Black Power And Second-Wave Feminism

Before reading the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and the Narrative of Mary Rowlandson, I only knew very basic information about these two historical figures. Their stories made me more aware of the commitment and the choices that both individuals had to make to get through life. When I look for similarities of Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography with the Captivity of Mary Rowlandson, I do not find many. Benjamin Franklin liked an adventure and he knew exactly what he wanted in life. On the other hand, Mary Rowlandson was a devote Christian who did all her work based off her religion.

This theme plays a role in the operationalization of the theorectical framework of black feminism, asking, how does this shared expereience of marginilzation when it comes to race and gender affect your self;perception varying amoung socio-economic status? The emerging data from my interviews suggest that their common experience of marginalization whether aware or not has affect in some form how they view their position in society. The societal norms of misogny and sexism that are often time structural. The obligation to family and community gave women in higher socio-ecomomic status a feeling of purpose and self-determination. As she was able to have more economic freedom and higher educational attainment, a sense of self-confidence and self-worth was displayed. In contrast the particpant who who experienced very minimal class fludity and continues to live within the lower SES, portrayed a lack of self-esteem and self-determination.

When analyzed from the historical standpoint, overwhelmingly, black women who participated in the feminist movement during this time were often met with racism. The racism that they faced was often in the

When it comes to exploring the research question of how self-identity and self-perception affect your socio-economic status as an African American woman, affective method was chosen to look into how subjective qualities of human experience affect the core motives for human action, reaction, and interaction (Saldana p. 105). Value coding for the first cycle coding was selected because it allowed me to compare and contrast, consistent and emerging patterns of values among each participant. The theoretical framework of Black Feminism also guided the researcher to choosing value coding to see how the paradigms of race, class, and gender affected identity, values and behaviors. The nature of the research question in seeking what self-values followed

The play is a story of a man’s life. This man is Arthur Kipps; he

I am writing to apply for the position of instructor for ETHS 150: Black Feminist Theory, for which Dr. Ajuan Mance suggested I apply.

In an attempt to define Black Feminism, Collins clarifies that it must “avoid the idealist position that ideas can be evaluated in isolation from the groups that create them (Collins 385).” This clarification forms her basis for why Black Feminism is necessary, and who it serves. Thinking about feminism historically, the concerns of black women were pushed aside in favor of fighting sexism; a notable example occurs within the Suffrage movement, where votes for white women were prioritized over women of color in order to push such legislation through. And even when feminism began looking at other social injustices, such as racism and class issues, often only prominent feminists were invited to the discussion. What resulted was, and often continues to be, a problem of white women speaking for oppressed people. It’s impossible, Collins argues, to have Black Feminist thought without examining the experiences and positions of African American women. Therefore, Black Feminism must be a movement that “encompasses theoretical interpretations of Black women’s reality by those who live in it (Collins 386).” However, such a definition brings about many questions:

Towards the end of the twentieth century, feminist women in America faced an underlying conflict to find their purpose and true meaning in life. “Is this all?” was often a question whose answer was sought after by numerous women reaching deeper into their minds and souls to find what was missing from their life. The ideal second-wave feminist was defined as a women who puts all of her time into cleaning her home, loving her husband, and caring for her children, but such a belief caused these women to not only lose their identity within her family but society as well. The emotions that feminist women were feeling at this time was the internal conflict that caused for social steps to be taken in hopes of

Society continues to nurture these depriving situations and demonstrate lack of concern towards black women by not celebrating them for the roles they played in the movements. Taylor (1998) asserted that, “despite the fact that the most celebrated leaders of the modern civil rights movements were men, African American women participated at every stage in the struggle for justice and equality” (239). Although black women were not in public eyes during these movements, it was their vision and organizing roles they played that helped in the progression of many liberation movements.

Black Feminism has proven to have a profound effect on society’s history, and is now beginning to impact even more this day and age. Black feminism is broader than what comes to mind. It is an essential component of black struggle against oppression and authority. Generally Black feminism is used to empower and liberate black women. Throughout the years many liberals have tried to exclude and silence black feminist. Black feminist have demanded for social, economic and political equality, and desire a compatible and progressive vision of social justice (Freedman 2002). This is based on the historical and ongoing struggles against the race and gender of black women across America. It can be experienced within the home, in an occupational setting, in the communities, and more so within the culture. Today African women, especially those on college campuses have accepted feminism as representation for all women. Feminist perspectives seem to be appealing African female writers who present African life through the favored feminist ideologies of African male as overbearing and instinctive. Feminism has always looked to influence popular culture by its presence and by its persistent demands to be recognized as the official voice of all women. Black feminism nowadays is somewhat based off of things that are seen through the eyes of poor women, women of immigration, and lesbian women. The struggle of black feminist comes from black women not only being equal to black

Black women felt the need to stand up for their rights in the 1960s. Daring to become an activist and join the various Black Liberation struggles meant that a Black woman would have to face constant sexism. Viewing Black women as merely objects to be controlled meant that even their bodies and sexuality would be controlled (Charleswell “Black Feminist through History”). Black feminism and The Civil Rights Movement were fought conjointly in this time period, and they both petitioned the same rights. Treva B. Lindsey wrote, “I thought of the hanging bodies, the grave reality of an anti- Black state and state-sanctioned violence, and the numerous unanswered questions about how both of these Black women’s lives ended in police custody” (“A Love Letter to Black Feminism”). Lindsey wrote this letter to address the factor of police brutality and Black women. A movement that began with lesbian feminists fighting for equality was the Feminist Sex Wars which originated in the 1970s and 1980s. Toward the end of the decade, however, the conversations within feminism began to focus on a new topic: sexuality. This included sexuality of all types, not just lesbian

The Black Feminist Movement was formed in response to the rise and success of the Black Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Liberation Movement. In an era of drastic social reform, many black women believed that their needs were not being properly addressed. Black Feminism played a significant role in American History by highlighting the flaws in the various liberation movements that arose. In doing so, it gave rise to many Black Feminist Organizations which in turn fostered a sense of accomplishment and effectiveness in the Black Female Community.

Starting with teach-ins during the spring of 1965, the massive antiwar efforts centered on the colleges, with the students playing leading roles. These teach-ins were mass public demonstrations, usually held in the spring and fall seasons. The teach-in movement was at first, a gentle approach to the antiwar activity (Gettleman, 54). "Teach-ins were one important way to bring more people into the antiwar movement. During a teach-in, students, faculty members, and guest speakers discussed issues concerning the Vietnam war"(McCormick, 37).

In Feminist Black Thought, Collins (1990) describes talking with the heart as the ethic of caring and sees this as an alternative epistemology used by African American women. Kochman; Mitchell and Lewter; and Smitherman state (as cited in Collins, 1990, p. 215) that everyone possesses the belief of being distinctive, which illustrates the significance that African Americans promote personal individuality in their

The theoretical framework chosen to guide this paper is Black Feminist Theory. The reason for this is that Black Feminist thought stands to “resist oppression, both its practices and the ideas that justify it” (Collins, 2012:395). Historically, there has been public policy on buses that has discriminated against a group of people. During the Jim Crow era, Blacks were forbidden from using the seats in the front of buses that were reserved specifically for white people. Moreover, white bus drivers put down Black passengers through derogatory speech, but also through their actions, for instance, having Black passengers pay their bus fare, but not allowed them to board the bus (see African American Registry). Those actions were the result of the