Core Aspects of Black Feminist and Womanist Thoughts Essay

Introduction

The intention to create an equal and fair society has a number of moments when people put everything on the line to achieve the desired outcomes. First feminist movements occurred in the middle of the 19th century and provoked the proclamation of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Black women realized that society considerably decreased their ambitions compared to white women. They wanted to identify their possibilities and rights through the prism of black feminism or womanism. Women of color set clear goals in relation to various social events, which resulted in the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Today, feminist authors seek to include themselves in the feminist movement in different ways. This paper aims at analyzing the positions of Martha S. Jones and Treva B. Lindsey about black women’s rights legalization. Compared to Jones, who believes in “unparalleled advocates of universal suffrage in its true sense,” Lindsey does not support the relegation of the “voices and experiences of women of color to the background.”^1,2 Womanism brought positive social changes, but Jones’ celebration statement remains a weak tenet, enhancing Lindsey’s premise to continue struggling for black women’s rights today.

Definitions of Feminism and Womanism

The development of a nation requires certain shifts in human relationships and notions’ understanding. When differences between male and female needs were evident, the society coined the term “feminism.” Many thinkers explain sexual politics as one of the reasons for a world crisis where domination politics plays an important role.³ However, in their intentions to define feminism, people cannot come to the same conclusion. In general, feminism is a social movement, the purpose of which is to advocate for women’s rights and promote sex equality. Hooks describes it as the “liberation struggle” or “a part of the larger struggle to eradicate domination in all its forms.”⁴ Guy-Sheftall recommends re-writing this definition and addressing “African American intellectual history.”⁵ Feminism and Black feminism now introduce two different movements, with their goals and impact.

Black feminism or womanism is not a static definition, and it undergoes changes as soon as black people reveal new needs and the offered conditions. Combahee River Collective encouraged Black feminism as “the logical political movement to combat the manifold and simultaneous oppressions that all women of color face.”⁶ According to Collins, womanism deals with “struggles against sexism and racism by black women” and offers to keep a distance from the “enemy,” namely white women.⁷ Black individuals got a chance to improve the balance between the representatives of different ethnic groups and focus on natural contributions women made to society.

Regarding such attitudes toward feminism and the emergence of Black feminism as its independent trend, thinkers and writers offer different positions and vision statements. Feminist discussions include autobiographical elements, and women are free to share their personal stories and opinions. Therefore, some authors prefer to stay indirect and positive about the changes in society, while other people rely on their passion and demonstrate anger and discontent about the experiences of black women.⁸ Using such definitions and explanations, Jones’ position supports liberal approaches, and Lindsey’s statements are more critical and harsh.

Progress of Feminism and Womanism

During a long period, people set specific goals to understand their existence and the worth of available resources. The example of Maria W. Stewart, a famous African American teacher and activist, defines the main stages in female development. People should recognize “the inestimable value of education; the historical inevitability of black liberation… the need for black unity and collective action; and the special responsibilities of women”.⁹ In other words, when people achieved racial or gender equality separately, they did not solve the existing problems of black women. Black liberation did not mean that all black people obtained their freedoms. There was a long way before black men and women could use the same benefits. On the one hand, black women had to prove their rights in front of white women, who “mired in the moral decay of maintaining a slave society, were clearly living on borrowed time.”¹⁰ On the other hand, one should admit another element of the triple injustice jeopardy, sexism, which made black women struggle against gender inequality simultaneously.¹¹ Black feminism became a crucial part of African American history as it promoted equality to its full extend.

Victory of Black Feminism by Jones

Regarding the already made achievements and social benefits, many people want to admit the worth of Black feminism in the history of the United States. In her article, Jones reveals the positive sides of the quest for universal suffrage and agrees with Mrs. Obama, who considers today’s female position as “a blessing hard won by those who came before.”¹² The author uses many past-tense constructions, underlying the distance between what happened to women at the beginning of the 1900s and what treatment they experience now. However, Black feminism is not the past movement, and its development plays an important role in American communities today. Several acts and legislations solved the problems of racial and sex inequalities at the political level, but people cannot behave as soon as no disparities occur. To protect their rights and maintain freedoms, black women went to churches and organized political clubs for vetting candidates, running for local office, or electioneering.¹³ Communities wanted to enhance their powers by any available means, and current political leaders recognized their achievements with time.

The development of Black feminism provoked the progress of many social activities. Regarding the fact that churches were the only places where women gathered unquestionably, changes in the African Methodist Episcopal Church were inevitable. Admiring the possibility of preaching licensing for black women, Jones underlines that black churches would never be the same, and women got the same opportunities as men did.¹⁴ However, as soon as church regulations occurred, society and the government had to co-exist under new conditions. Watkins Harper believed Americans should destroy inequality because of a strong bond between its members, and “society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse of its own soul.”¹⁵ Unfortunately, feminism was a weapon in the hands of white women only, and black women had to find out new ways to deal with injustice and internal conflicts.

