Page 13 - Purchasing Power Black Kids and American Consumer Culture

xii . Acknowledgments

grateful. Josiah Heyman also generously and copiously commented on
an earlier draft.
Many others have commented on parts of the manuscript, and their
responses often spurred me into territory I might otherwise have ne-
glected. Among these, Arlene Davila, Maureen O'Dougherty, Susan
Seizer, Jeff Tobin, and Mary Weismantel have been invaluable friends
and critics through this process. At the University of Minnesota Press,
my editor, Carrie Mullen, has been an unflagging source of hope and en-
ergy and has championed this book tirelessly.
Financial support from a number of sources made the research pos-
sible and later supported the writing of this book. Grants from the
Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and from the
National Science Foundation allowed me to devote nearly two years to
full-time research. The Kenneth and Mamie Phipps Clark fellowship
from the CUNY graduate center gave me time to write and allowed me
the memorable experience of meeting Dr. Clark himself. Despite the ad-
vice of my advisor, I took a job at Occidental College before my disser-
tation had been completed, and I must also thank my colleagues and the
college for their support and patience. Teaching full time while finishing
a dissertation is an easy recipe for disaster, and without their assistance
and forbearance I might be telling a much sadder tale today. In particu-
lar, David Axeen, dean of faculty, has always graciously and generously
provided me with time and/or funds to move this project to completion.
The support of the Hermione Brown Fund at the college has generously
paid for indexing, reproduction of photos, and photo permissions.
Occidental College is lucky in attracting interesting, bright, and en-
gaging students. Katy Spencer is one of them, and her work during the
final stages of manuscript preparation was invaluable. I must also thank
Jennifer Petersen, whose interest in "rabble-rousing" has kept a social
justice agenda constantly in front of me, and who in the last days of
writing kept me supplied with healthful treats and a critical reader's eye.
All anthropologists owe their greatest debt, of course, to the people
whose generosity and patience make our work and writing possible. My
most important thank-yous must go to the children, families, teachers,
and others in New Haven who endured my questions, made me wel-
come in homes and classrooms, and who still often enter my dreams—
Tionna, Natalia, Asia, Teyvon, Cherelle, and the rest, you know who
you are, although I cannot thank you here using your real names. Diane
Garber, at the New Haven school system's central office, smoothed the
way and pointed me in the right direction. The Hosen family slipped me