Michele Wallace
| Michele Faith Wallace | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 4, 1952 Harlem, New York City, United States |
| Occupation | Author, professor |
| Notable works | Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman |
| Spouse | Eugene Nesmith (m. 1989–2001) |
Michele Faith Wallace (born January 4, 1952) is a black feminist author, cultural critic, and daughter of artist Faith Ringgold. She is best known for her 1979 book Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman. Wallace's writings on literature, art, film, and popular culture have been widely published and have made her a leader of African-American intellectuals. She is a Professor of English at the City College of New York and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY).
Michele Faith Wallace was born on January 4, 1952, in Harlem. She and her younger sister Barbara grew up in a black middle-class family. Her mother is Faith Ringgold, who was a teacher and college lecturer before becoming an artist. Her father, Robert Earl Wallace, was a classical and jazz pianist. Her parents separated after four years of marriage. Michele and Barbara Wallace were raised by their mother and stepfather Burdette "Birdie" Ringgold in Harlem's exclusive Sugar Hill. Growing up, Wallace went to private school and spent summers at camp or in Europe. She attended elementary school at Our Savior Lutheran Church before transferring to the progressive New Lincoln School, where David Rieff and Shari Belafonte were among her classmates. Wallace cites her time at New Lincoln as one of her first experiences with radical politics.
Wallace graduated from high school in 1969 and enrolled at Howard University for fall the same year. She spent a semester at Howard before returning to Harlem. Back in New York City in the spring of 1970, she organized with her mother around anti-war, anti-imperialist art movements of the time and attended night school at the City College of New York. During this time she and her mother founded Women Students and Artists for Black Art Liberation (WSABAL), an organization that advocated for the inclusion of women of color's voices in the art world. In 1973 she co-founded the National Black Feminist Organization with Faith Ringgold, Margaret Sloan-Hunter, and other prominent black feminist activists. Wallace earned her B.A. in English and Creative Writing from City College in 1974.
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