Marred Existence: Race, Gender, and Law in the Afterlives of Billie Holiday and Whitney Houston
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Felicity Turner
Location
Savannah Ballroom
Type of Research
On-going
Session Format
Poster Presentation
College
College of Arts & Humanities
Department
History
Abstract
This project is a preliminary examination of how the intersection of race and gender mediates the politics of public existence within the philosophical and legal domains of twentieth-century American society. The lives and afterlives of entertainers Billie Holiday and Whitney Houston make plain a convergence of moral ontology and law, as it stands subject to the complexities of intersectional politics. Supplementing existing scholarship on these women, this study will make use of archival materials, philosophical theory, and court records to articulate the relationship between the two figures and the complex politics of public existence. The project seeks to restore their humanity within the broader historical narrative by situating their lives within, and beyond, the discourses of race, gender, and law. Inevitably, the politics of existence assert themselves in any inquiry into the implications and applications of American law, particularly as it concerns figures such as Holiday and Houston. Ultimately, an evaluation of their moral ontology within the context of American law lend's itself to a more holistic redress.
Program Description
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Start Date
4-21-2026 10:00 AM
End Date
4-21-2026 12:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Lewis, Makenzie, "Marred Existence: Race, Gender, and Law in the Afterlives of Billie Holiday and Whitney Houston" (2026). GS4 Student Scholars Symposium. 36.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2026A/2026A/36
Marred Existence: Race, Gender, and Law in the Afterlives of Billie Holiday and Whitney Houston
Savannah Ballroom
This project is a preliminary examination of how the intersection of race and gender mediates the politics of public existence within the philosophical and legal domains of twentieth-century American society. The lives and afterlives of entertainers Billie Holiday and Whitney Houston make plain a convergence of moral ontology and law, as it stands subject to the complexities of intersectional politics. Supplementing existing scholarship on these women, this study will make use of archival materials, philosophical theory, and court records to articulate the relationship between the two figures and the complex politics of public existence. The project seeks to restore their humanity within the broader historical narrative by situating their lives within, and beyond, the discourses of race, gender, and law. Inevitably, the politics of existence assert themselves in any inquiry into the implications and applications of American law, particularly as it concerns figures such as Holiday and Houston. Ultimately, an evaluation of their moral ontology within the context of American law lend's itself to a more holistic redress.
