As an African American woman born to a white father and enslaved mother, Amanda America Dickson’s life could have been no different from the thousands of other children in the same situation. Her father, David Dickson, made sure that it was not. From the day of her birth she was raised in the main house, in his mother’s room and

declared, “that he believed it was his duty to care for his daughter and

In Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege, Kent Anderson Leslie attempts to portray Amanda America Dickson as a lady who was determined to actively define herself. Leslie does this by giving examples of Dickson’s life in which she fought for the title and label she wanted and deserved. Amanda America Dickson’s life is one of active self-definition rather than passive submission to the restriction of enslavement and its entitlements. Amanda America Dickson, with the help of her father and grandmother in her formative years, battled to actively define herself throughout her lifetime and she succeeded admirably.

throughout her life. She thought of herself as a lady and because of her good hair, and light skin, was allowed to move up in the class and caste systems. She decided to live in Augusta after the death of her father, instead of moving elsewhere, where she could have lived as a white. She chose to live as a wealthy black woman and took many measures, including petitioning and getting legal guardianship of her children, and buying a home in an upper class multiracial neighborhood. She did this so that “The general populace of Augusta would know that Amanda America Dickson was wealthy, illegitimate, and a woman of color.” She continued throughout the rest of her life to actively self-define in wa

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