Black Feminism: Home
Black Feminism
As a student of the arts, it is necessary to develop a critical understanding of the societal structures that frame our existence including theories about race, class, and gender. Considering the contemporary art world is rife with artists using these concepts to make relevant and poignant artwork, you would be remiss to not explore them. This guide aims to outline resources that will help you develop a basic understanding of how race, class, and gender intersect and how that has spawned Black feminist theory.
A basic concept to understand when discussing Black feminism is the word 'Intersectionality.' The term was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1993 as a concept that posits you cannot divorce race and class from any discussions around gender equality. Historically, the first wave feminist movement dealt exclusively with issues of gender, and did not address issues affecting women of color and working class women. The initial push for womens' voting rights is a great historical example of how Black women in particular were sidelined in this great feminist undertaking. But even as the movement grew to begin acknowledging and taking on the issues of Black women and women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, an exclusive type of feminism-- now defined as 'white feminism' -- remains. Therefore, the need for intersectional feminism and Black feminism persists.
Today, champions for Black feminism are becoming more present as issues of sexual violence, police brutality, and reproductive healthcare access -- issues that disproportionately affect women of color -- are worsening or being ignored by the presidential administration of Donald J. Trump. Despite being recorded discussing sexually assaulting women, having several women accuse him of sexual assault, and making so many racist outbursts there is a running list, Trump received the support of 53% of all white women voters. These facts are why a present day rallying cry for many women of color is: "If your feminism isn't intersectional then it's not relevant." Many see the term "feminism" progressing into a trendy idea to put on a t-shirt rather than an action that challenges the structures of inequality for ALL women.
In this guide you will find articles, fiction/prose/non-fiction, and art books that will introduce you to the ideas behind Black feminist theory. Feel free to e-mail me with any other suggestions to add to this guide. [Please read the embedded links for more background. ]
Books of Note
- Women, Race, and Class byPublication Date: 1983
- Ain't I a Woman byPublication Date: 1999
- How We Get Free byPublication Date: 2017
- Black Feminist Thought byPublication Date: 1999
- We Wanted a RevolutionPublication Date: 2017
- Talking Back byPublication Date: 1999
- Black Sexual Politics byPublication Date: 2004
- The Truth That Never Hurts byPublication Date: 2000
anthologies/ readers
artists
By no means is this an exhaustive list but it highlights a few artists whose work can be seen as working in a black feminist thought.
websites of note
- Black FeminismsThis website is a terrific resource for black feminist resources that include infographics, academic resources, political and pop culture commentary. It is run by scholar Melissa Brown, a doctoral candidate at University of Maryland, College Park.
videos
Crissle West on Marsha P. Johnson
DVDs
- Carrie Mae Weems : speaking of artCall Number: V-A W362 Spe DVD
- To Wong Foo, thanks for everything, Julie Newmar byCall Number: V-F K537 Tow DVDPublication Date: 2002
art books
- Howardena Pindell byCall Number: N6537.P49 A4 2018Publication Date: 2018-03-01This book has an informative timeline outlining political, world and New York art world happenings throughout Pindell's career.
- Adrian Piper - A Retrospective, 1965-2000 byCall Number: N6537.P5 A4 1999ISBN: 1890761028Publication Date: 1999Artwork by Adrian Piper. Edited by Maurice Berger. Contributions by Jean Fisher, Kobena Mercer. Text by Laura Cottingham.
Black Feminists of Note
The following women created important work that has shaped Black feminist thought. Each name links to an article or biography from different publishers and sources. Please check out the different sites as they all have reputable information.
Fannie Lou Hamer
Combahee River Collective -- Demita Frazier, Beverly Smith, and Barbara Smith
Marsha P. Johnson
Shirley Chisholm
Patricia Hill-Collins
helpful articles
institutional resources, archives etc.
- archives of black womenlist of archives of black women
- Schomburg CenterThe Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture located in Harlem, New York, and part of NYPL. It is recognized as one of the leading institutions focusing exclusively on African-American, African Diaspora, and African experiences.
- Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora InstituteCCCADI preserves and presents African Diaspora cultures; trains the next generation of cultural leaders; and unites Diaspora communities. We leverage arts and culture as tools for personal transformation, community-building, and social justice.
fiction/poetry/prose
- There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé byCall Number: PS3616.A74547 A6 2017Publication Date: 2017
- The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, 1968-1998 byCall Number: PS3557.I55 A6 2007Publication Date: 2007
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