Mignon R. Moore

Mignon R. Moore is the Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Sociology at Barnard College. She will work on a book analyzing oral histories and archival materials to chart the development of sexual community among working- and middle-class Black women who were migrants, children of migrants, or those already living in northern cities during the second Great Migration. Moore seeks to recover and engage aspects of life and politics that are seldom included in African American histories, LGBTQ histories, and women’s labor histories. The project centers sexual minority women because their stories are less told; understanding their experiences can help reveal how other statuses, such as racial minority membership and gender, influence how individuals come to understand and galvanize around same-sex desire. Moore will focus on work and leisure institutions important to mid-twentieth century Black women, including churches, all-girls high schools, nightclubs and sex houses, to offer a fuller portrait of cultural and structural factors foundational to the construction of sexual communities.