SAN ANGELO, Texas — Angelo State University's Dr. Arnoldo De Leon Department of History will present the third annual Lone Star Lecture Series at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 7, in the Houston Harte University Center, 1910 Rosemont Drive.
Dr. Leah LaGrone, assistant professor of history at Weber State University, will be the featured speaker.
LaGrone's "Sex Wages: Race, Respectability and Minimum Wage Policies in Texas" presentation will be in the University Center's C.J. Davidson Conference Center and is free and open to the public.
In her presentation, LaGrone will explore gender, race and sexuality in early 20th century Texas with an emphasis on the Texas-Mexico border, as well as women's minimum wage legislation in Texas (1919-1921) and how such laws connected low wages to sex work.
Also the public history director at Weber State, LaGrone specializes in public history, women and gender, the borderlands and labor studies. Her research examines state legislation and the discourse on minimum wages for women, specifically the connections of sex work with low wages.
Her current book project, "A Woman's Worth: How Race and Respectability Politics Influenced Minimum Wage Policies," demonstrates the politics around race and the minimum wage for women drove conversations among labor, politicians and progressive reformers about the future of white supremacy in Texas.
Additionally, she has contributed an essay to the anthology, "Impeached: The Removal of Texas Governor James E. Ferguson," as well as articles to The Washington Post, NursingClio and Texas Monthly. She has also worked on several public history projects including "The Civil War Documentary," "Civil Rights in Black and Brown" and the Texas State Historical Association's "Handbook of Texas Women." She holds a Ph.D. in history from Texas Christian University.
The Lone Star Lecture Series annually hosts outside scholars of Texas history to deliver a keynote address coinciding with the anniversary of Texas Independence in March and is supported by ASU's Dorsey B. Hardeman Endowed Chair in History.
