Black Feminism: Social Movements and Issues

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If blacks are all for liberation…and if white and black women share some of the same social problems, why have a separate branch of feminism? 

Well, one answer to that question is due to the obvious double oppression [1].  Feminist theory in itself does not address the intersectionality between gender, class, and race [7].   This distinction is the very reason why BLACK feminism is relevant.  “Some white feminists chose to go into situations of hardship, but they knew they could always retreat to the safety of upper-middle class material security (such as some of the participate-observation studies conducted by the Chicago Women’s School). However, [black feminists] could duck or fight, but they could not escape American racism” [7, 150].

Black feminism is also needed, because during the first and second waves of feminism black and white women did not organize together. But, why not?... Some believe that there were huge differences between the lifestyles and struggles of black and white women.  Although these two groups of women had varying struggles, some differences were completely falsified.  Like the idea that black women were somehow “economically superior” to their male counterparts when in fact they earned an average of only 69% of a black man’s working wages for an year according to the Handbook of Labor Statistics 1976[6].  

A huge cause in the lack of collaboration between white and black feminists was due to the loyalty that black women had to the black rights movement.  Many black women feared that their focus in joining forces with the “white” feminists would derail their allegiance to the black right’s movement.  They further believed that a divide between black men and women would weaken the strength of their racial minority movement. Overall, all many black women were fearful that feminism would dilute their zeal for racial equality and steal away the publicity that the black right’s movement was receiving.

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In the wake of the 1960s, women began to fight vigorously for their rights of political equality to abortion rights and equal pay.  It is no secret that this movement was seen as a “middle-class white women’s movement”; however, this social movement was heavily supported by black feminists as well [6].  A Harris poll was conducted in 1972 of a nationwide representative sample showing that blacks were nearly twice as likely, in comparison to whites, to be in favor of women’s liberation and the movement’s objectives [6]. Coupled with the fact that in this nation black women are inferior beings to both black men and white women, it seem ludicrous that black women would not all be on board for ending injustices by any means possible.   Black women have had to deal with much oppression such as, homemaker dependency, historical sexual abuse, and maternity constraints.

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In the 1960s, feminism was fighting for more than mere equal pay.  The sexual revolution of the 60s marked to second wave of feminism and a period of liberation from feminine mannerism and morality of sex [2]. However, black feminists did not seem to want to climb on this bandwagon, and instead adopted the highly conservative ideology of the politics of respectability.

The term politics of respectability was first introduced by Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham in her book “Righteous Discontent: The Women’s Movement in the Black Baptist Church” where she describes the behavior expected from women of the Black Church in the late 1880s through 1920.  These politics were geared to reform individuals from their former state of sin and “promote temperance, cleanliness of person and property, thrift, polite manners, and sexual purity” [4.] Respectability was important to both the public spheres of African American and White women.  Blacks were encouraged to fall in line with these morals and manners for their personal betterment and to show Whites that Blacks could be respectable. Black women were much more likely to be judged in character by the way they carried themselves.

For years, white men used Black women as sex object, just as they did white woman. But instead of being bought fine gifts and promised a decent living, a black woman’s sexuality was seen as being animalist [4].  This statement is backed by Ida B. Wells-Barnett’s A Red Record where she includes her extensive study on lynching/ She asserts that white men justified the murders of black males due to their intercourse with white females.  Wells-Barnett points out white women were portrayed as being the victims, but were in fact engaging in consensual sex with black men [7, 177-184].  These women were not shamed for their mannerisms, but protected even more by their society.  

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The Equal Rights Amendment, or more popularly known as ERA, was first written and introduced to Congress in 1923 by Alice Paul.  However, this amendment failed to be inducted into the U.S. Constitution when it did not pass the state legislatures in 1972[1].   Despite its failure, the politics of ERA created vehemence within the black feminist community. “Race was one of the strongest and most consistent predictors on ERA opinion” [1].  

