No, Feminism Does Not Belong to White Women: The Ignored History of Black Contributions to the Feminist Movement
It can be extremely difficult to argue that feminism is for women of all backgrounds, when you’re only a mere speck of color, amongst a sea of white faces. No matter how much you want to advocate for equal pay, free menstrual products, the protection of domestic violence victims and the right to choose what to do with your body, you still might find yourself in an odd position when you put all of this under the umbrella of “feminism”. In many Black communities across the country and around the world, the word “feminism” often makes people turn their noses up and disengage almost immediately. While this may seem ignorant and almost violent in a sense, can you really blame them?
For the last few decades, the mainstream feminist movement has been almost overwhelmingly white, with a few prominent women of color making their way to the forefront every now and then, when permitted to. With the likes of Susan B. Anthony, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and Eleanor Roosevelt, feminism’s most influential figures, it’s no wonder why the Black community (Black women especially) have such a heavy aversion to the feminist movement, despite many people agreeing with many of the ideals that it puts forward. After all, how can Black women feel supported in the world of feminism, when the movement itself gives them little to no representation to go off of?
To put it as plainly as possible, here, yet again, is where we have another case of the whitewashing of history. Though white women have been marketed as the face of feminism for many years, Black women, throughout history, made many contributions to the progress of the movement, despite receiving little to no credit for their work. From the cotton fields to congress, Black women have always been in a unique position when it comes to fighting for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Though there were some movements that championed one’s race, and other movements that championed one’s gender, Black women have always understood that their success relied on being able to champion both parts of their identity, without having to necessarily pick one over the other.
“Black feminism teaches us that activism is not only done through grassroots organizing and marches, but also through self-growth, self-love, and self-awareness. It is a movement that truly captures the human spirit.
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Even though women like Harriett Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, and Ella Baker are often historically linked with their efforts against racism and discrimination, they also advocated for women’s rights and the equality of the sexes on a regular basis. In dealing with racism from the women’s movement, and sexism from a Black movement that was mainly centered around men, Black women understood the idea of intersectionality long before it became a popular concept amongst activists. In fact, many Black women were early advocates of disability rights, labor unions, gay rights and various civil rights movements, before they got put on a national or global scale. They recognized that progress couldn’t be truly made, unless the needs of groups were met and addressed, even though they varied across many backgrounds.
The Combahee River Collective was an organization built on the very idea of intersectionality and how different issues affected people across race, gender and socioeconomic status. Founded in 1974 by Barbara Smith, the Combahee River Collective was a Black feminist organization that centered its work around working class women and lesbians. Feeling that the Civil Rights Movement was both sexist and homophobhic, the Collective sought to create an environment where women could come together and discuss problems that they felt had been ignored for far too long. At a time where violence and crimes against Black women were being largely overlooked and unaddressed, the Collective made sure they were on the frontlines and that their voices were heard, loud and clear.
In addition to this, it should be known that Black feminist thought and theory have drastically shifted the way we understand society as it relates to race, gender and class, as a whole. Through the work of Black intellectuals such as Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Alice Walker and many more, we have been able to better understand and fight for our liberation as Black people.
Over the years, Black feminism has encouraged us to take a more radical approach in how we organize and build community, telling us that we need to think critically about who we are and the intentions we are putting into both our work and our relationships. It’s one of the few schools of thought that has redefined revolution and is still doing so today. Black feminism teaches us that activism is not only done through grassroots organizing and marches, but also through self-growth, self-love, and self-awareness. It is a movement that truly captures the human spirit.
As Angela Yvonne Davis once said, “Black women have had to develop a larger vision of our society than perhaps any other group. They have had to understand white men, white women, and black men. And they have had to understand themselves. When black women win victories, it is a boost for virtually every segment of society.”
By: Maryam Azeeza Muhammad
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