Don’t Let Yourself Be “Made a Fool Of”: Naomi’s Advice on Love for Single African American Women in the 1940s

Abstract: Black newspaper advice columnist “Naomi” and her single female correspondents in Norfolk, Virginia, in the 1940s show how Black women navigated the modern youth-controlled dating system. They feared vulnerability—being “made fools of” by young Black men empowered by rising wartime employment and military service. Naomi did not directly challenge male dominance but urged young women to play the field, maintain emotional distance from men, act self-interestedly, obey parents, and get educated. Most notably, she and her correspondents openly criticized men, illuminating the concept of “love and trouble” between African American men and women. These newspaper exchanges show young Black women’s distinctive sensibilities and concerns and document how a local female authority figure, without rejecting prevailing gendered conventions, helped young women cope with men’s power and try to circumvent their gendered disadvantages.