Getting stories straight, keeping them real -- Alchemy of personal politics -- Me, Mende, and Sankofa : an epilogue

resource.variantTitle

Until death or distance do us part

Classification