Gertrude Bustill Mossell and 'Our Woman's Department': Advocating change through a weekly advice column, 1885--1887

"Our Woman's Department" was an advice column written and edited by Gertrude Bustill Mossell for the New York Freeman from December 1885 to March 1887. Mossell's column was the first written and edited for an African American female audience. This thesis examines three elements that made up the format of the column: exchange publications, sections authored by Gertrude Mossell and letters submitted by readers. Mossell used exchange publications to provide her readers with current, mainstream advice. Her written pieces addressed the dual lives of African American women and offered advice on domestic and work related issues. Letters published from her readers debated issues of work and morality and created a space for communication. This work provides three appendices that list geographic areas where The New York Freeman circulated, the exchange publications that Mossell credited and new and old occupations open to women of color.