Where did you get that woman?

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Description

This engaging portrait of a 77-year-old African-American washroom attendant stands as a piece of social history. Richly illustrated with archival photographs, it documents the odyssey of Joan Williams from an Oklahoma farm to the wartime factories of Chicago. Not ready to retire to the loneliness of senior citizens housing, she has forged a new career in the powder room of one of Chicago's night spots. A spirited, enterprising woman who has rebounded from life's hard knocks, Ms. Williams takes pride in her profession. She provides towels and lotions at her own expense, as well as a sympathetic ear for the romantic misadventures of the women who freshen up in her domain. Her employer pays only her cab fare, and her clients hopefully leave tips. However, her real payoff is "being in showbusiness." With archival photographs and blues music, Where Did You Get That Woman? represents the shared experience of a generation of African-American women during the Great Migration north.