Feminism and Black Activism in Contemporary America

Feminism and Black Activism in Contemporary America PDF Author: Irvin D. Solomon
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 0313262047
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Feminism and Black Activism in Contemporary America, by Irving D. Solomon, is an interesting attempt to analyze two of the most important sustained social movements of the mid-twentieth century. Solomon's politics are feminist, and he is sympathetic to both movements. . . . Solomon isolates three schools, legal, cultural, and economic, in both movements. After an introduction explaining his methodology, he gives a history of both black activism and contemporary feminism and then considers each school, finishing with an epilogue. Solomon is best in the extended discussions of his schools of feminism. Solomon's explication of the rich independent history of the legal branch has not been done before in such a lucid and condensed way. . . . [T]his is the only book currently available that looks at the black activist and feminist movements together. Solomon makes a defensible case for his analysis, and he sustains his argument with a great deal of useful information, analyzing `classic' women's liberation texts, searching out archival material, and conducting some very interesting interviews. Journal of American History Though the race and gender protest movements that began in the 1950s are often linked in our minds, the connections between them have not been studied systematically. In the first thorough analysis of the common ground between these movements, Solomon explores the ideological and behavioral relationships, the roots, shared goals and responses, parallel strategies, and common obstacles that link contemporary feminism and black activism. Focusing particularly on the dynamic mid-twentieth-century period of protest, he examines the various legal, cultural, and economic orientations that have characterized these movements and given them special force. Solomon first reviews the long protest history of black activism and feminism in the United States. He then discusses three different ideological stances that have characterized segments of both movements. The first, described as the legal approach, seeks a more egalitarian society, with full social integration through traditional, legal, and electoral channels. The cultural-nationalist view, which sees little possibility for meaningful reconciliation, stresses radical and unorthodox alternatives that strengthen self-definition and power apart from the dominant group. In practice, these two approaches may overlap. The third protest orientation is based on Marxist-socialist economic principles, particularly the contemporary neo-Marxist view that looks to a total social upheaval to change the cultural fiber of society as well as its economic institutions. Directed to both the academic and general reader, this book will be a useful resource for those with an interest in black studies, women's studies, and contemporary politics, as well as related areas in sociology, political science, and history.

Feminism and Black Activism in Contemporary America

Feminism and Black Activism in Contemporary America PDF Author: Irvin D. Solomon
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 0313262047
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
Feminism and Black Activism in Contemporary America, by Irving D. Solomon, is an interesting attempt to analyze two of the most important sustained social movements of the mid-twentieth century. Solomon's politics are feminist, and he is sympathetic to both movements. . . . Solomon isolates three schools, legal, cultural, and economic, in both movements. After an introduction explaining his methodology, he gives a history of both black activism and contemporary feminism and then considers each school, finishing with an epilogue. Solomon is best in the extended discussions of his schools of feminism. Solomon's explication of the rich independent history of the legal branch has not been done before in such a lucid and condensed way. . . . [T]his is the only book currently available that looks at the black activist and feminist movements together. Solomon makes a defensible case for his analysis, and he sustains his argument with a great deal of useful information, analyzing `classic' women's liberation texts, searching out archival material, and conducting some very interesting interviews. Journal of American History Though the race and gender protest movements that began in the 1950s are often linked in our minds, the connections between them have not been studied systematically. In the first thorough analysis of the common ground between these movements, Solomon explores the ideological and behavioral relationships, the roots, shared goals and responses, parallel strategies, and common obstacles that link contemporary feminism and black activism. Focusing particularly on the dynamic mid-twentieth-century period of protest, he examines the various legal, cultural, and economic orientations that have characterized these movements and given them special force. Solomon first reviews the long protest history of black activism and feminism in the United States. He then discusses three different ideological stances that have characterized segments of both movements. The first, described as the legal approach, seeks a more egalitarian society, with full social integration through traditional, legal, and electoral channels. The cultural-nationalist view, which sees little possibility for meaningful reconciliation, stresses radical and unorthodox alternatives that strengthen self-definition and power apart from the dominant group. In practice, these two approaches may overlap. The third protest orientation is based on Marxist-socialist economic principles, particularly the contemporary neo-Marxist view that looks to a total social upheaval to change the cultural fiber of society as well as its economic institutions. Directed to both the academic and general reader, this book will be a useful resource for those with an interest in black studies, women's studies, and contemporary politics, as well as related areas in sociology, political science, and history.

