The History of Black Women & Physical Fitness in the United States

In 1894, Mary P. Evans, wrote in the Woman’s Era , a Black women’s magazine, that exercise: “enables you to keep in the best condition for work with the hands or with the brain… It prepares you to meet disappointment, sorrow, ill treatment, and great suffering as the strong, courageous and splendid woman meets them. It is a great aid to clear, quick, and right thinking.” She wasn’t the only Black woman of the day encouraging Black women and girls to exercise as a way of improving not just themselves but also the whole race. Despite the lack of facilities and obstacles in their way, Black women and girls aspired to physical fitness. In 2010, Michelle Obama, the first Black First Lady of the United States echoed Mary P. Evans, encouraging everyone to pursue physical fitness with the “Let’s Move” campaign. Joining me in this episode is Dr. Ava Purkiss , assistant professor of women's and gender studies and American culture at the University of Michigan and author of Fit Citizens: A History of Black Women's Exercise from Post-Reconstruction to Postwar America . Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag , composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. Th…