A reception in honor of Dr. Blain Roberts, associate professor of history at Fresno State, on the recent publication of her book, “Pageants, Parlors, and Pretty Women: Race and Beauty in the Twentieth-Century South” will be held from 4-5 p.m. Wednesday, April 30 at the Vintage Room in the University Center on campus (west of the Memorial Water Fountain). The book examines how the pursuit of beauty in the 1950s and 1960s in the South was linked to the tumultuous racial divides of the region, where the Jim Crow-era cosmetics industry came of age selling the idea of makeup that emphasized whiteness and some black-owned beauty shops served as sites of resistance for civil rights activists. The free, public event is presented by the Literatures, Arts and Cultures of the Americas (LACA) Program and features appetizers and refreshments.
INFO: Dr. Alex Espinoza at 559.278.5833