Living for the Revolution

Living for the Revolution PDF Author: Kimberly Springer
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 0822386852
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
The first in-depth analysis of the black feminist movement, Living for the Revolution fills in a crucial but overlooked chapter in African American, women’s, and social movement history. Through original oral history interviews with key activists and analysis of previously unexamined organizational records, Kimberly Springer traces the emergence, life, and decline of several black feminist organizations: the Third World Women’s Alliance, Black Women Organized for Action, the National Black Feminist Organization, the National Alliance of Black Feminists, and the Combahee River Collective. The first of these to form was founded in 1968; all five were defunct by 1980. Springer demonstrates that these organizations led the way in articulating an activist vision formed by the intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality. The organizations that Springer examines were the first to explicitly use feminist theory to further the work of previous black women’s organizations. As she describes, they emerged in response to marginalization in the civil rights and women’s movements, stereotyping in popular culture, and misrepresentation in public policy. Springer compares the organizations’ ideologies, goals, activities, memberships, leadership styles, finances, and communication strategies. Reflecting on the conflicts, lack of resources, and burnout that led to the demise of these groups, she considers the future of black feminist organizing, particularly at the national level. Living for the Revolution is an essential reference: it provides the history of a movement that influenced black feminist theory and civil rights activism for decades to come.

The Combahee River Collective Statement

The Combahee River Collective Statement PDF Author: Combahee River Collective
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : African American women
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description


Still Lifting, Still Climbing

Still Lifting, Still Climbing PDF Author: Kimberly Springer
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814781241
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 378

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Book Description
Still Lifting, Still Climbing is the first volume of its kind to document African American women's activism in the wake of the civil rights movement. Covering grassroots and national movements alike, contributors explore black women's mobilization around such areas as the black nationalist movements, the Million Man March, black feminism, anti-rape movements, mass incarceration, the U.S. Congress, welfare rights, health care, and labor organizing. Detailing the impact of post-1960s African American women's activism, they provide a much-needed update to the historical narrative. Ideal for course use, the volume includes original essays as well as primary source documents such as first-hand accounts of activism and statements of purpose. Each contributor carefully situates their topic within its historical framework, providing an accessible context for those unfamiliar with black women's history, and demonstrating that African American women's political agency does not emerge from a vacuum, but is part of a complex system of institutions, economics, and personal beliefs. This ambitious volume will be an invaluable resource on the state of contemporary African American women's activism.

Urban Black Women and the Politics of Resistance

Urban Black Women and the Politics of Resistance PDF Author: Z. Isoke
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137045388
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
Contemporary urban spaces are critical sites of resistance for black women. By focusing on the spatial aspects of political resistance of black women in Newark, this book provides new ways of understanding the complex dynamics and innovative political practices within major American cities.

Black Feminism in Contemporary Drama

Black Feminism in Contemporary Drama PDF Author: Lisa M. Anderson
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252032284
Category : African Americans in literature
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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Book Description
In tracing black feminism in contemporary drama by black women playwrights, Lisa M. Anderson reviews the history of black feminism through analysis of plays by Pearl Cleage, Glenda Dickerson, Breena Clarke, Kia Corthron, Suzan-Lori Parks, Sharon Bridgforth, and Shirlene Holmes.Black Feminism in Contemporary Dramarepresents a cross section of women who have diverse writing and performance styles and generational differences that highlight the artistic and political breadth of black feminist theater. Anderson closely investigates each play's construction and the context of its production, including how the play critiques, shifts, or alters dominant culture stereotypes; how it positions goals of the "community"; and how it engages with the concept of art's function. She not only discusses what shapes the black feminism of these writers but also points out how the meaning of the term black feminism shifts among them.

