Frances L. Buss is adjunct instructor at Pima Community College and affiliated scholar with the University of Arizona, will use the award to complete an oral history of Mary Robinson, a sharecropper who becomes an effective indigenous leader and activist in rural Alabama. In addition to publishing this oral history, entitled The Moisture of the Earth: The Moral Vision of An African American Sharecropper Turned Activist, Buss plans to deposit the taped interviews with Robinson in the Schlesinger Library of American Women. Although she received a Ph.D. in history less than three years ago, Frances Buss has already published four books, including the well known La Partera: Story of a Midwife (U. of Michigan Press, 1985.). She has distinguished herself as a scholar even as she has worked actively on behalf of poor and indigent women.

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The Coordinating Council for Women in History, an organization for women in the historical profession, is committee to exploring the diverse experiences and histories of all women. Its primary goals are to educate men and women on the status of women in the historical profession and to promote research and interpretation in the areas of women’s history.

Information about the Prelinger Prize and other CCWH awards is available here.