"Black Woman Runner is an important and engaging book about Tiffany Chenault's journey to redefine Black womanhood. She demythologizes the Strong Black Woman caricature that has served as a coping mechanism for Black women over generations but also presents a threat to Black women's physical and mental well being." -Lori L. Martin, author of White Sports/Black Sports: Racial Disparities in Athletic Programs In the wake of profound grief at the loss of her mother, this is one Black woman's haunting and inspiring journey of becoming a runner and, to her own surprise, realizing her audacious goal of running a half-marathon in all fifty states. After the loss of her mother, Tiffany Gayle Chenault decided, at age 40, to run a half-marathon in all 50 states. Black, Woman, Runner explores running as a space of survival, healing, joy, and connecting to the history and legacy of Black Americans and Women in the US. Shedding insight on the experiences of Black women who participate in the largely white-dominated world of recreational running, Chenault unpacks her own experience to think about the racial space of running: not just the physical neighborhoods where casual runners might run, but also where races are held, what the market for products for runners looks like, and how and to whom running is marketed. She also investigates the meaning of identity and the embodiment of being a runner, particularly a black woman runner. The differences in locale, customs, and the varied racial legacies of various states, allow Chenault to offer compelling and vivid insights into current-day racial realities. Ultimately, this is a story about movement - through space, emotion, and identity. It's about the culture of running, but more urgently, about who runs and why it matters.
Tiffany Gayle Chenault is Professor of Sociology at Salem State University and the author of The Unseen Politics of Public Housing: Resident Councils, Communities, and Change.
"Black Woman Runner is an important and engaging book about Tiffany Gayle Chenault's journey to redefine Black womanhood, which includes demythologizing the Strong Black Woman caricature that has served as a coping mechanism for Black women over generations but also presents a threat to Black women's physical and mental well being. Chenault uses her biography and expertise to not only share how she learned to deal with the loss of her mother in healthy ways, but also how she negotiated boundaries related to her race, gender, class, and ethnic identity as she traveled across the United States participating in long distance races. Chenault's contributions include examining running culture through the lens of a Black woman sociologist, but also understanding running as a form of cultural capital. Chenault takes us on a running journey and a journey across time and place, weaving America's history of race relations with her newly found passion." - Lori L. Martin, author of White Sports/Black Sports: Racial Disparities in Athletic Programs "The reader runs alongside Chenault as she explores race both as a social construct and as an athletic pursuit. She takes them on a path that includes histories of raced spaces in cities across the U.S. Chenault shares her emotions of grief, joy, and accomplishment, running marathons and learning to become a runner. She navigates the trail by reflecting on what it means to be a runner and what it means to be a Black runner, particularly when noting the absence of Black people in white spaces. Chenault reaches her goal that goes far beyond completing a single marathon." - Shirley A. Jackson, editor of the Routledge International Handbook of Race, Class, and Gender "Chenault's unique perspective, as a sociology professor and Black American woman who came to running as an adult, and has run in all 50 states, is refreshing and important-and timely. I really appreciate how Chenault weaves together her own life-changing running experiences with insights into the broader cultural, historic, and racist forces that have impacted and informed her journey. I am grateful to Chenault for sharing her story in such thoughtful, intimate detail." - Cherie Louise Turner, host and producer, Women's Running Stories podcast
