Straight, No Chaser: How I Became a Grown-Up Black Woman

by Jill Nelson

The face of journalism was forever changed after Jill Nelson came along. Volunteer Slavery , the memoir and explosive expose of her experiences in the white, male-dominated world of The Washington Post , served as a wake-up call to all Americans and placed Nelson at the forefront of the African American political arena. Now, the bestselling author is back with Straight, No Chaser , a call to arms written in an effort to "look at the sum of Ablack women's? lives beyond the how-to-snag-a-man, am-I-pretty-enough and how's-my-hair concerns that dominate Atheir? daily existence." Nelson encourages black women?especially young girls?to develop a positive identity in the face of adversity and to look critically at their role models, many of whom she believes send mixed messages to the African American community. From Barbie to bra burning, Mike Tyson to the Million Man March, Nelson takes a personal and thoughtful approach to the empowerment of the black female.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

240 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 1997

About the author

Jill Nelson was born and raised in Harlem and has been a working journalist for over twenty years. She is a graduate of the City College of New York and the Columbia School of Journalism. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Essence, The Washington Post, The Nation, Ms., The Chicago Tribune and the Village Voice. Jill was a staff writer for the Washington Post Magazine during its first years of existence, and was named Washington D.C. Journalist of the Year for her work there. She freelances and lectures widely, and writes a twice-monthly column, “On the Verge,” for NiaOnline.com and is a monthly contributor to the Op Ed page of USA Today. She was a professor of Journalism at the City College of New York from 1998 to 2003. Jill lectures widely on race, gender, politics, media, writing and other topics.

--from the author's website

Reviews

[Izetta Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank goodness I read this book! Nelson writes with the bold strokes of a blues singer at her peak. Nelson chooses issues, mainly focusing on the 1980s and '90s and investigates what they say about race and gender in America. Key reading for young womyn of color who want to be "grown up Black women."

[jewelthinks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this slowly largely cuz I was busy -- busy doing grown-up, black woman stuff like buying a house :)


Some parts were slooooow but I read the end and finished this right when I needed: on my birthday.

This passage!

"There are mirrors scattered in odd places around my house. I catch my reflection tying my shoes, reading in my favorite chair, turning a corner. There are pictures of black women I like tucked in unexpected places too. Fannie Lou Hamer, Joycelyn Elders, Dinah Washington, Maxine Waters, Aretha, Winnie Mandela, Sarah Vaughan, Queen Latifah, Harriet Tubman, Cassandra Wilson, Myrlie Evers, women I know and women I never met whose strength and sense of self is abundant.

These mirrors and pictures remind me that I, we, exist, and of all the magnificent things we have done and can do. A black woman's custom-made funhouse of affirmation. They help sustain me when I leave the house every day, just another barely visible sister, who as Mississippi activist Fannie Hamer said, is sick and tired of being sick and tired, fighting against erasure, for voice and respect."

-- from Straight, No Chaser: How I Became a Grown-up Black Woman by Jill Nelson

[Mills College Library]

070.92 N4273 1999

[IAmAmandaBazil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words can't explain how radical this book was. Nelson does an absolutely AMAZING job at convincing you why black woman can no longer afford to sit around idly while this country and the world at large continues to run on its axis on the exclusion of us. Nelson is the epitome of black feminism, and uses her personal experiences of growing up in her household along with witnessing the state of the relations between black men and women through the civil rights era, the dawn of the black muslim, black nationalism, and the politics of the 80s and 90s to explain why and how black women are basically set up at almost every angle, even by our own men, and that we need to start showing up for ourselves and start showing up NOW. As you read, you learn her about her trials and tribulations, as well as her thoughts on how she navigates an entire system that is set on the ruining of our existence. Black women are in trouble, we have been the moment our men promised us our only issue was racism, and Nelson urges us to realize that sexism within the black community, societal norms set on women, often times religion, and even the media are the main reasons for our demise and why need to start thinking critically and consciously about EVERYTHING. Why we need to question others, especially those in our communities, like our men. And most importantly, why we need to come together as women and rediscover the struggles that we share and start building a collective conscious that will allow us to heal, deal, and then start becoming visible in a country that is working on erasing our existence. Any black woman is a FOOL to turn this book down. If you love yourself and you're peace of mind, then read this book.

[Juanita]

After reading this book I had a different outlook on life as a woman.