Challenges of Womanism by Lindsey

In August 2020, many Americans celebrated the 19th Amendment anniversary and women’s rights ratification. People set different goals to appreciate heroism, the power of mass protests, and solidarity. In her article, Lindsey makes a strong statement that this day should also remind about “virulent racism, classism and xenophobia that plagued a storied movement for women’s right to the elective franchise.”¹⁶ Many American citizens have already forgotten about the complex nature of this legacy. The 19th Amendment did permit women to vote and talk about their interests and freedoms. However, a number of past negative experiences had a certain impact on people. By the mid of the 1800s, only white adult men could vote, and in 1870, the 15th Amendment removed voting restrictions based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”¹⁷ All these examples proved the hard way black women had to take to achieve equal rights in society.

The beginning of the 1900s was not a breaking point for black women because they did not demonstrate the same opportunities that white Americans had. Lindsey correctly admitted that Black feminism emerged from the fact white women continued supporting the idea of African American and other minorities’ suffrage exclusion.¹⁸ Racial prejudice and ethnocentrism never disappeared but became a solid reason for new voting rights activities. Instead of celebrating the changes black people have today, Lindsey proposes to commemorate the consequences of the women’s suffrage movement.¹⁹ People should not forget about their differences, and black women could gain support and understanding from black women only.

It seems incorrect to celebrate the moment when Black women realized their rights’ neglect from the governmental side. Skin color served as a significant background for inequality and unfair treatment. To find a solution to this world crisis, activists organized multiple suffragist movements and parades. Still, the example of Alice Paul, who tried to exclude all African American women from marching on March 3, 1913, showed that inequalities existed. Lindsey cannot accept such a reality and goes mad that white women did not recognize the contributions women of color made to this suffrage movement.²⁰ White women enjoyed their achievements, and most black women could look deep into their experiences, share their consciousness, and build a politics to change their lives.²¹ The creation of black feminism is not a reason to celebrate but an opportunity to understand the impact of unjust attitudes towards women of color in American society.

Impact of Black Feminism on America

In American history, feminist movements play a crucial role because they show how women struggled for their rights. However, to understand the essence of feminist thoughts, one should learn the difference between feminism and womanism. Authors who think that the 19th Amendment resulted in all women’s freedom must learn the conditions under which black women continued living during that period. Womanism had its particular grounds when white women did not want to accept black women in their movements.²² Despite their attempts to support all people, black women could not achieve the same rights as white women had until the Voting Rights Act in 1965. As a result, many authors define white women as a problem to black women and use womanism to foster relationships between black men and women from the political perspective. ²³ Black feminism aimed at establishing equality for a particular group of people, black women, with respect to the positions of black men and white women.

Conclusion

In general, the two crucial tenets of womanist thought include the outcomes of the 19th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act. Lindsey’s and Jones’ statements differ in their intentions to celebrate and commemorate feminism in the United States. Although many people continue admiring the conditions under which black women live today, they must understand the price women had to pay before. Even today, when racial and gender inequalities have become less visible, the trace of the struggle for women’s rights never disappears. Black women cannot forget the betrayal of the 19th Amendment and need to cooperate and support each other in their intention to obtain fair and equal opportunities in American society.

References

Collins, Patricia Hill. “What’s in a Name? Womanism, Black Feminism, and Beyond.” The Black Scholar 26, no. 1 (1996): 9-17.

Combahee River Collective. “The Combahee River Collective Statement.” n.d. Web.

Guy-Sheftall, Beverly, ed. Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought. New York: New York Press, 1995.

Hooks, Bell. Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black. Boston: South End Press, 1989.

Jones, Martha S. “How the Daughters and Granddaughters of Former Slaves Secured Voting Rights for All.”Smithsonian Magazine, 2019. Web.

Lindsey, Treva B. “The Problem with Celebrating the 19th Amendment.”CNN, 2020. Web.

Richardson, Marilyn, ed. Maria W. Stewart, America’s First Black Woman Political Writer: Essays and Speeches. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987.

Footnotes

1. Martha S. Jones, “How the Daughters and Granddaughters of Former Slaves Secured Voting Rights for All,”Smithsonian Magazine, 2019. Web.
2. Treva B. Lindsey, “The Problem with Celebrating the 19th Amendment,”CNN, 2020. Web.
3. Bell Hooks, Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black (Boston: South End Press, 1989), 19.
4. Hooks, Talking Back, 22.
5. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, ed., Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought (New York: New York Press, 1995), xiii.
6. Combahee River Collective, “The Combahee River Collective Statement,”. n.d. Web.
7. Patricia Hill Collins, “What’s in a Name? Womanism, Black Feminism, and Beyond,” The Black Scholar 26, no. 1 (1996): 10-11.
8. Guy-Sheftall, ed., Words of Fire, xv.
9. Marilyn Richardson, ed., Maria W. Stewart, America’s First Black Woman Political Writer: Essays and Speeches (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987), 9.
10. Richardson, Maria W. Stewart, America’s First Black Woman Political Writer, 16.
11. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, ed., Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought (New York: New York Press, 1995), 3.
12. Jones, “How the Daughters and Granddaughters of Former Slaves Secured Voting Rights for All.”
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Jones, “How the Daughters and Granddaughters of Former Slaves Secured Voting Rights for All.”
16. Lindsey, “The Problem with Celebrating the 19th Amendment.”
17. Ibid.
18. Lindsey, “The Problem with Celebrating the 19th Amendment.”
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid.
21. Combahee River Collective, “The Combahee River Collective Statement,” n.d. Web.
22. Lindsey, “The Problem with Celebrating the 19th Amendment.”
23. Collins, “What’s in a Name?,” 11.