Analyzing Networks through Pension Claims: African American Women’s Community Making at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

MHS Event

This is a hybrid event. The in-person reception will begin at 4:30 PM.

In her book, Righteous Discontent, historian Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham describes the turn of the twentieth century as simultaneously the “nadir” of American race relations, and the “woman’s era.” Focusing on the latter description amid the backdrop of this so-called “nadir,” Halima Haruna explores how African American women flexed their rights as citizens by applying for federal pension claims. This digital project aims to visualize how African American women created grassroots pension networks which included veterans and neighbors. Methodologically, it will argue that using network analysis tools can support the analysis of a large set of documents.

Join the conversation at the L. Dennis Shapiro and Susan R. Shapiro Digital History Seminar. Seminars bring together a diverse group of scholars and interested members of the public to workshop a pre-circulated paper. Learn more.

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