In general, black women (especial feminists) were in support of the Equal Rights Amendment.  One of the most common explanations between racial differences of viewpoints on ERA was found in gender-role ideologies.  Traditional ideologies paint a picture of “female fragility”, while in the Black community, especially in the 70s; many black women were family-heads and sole breadwinners.  Also, black women did not see the mutually exclusively of work labor and home labor [1].  The newly found economic independence from patriarchy gave black women a stronger tie to ERA; whereas some believe, many white women were still bound by the social and economic dependence of their male counterparts and traditional gender-role ideologies. 

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Alice Walker, a black feminist, is an award-winning author and publisher most famously known for writing The Color Purple.  Walker was involved with the civil rights movement beginning in her college years in the early 1960s and worked for the Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP.  However, she also participated in the anti-war and women’s liberation movements.  Many black women who focused on other causes besides black liberation were frowned upon; still, Walker saw nothing wrong with having other political interests.  Because of her work with other social movements, Walker’s inclusion into the world of Black feminism was denied by some.   In 1983, Walker answered those closed-minded individuals with the start of a new type of feminism, womanism [2]. 

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The welfare rights movement was not a popular discourse among mainstream feminists.  Many did not consider it a women’s issue, despite the many working-class and non-wage earning poor women and their families which were assisted by welfare.  Black feminists, such as Jonnie Tillmon, fought hard to prove that the welfare rights movement fit into feminist ideology, especially black feminism with its linkage of race, class, and gender inequalities [3].  Black welfare activists started a feminist movement on the behalf of the working-poor and non-wage earning welfare recipients.  These activists stated that the welfare system as it was subjected more sexism on women and was another form of institutionalized domination [3].  This movement was composed of mainly poor black women who protested for “higher welfare benefits, protection of their civil rights, and better treatment from their caseworker” [3].  However, support came from other women of color and white women who could see that sexism was at the core of the welfare issue.  Soon, the welfare rights movement gained acceptance of the feminist community.

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bell hooks challenges everyone to recognize and change the “white supremist capitalist patriarchy” structure of the world. Popular author, wrote Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism. 

Toni Cade Bambara, famous for her work with the Black Arts Movement.  She published a mixed media anthology entitled The Black Woman: An Anthology. Throughout her life she enjoyed using her arts to add to the black feminism/womanism to improve the Black community as a whole.

Audre Lorde life’s work included fighting the injustices of racism, sexism, and homophobia.  Expressed her feminism through poetic verse and inspirational writings. 

Frances Beal, most famously known for her book Double Jeopardy:  To Be Black and Female. She explored the intersectionality between race, class, and gender.  

Patricia Hill Collins best known for her award-winning book entitled Black Feminist Thought:  Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment.  She contributes to feminism by using the experiences and voices of Black women to explain social inequalities.  

(1)     Marshall, S.E. (1990). Equity Issues and Black-White Differences in Women’s ERA Support.  Social Science Quarterly (University of Texas Press). 71(2), 299-314.

(2)     Franklin, A. (2011). Daughters of the revolution: Black feminism and the birth of the third wave. (Order No. 1493271, University of Arkansas). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 105

(3)     Nadasen, P. (2002). Expanding the boundaries of the women's movement: Black feminism and the struggle of welfare rights. Feminist Studies, 28(2), 270-301.

(4)     Harris, Paisley Jane (2003). Gatekeeping and Remaking:  The Politics of Respectablity in African American Women’s History and Black Feminism. Journal of Women’s History. 15(2), 212-220.

(5)     Edles, L.D, & Appelrouth S. (2010). Sociology Theory in the Classical Era. California State University, Northridge: Pine Forge Press.

(6)     Torrey, J. W. (1979). Racism and Feminism:  Is Women’s Liberation for Whites Only?, Psychology Of Women Quarterly, 4(2), 281.

(7)     Lengermann, P.M., & Niebrugge, G. (1998). The Women Founders: Sociology and Social Theory 1830-1930. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc.

(8)     James, J. (1999). Resting In Gardens, Battling in Deserts: Black Women’s Activism. Black Scholar, 29 (4), 2.