Episode 2: Putting The Summer of Black Love In Context

Black Romance Has A History

This week we're looking at the cultural context in which the Summer of Black Love happened, both within the romance genre and out in the real world. We get into race, class, the US economy and why Reagan is still to blame, colorist, respectability politics, and the classic 1994 film Jason's Lyric. We told you it was going to get nerdy!

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music by Purple Planet

Follow the hosts on the interwebs:

Steve Ammidown

Website: https://romancehistory.com/about/

Socials

IG: @romancehistorian

Bluesky: @stegan.bsky.social

Nicole M. Jackson/Katrina Jackson

Websites:

https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com

https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/history/faculty-and-staff/nicole-jackson.html

Socials

IG: @katjacksonbooks

Steve mentions the covers of the Arabesque books and their sepia tone, as well as the cover of Maggie Ferguson's Looks Are Deceiving. Compare for yourself!

As compared to the cover of Beverly Jenkins' Night Song:

Two years later, Brenda Jackson's first Arabesque title, Whispered Promises, shows that the company had moved back towards a more normal skin tone saturation:

Mentioned in this Episode

Alyssa Shotwell, “Julia Quinn’s Past Comments on Black Characters in Historical Romance Reignite Criticism Amid New Book Reveal,” February 23, 2023, https://www.themarysue.com/julia-quinn-past-comments-on-black-characters-in-historical-romance/

Linda Sue Park, “The Default In Our Stars: Book Review Journals, Book Reviewers, Book Bloggers Everywhere: I’m Looking at YOU,” School Library Journal, https://afuse8production.slj.com/2020/06/30/guest-post-with-linda-sue-park-the-default-in-our-stars/

Samuel Osborne, “Black women become most educated group in US,” June 3, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/black-women-become-most-educated-group-in-us-a7063361.html

Felicia Grossman, “Georgette Heyer was an Antisemite and Her Work is Not Foundational Historical Romance,” Romance Daily News, https://www.romancedailynews.com/single-post/2020/01/28/guest-post-georgette-heyer-was-an-antisemite-and-her-work-is-not-foundational-historical

I was thinking of Kentucky! (Not West Virginia) -nj

Ben Winck, “The 1990 recession is a cautionary tale for today’s economy,” Business Insider, April 27, 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/next-recession-first-normal-downturn-three-decades-economic-outlook-2022-4

Brenda Jackson, https://www.harlequin.com/shop/authors/22969_brenda-jackson.html

Jayashree Kamble, Faculty Profile, https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1ACsLrMAAAAJ&hl=en

Karla Garcia, “Evolution of Romance Novel Covers,” Inside Fullerton, https://fchornetmedia.com/31808/inside-fullerton/the-evolution-of-romance-novel-book-covers/

Jason’s Lyric (1994)

Marly Pierre-Louis, “Black Masculinity on the Silver Screen,” Media Diversified, October 28, 2016, https://mediadiversified.org/2016/10/28/black-masculinity-on-the-silver-screen/#:~:text=The%20hood%20movies%20of%20the,black%20communities%20in%20American%20cities.

Boyz n the Hood (1991)

Natasha Bishop, Only for the Week

Further Reading/Listening

Katrina Jackson, “The Annoying Hypocrisy of ‘Struggle Love’,” Me, From Scratch, April 9, 2023 https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com/mefromscratch/the-annoying-hypocrisy-of-struggle-love

Bryce Covert, “The Best Era for Working Women Was 20 Years Ago,” New York Times, September 2, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/02/opinion/sunday/working-women-decline-1990s.html

Carol Kleiman, “‘Women’s Work’ in the ‘90s Has Few Boundaries,” Chicago Tribune, January 30, 1996. https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/01/30/womens-work-in-the-90s-has-few-boundaries/

Ralina L. Joseph & Jane Rhodes, “Black Women and the Politics of Respectability: An Introduction,” Black Perspectives, April 24, 2017 https://www.aaihs.org/black-women-and-the-politics-of-respectability-an-introduction/

Steve Ammidown, “Talking with the Inclusive Romance Project: An Incomplete History of the 20th century Romance Novel,” https://romancehistory.com/2023/05/23/talking-with-the-inclusive-romance-project/

Jackie C. Horne, “The Sheikh and I: Academics and Authors on the Sheikh Romance,” Romance Novels for Feminists, November 6, 2015, https://romancenovelsforfeminists.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-sheik-and-i-academics-and-authors.html

Kecia Ali, “Loving in the Doom Years: Nora Roberts; Chronicles of the One,” Presentation, IASPR Digital Showcase, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOPxKr8YtWE