Stormy Weather: Middle Class African American Marriages Between the Two World Wars

(UNC Press) Curwood examines the marriages of the so-called New Negroes during the period between 1918 and 1942. Marriages, many believed, were an important part of achieving their dream of upward mobility, even if there was little agreement on how a relationship should actually function within this idea. Curwood explores the public and private negotiations over these marriages, in the process assessing the interactions of racial, class, and gender identities. Curwood is an assistant professor of African American and diaspora studies at Vanderbilt University.