Black Women in America

Black Women in America PDF Author: Kim Marie Vaz
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1452255067
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
Nominated for the 1995 Distinguished Publication Award of the Association for Women in Psychology A provocative, insightful volume, Black Women in America offers an interdisciplinary study of black women′s historic activism, representation in literature and popular media, self-constructed images, and current psychosocial challenges. This new work by outstanding scholars in the field of race and gender studies explores the ways in which black women have constantly reconstructed and transformed alien definitions of black womanhood. Black women have an image of themselves that differs from those others impose. Collectively, the contributors to this anthology demonstrate that such socially constructed images hide the complexities and ambiguities, the challenges, and the joys experienced in the real lives of black women. Multifaceted in its approach, Black Women in America is certain to stimulate debate, stretch minds, and spark future research. Black Women in America is a welcome resource for scholars and students in African American or Ethnic Studies, Women′s Studies, Sociology, and Psychology. "The volume can be helpful in stimulating questions and discussion for students in African American studies." --Choice "Black Women in America combines social history with contemporary analysis in one of the most thoughtful of scholarly compendia I have ever seen. It will be useful to scholars who teach history, sociology, African American studies, and women′s studies, but also to any American interested in a deeper and broader understanding of America′s past, present, and future." --Sarah Susannah Willie, Colby College, Maine "At a time when several anthologies of essays by and about black women are hitting the shelves, Kim Marie Vaz′s volume boasts an unusual and inventive mix of topics. It treats a range of historical eras and geographical locations. . . . The apt emphasis on resistance rather than victimization is apparent throughout the essays I read; it provides an excellent focal point. . . . In all, Vaz′s editorial contribution is admirable. She has collected an impressively wide-ranging group of essays on the history, sociology, and culture of black women. Interdisciplinary in its approach and sound in its scholarship, the volume will be welcomed by scholars and students in African American studies and women′s studies in particular, but also history, sociology, and political science." --Cheryl Ann Wall, Rutgers University

To Exist is to Resist

To Exist is to Resist PDF Author: Akwugo Emejulu
Publisher: Pluto Press (UK)
ISBN: 9780745339481
Category : Ethnic studies
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In a divided continent, women of colour come together to make a Black Europe visible.

Reclaiming Our Space

Reclaiming Our Space PDF Author: Feminista Jones
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807055387
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
A treatise of Black women’s transformative influence in media and society, placing them front and center in a new chapter of mainstream resistance and political engagement In Reclaiming Our Space, social worker, activist, and cultural commentator Feminista Jones explores how Black women are changing culture, society, and the landscape of feminism by building digital communities and using social media as powerful platforms. As Jones reveals, some of the best-loved devices of our shared social media language are a result of Black women’s innovations, from well-known movement-building hashtags (#BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName, and #BlackGirlMagic) to the now ubiquitous use of threaded tweets as a marketing and storytelling tool. For some, these online dialogues provide an introduction to the work of Black feminist icons like Angela Davis, Barbara Smith, bell hooks, and the women of the Combahee River Collective. For others, this discourse provides a platform for continuing their feminist activism and scholarship in a new, interactive way. Complex conversations around race, class, and gender that have been happening behind the closed doors of academia for decades are now becoming part of the wider cultural vernacular—one pithy tweet at a time. With these important online conversations, not only are Black women influencing popular culture and creating sociopolitical movements; they are also galvanizing a new generation to learn and engage in Black feminist thought and theory, and inspiring change in communities around them. Hard-hitting, intelligent, incisive, yet bursting with humor and pop-culture savvy, Reclaiming Our Space is a survey of Black feminism’s past, present, and future, and it explains why intersectional movement building will save us all.

Rethinking American Women's Activism

Rethinking American Women's Activism PDF Author: Annelise Orleck
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000606708
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Rethinking American Women's Activism traces intersecting streams of feminist activism from the nineteenth century to the present. This enthralling narrative brings to life an array of women activists from the abolition, suffrage, labor, consumer, civil rights, welfare rights, farm workers’, and low-wage workers’ movements, and from campus fights against sexual violence, #MeToo, the Red for Ed teacher’s strikes, and Black Lives Matter. Multi-cultural, multi-racial and cross-class in its framing, the text enables readers to understand the impact of women's activism. It highlights how feminism has flourished through much of the past century within social movements that have too often been treated as completely separate.Weaving the personal with the political, Annelise Orleck vividly evokes the events and people who participated in our era's most far-reaching social revolutions. This new edition has been updated to include recent scholarship and developments in women’s activism from 2011 into the 2020s. This book is a perfect introduction to the subject for anyone interested in women’s history and social movements.