Misbehaving at the Crossroads

The New York Times-bestselling, National Book Award-nominated author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois and The Age of Phillis makes her nonfiction debut with this personal and thought-provoking work of cultural criticism that explores the journeys and possibilities of Black women throughout American history and in contemporary times.

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is at a crossroads.

Traditional African/Black American cultures present the crossroads as a place of simultaneous difficulty and possibility. In contemporary times, Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the phrase “intersectionality” to explain the unique position of Black women in America. In many ways, they are at a third crossroads: attempting to fit into notions of femininity and respectability primarily assigned to White women, while inventing improvisational strategies to combat oppression.

In Misbehaving at the Crossroads, a landmark work of Black history and memoir, Jeffers explores the emotional and historical tensions in Black women’s public lives and her own private life. She charts voyages of Black girlhood to womanhood and the currents buffeting these journeys, including the difficulties of racially gendered oppression, the challenges of documenting Black women’s ancestry; the adultification of Black girls; the irony of Black female respectability politics; the origins of Womanism and Black feminist thought; and resistance to White supremacy and patriarchy. As Jeffers shows with empathy and wisdom, naming difficult historical truths represents both Blues and transcendence, a crossroads that speaks.

Necessary and sharply observed, provocative and humane, and full of the insight and brilliance that has characterized her poetry and fiction, Misbehaving at the Crossroads illustrates the life of one extraordinary Black woman—and her extraordinary foremothers.

How have Black women navigated the treacherous crossroads of American history to define their own identities?
Intersectionality in Action: Go beyond the buzzword to see how the unique position of Black women in America shapes their public and private lives, from girlhood to womanhood.The Politics of Respectability: An unflinching look at the improvisational strategies Black women have used to combat oppression while navigating notions of femininity assigned to White women.Womanism and its Roots: Explore the origins of Black feminism, tracing its development as a powerful tool of resistance against both White supremacy and patriarchy.Ancestry and Historical Trauma: Jeffers combines personal genealogy with deep historical research to document the challenges of tracing Black women’s ancestry and uncovering the stories of her own extraordinary foremothers.