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Tricking the Tricks
Michael Williams '04
The Villanova University Africana Studies
department threw students for a loop Jan. 27 with an out of the ordinary
lecture by Dr. Kali Gross, assistant professor of history at Ursinus College
in Collegeville, Pa.
Inspired by her tenure as a professor
of African-American history at Muncy State Correctional Institution, a
prison for women, the lecture, titled "Tricking the Tricks: Black Female
Criminals in the City of Brotherly Love, 1880-1910" explored the widespread
pseudo-prostitution turned badger theft that plagued the city at the turn
of the century. Black women in Philadelphia would pose as prostitutes
preying solely on the desirous and unsuspecting white males in the city.
After luring them to a quiet place where "business" could be transacted,
they would take advantage of their victims' vulnerable position and attack,
usually rendering him unconscious while they pilfered anything of value.
According to Gross, by singling out the
type of victims they preyed upon, this type of crime was an overt challenge
to the popular negative stereotypes about black women as sexually licentious.
"By tricking the tricks, these women are using the negative stereotype
to their advantage, they pretend to be what you think, and then they use
it against you."
While the black female criminal was the
central focus of the lecture, the question and answer session drew attention
to much larger issues of race and class in relation to crime during the
time period as well as the role of the media. "As a result of the way
the media portrayed crimes and criminals at the time, the phrase white
male criminal was a misnomer of sorts," said Gross.
With her amicable personality and vitality,
Professor Gross gave everyone in attendance an open doorway to her subject
matter in addition to sharp insight into larger historical issues. After
her lecture, the phrase caveat emptor certainly had a whole new
meaning to those in attendance. |
