Eslanda

Eslanda "Essie" Cardozo Goode Robeson lived a colorful and amazing life, embroiled in much of the twentieth century's social turmoil and traveling to every corner of the globe to fight for downtrodden and oppressed peoples. She was a woman of unusual accomplishment--an anthropologist, a prolific journalist, a tireless advocate of women's rights, an outspoken anti-colonial and antiracist activist, and an internationally sought-after speaker. Yet historians for the most part have confined Essie to the role of Mrs. Paul Robeson, a wife hidden behind the large shadow cast by her famous husband. In this masterful book, biographer Barbara Ransby refocuses attention on Essie, one of the most important and fascinating black women of the twentieth century. Chronicling Essie's eventful life, the book explores her influence on her husband's early career and how she later achieved her own unique political voice. Essie's friendships with a host of literary icons and world leaders, her renown as a fierce defender of justice, her defiant testimony before Senator Joseph McCarthy's infamous anti-communist committee, and her unconventional open marriage that endured for over 40 years--all are brought to light in the pages of this inspiring biography. Essie's indomitable personality shines through, and her contributions to American and world history can be fully appreciated at last.

About the Author :
Barbara Ransby is professor in the departments of African American Studies, Gender and Women Studies, and History, and director of the Gender and Women Studies Program, University of Illinois, Chicago. She is author of the award-winning "Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement," and a respected scholar-activist for many years.

Review :
"From a master biographer and historian of African American women, this mesmerizing story of an extraordinary woman's life and struggles offers a global view of black radical history. After this book no one will be able to think of Eslanda merely as Mrs. Paul Robeson."--Linda Gordon, author of "Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits" "In this incredibly powerful, vital work, Ransby has rescued Eslanda Robeson from the shadows of her famous husband and establishes her as one of the most important activists, scholars, critics and theorists to connect anticolonialism with the black freedom movement in the U.S."--Robin Kelley, author of "Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original"--Robin Kelley "This is an enormously rich book by a masterful biographer, full of novel insights and surprises."--Penny Von Eschen, University of Michigan--Penny Von Eschen "Barbara Ransby has produced an insightful, fascinating, and significant biography. Eslanda Robeson has too long stood in the shadow of her remarkable husband, but as Ransby shows she was an important writer and political activist in her own right, whose life illuminates the international dimensions of the 20th-century black freedom movement."--Eric Foner, Columbia University