History & Area Studies / World History / American History

How Black Women Outsmarted White Supremacy in the Jim Crow South

Gender and Jim Crow: Women and the Politics of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1896-1920

Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore

In this video, we dive deep into Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore's groundbreaking book *Gender and Jim Crow: Women and the Politics of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1896-1920*. You think you know the history of the Jim Crow South? Think again. This isn't just about segregation and violence. It's about how white supremacists weaponized gender and sexuality to crush Black political power—and how Black women fought back using the very tools designed to silence them. We'll uncover the hidden strategies: from the 'diplomat' tactics of elite Black women to the secret classrooms that trained future civil rights leaders. You'll see how the 1898 Wilmington coup and the 1900 grandfather clause nearly wiped out Black male voting, only for Black women to seize the 19th Amendment as a weapon of mass resistance. This is the story of resilience, deception, and the long game of justice. Watch if you want to understand how power really works—and who's been writing the history books.