Queen of the Virgins: Pageantry and Black Womanhood in the Caribbean

Acknowledgments

 iX aCknoWleDgments This book has benefited from the help of many people over the past ten years. First, i thank my family; my husband, Jason; and my son, elias; who have supported and nurtured me throughout this process. i am deeply grateful. i owe many thanks to my professors and my colleagues who have supported this work, especially barbara browning, whose gentle influence kept me going. My gratitude also goes to Maryse Conde, Phil Harper, Fred Moten, Jose Muñoz, and ngugi wa Thiong’o. dean Mary Schmidt Campbell of tisch School of the arts and the department of Performance Studies provided a dissertation fellowship so that i could do my fieldwork. in the islands, many people helped me make contacts and supported my daily existence, feeding me both intellectually and nutritionally along the way. i thank the libraries and their staff on St. Thomas, especially the university of the Virgin islands and the enid baa Library; robert nicholls; my family on island, Juanito and Phyllis benjamin, Mario Greaves Jr., the late Carol Mondesire and diane Mondesire, and Yvonne and ecedro Wesselhoft; pageant officials and organizers, including deborah Gottlieb, utha Williams, and the Lions Club of St. Thomas; others who extended their help, knowledge and/or willingness to be interviewed, especially Kim boschulte, William Chandler, Cheryl Plaskett, rachel riddle, Violet Victoria, Leah Webster, and Lorna Webster; and the contestants themselves , Lynda Ortiz, april Petrus, Sherece Smith, and Carolyn Wattley. in St. Croix, my thanks first and foremost go to my mother, Mary HowellOliver , a queen to me always, and to my dear father, everett Oliver. both have always loved and supported me. i thank my sisters, Lillian and Loretta, and the numerous pageant organizers, contestants, friends, and officials who helped me along the way, including the late Jessica tutein Moolenaar, Marjorie brown, Stephanie brown, Cassandra dunn, Lisa Galiber, tina Henle, Cherra Heyleger, Marise James, Wayne James, Claire roker, and Janasee Sinclair. i could not have done this work without the assistance of excellent librarians on the island, especially Carol Wakefield of the St. Croix Landmarks Society and her successor, Paula Wilson. X ACknowledgments i thank my friends, Portia b., Karen Graham, Sara Hook, and renee reddingJones . i offer a very special thanks to those friends and colleagues who looked at versions of this manuscript and gave me constructive feedback. Shanti Pillai, Kate ramsey, nichole rustin, and deborah Thomas validated my pursuit of this work. Of course, any and all faults of this text are exclusively my own. The university of illinois research board assisted this project by providing humanities release time so that i could finish revisions. Special thanks go to Kal alston, then head of gender and women’s studies, for her constant advocacy; to Patricia Knowles and rebecca nettl-Fiol, successive heads of the university of illinois dance department from 2000 through 2005; and to my supportive colleagues there and elsewhere, including Lisa dixon, Jordana Mendelson, tere O’Connor, Larry Parker, Kathy Perkins, John O. Perpener iii, Wanda Pillow, dianne Pinderhughes, Gabriel Solis, arlene torres, Gina ulysse, and Yutian Wong. Finally, i am deeply grateful to the university Press of Mississippi and particularly to Seetha Srinivasan, who recognized this project’s worth in its early stages; Walter biggins; and the anonymous readers whose detailed and insightful critiques helped make this a better book.  Queen of the Virgins This page intentionally left blank ...