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Performing intersectional identity work over time: the historic case of Viola Turner

Madison Portie-Williamson (At-Bay, New York, New York, USA)
David R. Marshall (Department of Management and Marketing, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, USA)
Milorad M. Novicevic (Department of Management, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, USA)
Albert J. Mills (Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Canada and Department of Business, Ita-Suomen yliopisto, Kuopio, Finland)
Caleb W. Lugar (Department of Management, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, USA)

Journal of Management History

ISSN: 1751-1348

Article publication date: 6 December 2021

Issue publication date: 9 March 2022

163

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the exemplary historic case of Ms Viola Turner – an African-American insurance executive in the early 1900s to gain insights into how individuals negotiate the tension between intersecting identities and moral foundational values over time.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a mixed research design and a genealogical-pragmatic approach to analyze this exemplary case. This study uses computer-aided textual analysis software to analyze interviews conducted with Ms Turner, generating quantitative insights. This study qualitatively codes the interviews to aid in establishing the behavioral patterns across Ms Turner’s lifespan.

Findings

This study found that Ms Turner altered her underlying configurations of moral foundations to better align with her intersecting identities. This study also revealed cross-level interactions of intersecting identities, life stages and social contexts. Individuals manage and cope with power imbalances through these identity-value alignments.

Originality/value

The findings shed light on how intersectional history contributes to understanding the ways in which individuals deal with power relationships embedded in intersecting identities over time.

Keywords

Citation

Portie-Williamson, M., Marshall, D.R., Novicevic, M.M., Mills, A.J. and Lugar, C.W. (2022), "Performing intersectional identity work over time: the historic case of Viola Turner", Journal of Management History, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 303-320. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-02-2021-0011

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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