A Black Woman's Journey from Cotton Picking to College Professor: Lessons about Race, Class, and Gender in America

“A Black Woman's Journey from Cotton Picking to College Professor is a wonderful and special journey. I encourage others to explore this amazing life story. I’m sure they will enjoy it as much as I did.”—Nikki Giovanni, University Distinguished Professor of English, Virginia Tech

“All gain from reading this book about the life of Dr. Mildred Pratt. There are few fields of scholarly inquiry or general interests that are not at least touched upon in these pages. Here is, ultimately, an important commentary on race and rights, class and status, gender, and Jim and Jane Crow. The world was made better by Dr. Mildred Pratt having been a part of it. Others will be left better for having read this story of her life.”—Stephanie Shaw, Professor of History, Ohio State University

“Dr. Mildred Sirls Pratt’s story is one of the genesis, rise, and remarkable triumph of an extraordinary individual overcoming herculean odds. Her remarkable feats—despite successive setbacks—as she navigated a career as a tenure track professor without a blueprint is a story of legend. Her life is an amazing journey from sharecropping to the academy. Her memoir is an insightful window into what it means to be Black in America, individually and collectively.”—James Anderson, Dean, College of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

“This enormously important volume documents the first generation of African American women professors at predominantly White academic institutions in the wake of the modern civil rights movement. It will make a splendid contribution to women’s history, gender studies, and to African American life and history. It will inspire African American women in the academy to chronicle their own lives and contributions to the intellectual and historical record.”—Darlene Clark Hine, Professor of African American Studies and Professor of History, Northwestern University