Rickie Solinger (born 1947) is an independent historian, curator, and lecturer whose work focuses on reproductive politics, welfare politics, politics of incarceration, race and class, and motherhood. She is the author of ''Wake Up Little Susie: Single Pregnancy and Race before

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...

'', ''The Abortionist: A Woman Against the Law'', ''Beggars and Choosers: How the Politics of Choice Shapes Adoption, Abortion, and Welfare in the U.S.'', ''Pregnancy and Power: A Short History of Reproductive Politics in America'', ''Reproductive Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know,'' and, with co-author Loretta Ross, "Reproductive Justice: An Introduction," as well as articles about reproductive politics and

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

politics. Solinger curates art exhibitions associated with the themes of her books; the shows travel to college and university galleries around the country aiming to interrupt the

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; plural, : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to ...

Life and career

She earned her Ph.D. in History from The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is a founding member o
Women United for Justice, Community, and Family
a Boulder, Colorado-based cross-class coalition of women committed to welfare justice. She has served on the Boulder County Welfare Review Committee and frequently speaks and writes in the community and elsewhere on matters of poverty, welfare, and economic justice.

Works

Books

Scholarly articles

Editor

Art installations

Solinger creates art exhibitions associated with the theme of her books and installs them at college and university galleries. She uses art together with her scholarship to enrich opportunities for public education and interrupt the curriculum. She has produced art installations working with sculptors, photographers, and other activists since 1992. Her exhibitions have traveled to over 140 college and university galleries since 1992. * "Wake Up Little Susie: Pregnancy and Power before Roe v. Wade" * "Beggars and Choosers: Motherhood is Not a Class Privilege in America" - This exhibition, associated with the theme of ''Beggars and Choosers'', made a visual claim for the legitimacy of all mothers and the importance of defending reproductive rights. The mothers in the photographs rejected or ignored the coercive politics of motherhood. This exhibition clarified the full meaning of

reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows: Reproductive rights rest o ...

: the right to decide to curb one's fertility as well as the right to decide to become a mother. It opened at the

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is a large interpretive museum and research center in Birmingham, Alabama that depicts the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The Institute is located in the Civil Rights District, whic ...

in 2002 and traveled to campuses up until late 2008. * "Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States" - This exhibition focuses on raising public knowledge—and public outrage and activism—about the

incarceration Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is " false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessar ...

system in this country. It is a collection of paintings, photographs, and installation pieces. It opened at the California Institution for Women in 2006 (the first time an outside art exhibition opened in a prison). * "Reimagining the Distaff Toolkit" This exhibition features approximately thirty-five pieces of art. Each work of art features a tool that was important for women's domestic labor from the 18th century through World War II. The artists have placed objects such as a dressmaker’s figure, pots, pans, baskets, rolling pins, darning eggs and rug-beaters at the center of their works. According to Solinger, “Many of these old tools facilitated… repetitive labor and evoke the various cultural histories of women’s unpaid, often diminished and disrespected status within the household and society. But in the 21st century, at a moment when ‘old tools’ have become aestheticized and expensive, we can look again and see their costly beauty."

Awards

In 1992 she won the first Lerner-Scott Award given by the

Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad inc ...

for ''Wake Up Little Susie'' and in 2000 she received the Catherine Prelinger Award.

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

Works by Rickie Solinger
in libraries
WorldCat)

by Rickie Solinger in Washington Post Opinions, April 2013
Women United for Justice, Community and Family
- Solinger is a founding member {{DEFAULTSORT:Solinger, Rickie 1947 births Living people 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers