African American Women Research Papers

Control of reproductive decisions of black women is a highly prevalent a form of racial oppression in America. Due to this form of control, the meaning of reproductive liberty in America has been significantly altered. These issues are addressed in Dorothy Roberts’ Killing the Black Body. The novel demonstrates the way in which black women were consistently devalued as a tool for reproductive means, which in itself was a form of racial oppression. The novel also provides the reader with insight as to how experiences of black women since times of slavery have drastically changed the present day connotation of reproductive freedom.

However, that didn’t stop racist, white patriarchs from brutally raping millions of African women for the sole purpose of increasing their slave count. Race breeding was an act of terrorism done to these women in America. They were repeatedly impregnated again and again. They suffered from aching backs, swollen knees and ankles, multiple miscarriages, unsanitary facilities while giving birth, and they still had to work extensive hours laboring on the fields. The black woman’s identity was ripped to shreds by imperialism white supremacy patriarchy during slavery, an effect that has trickled down into future generations. Globally, the black woman has been demoralized and tarnished for generations to come after the end of slavery.

[ 3 ]. Horton, James Oliver, and Lois E. Horton. Slavery and the Making of America. New

Women were not only used for their labor, but were also exploited sexually. Slave owners felt they had the right to use black women for their own sexual desires, and felt they had the right to use their bodies for slave breeding. This obscenity between the master and slave were not only psychologically damaging for black women, but would also lead to physical abuse. In her narrative, Ms. Jacobs gives us a firsthand description of the abuse that would occur if she were to upset her master, “Some months before, he had pitched me down stairs in a fit of passion; and the injury I received was so serious that I was unable to turn myself in bed for many days”

Footnote: Jesse Sage and Liora Kasten, eds, Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2006), 67.

Each year, millions of American travel by airplane. However, only a minority of the population are forced to check their rights when they check their luggage. As fundamental that citizens should be able to reach their destination with their privacy and other civil liberties intact, it is becoming increasingly harder. Being asked to remove your shoes and walk through a metal detector is nothing compared to what women — and some men — with natural hair have been forced to endure.

The status of black women depicted by Sojourner Truth results in them being targeted for rape by white men. Pateman remarks that black women “were property but it was their humanity that made their reproduction possible and made them sexually attractive to white masters” (144). Black women were treated as animals due to their race, but were simultaneously pursued as sexual objects because they were human. The lack of womanly status for black women as depicted by Sojourner Truth, results in the threat rape for black women by white men before the Civil War, and especially between masters and

Harriet Jacobs book tells us a lot about gender and race, and the issues faced in the U.S. South during the 19th century. In the lifetime of slaves within the south, daily routines very much banked on the slaves gender. Male slaves were known to work out doors doing more physical labor compared to women who were known to be caretakers and do small petty things. Family life for slaves in the south was not easy due to the fact that they were constantly taken away from each other. Marriages in the South were also difficult for slaves and for slaveholders. In Harriet Jacobs’ book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Jacobs gives clear descriptions of the conceptions of masculinity and femininity between slaves, their family life, and of love/marriage

Slavery had an immense impact on African American families, as the familial dynamic of the African American family was in many ways responsible for the stereotypes surrounding black families in the present moment. Not only were families the sole property of their slave owner, but there were laws restricting their rights and privileges. However, despite the fact that the African American slave family existed in a perpetually tumultuous state, there were cohesive slave families, but they faced many struggles and challenges. In particular, black women were faced with incredible hardships with regard to sustaining the familial structure. This paper explores aspects of the African American family structure during slavery, considering the effect that slavery had on black women. The legacy of slavery in the present moment is also considered, in addition to whether slavery continues to exist.

In the book Ar 'n 't I a Woman?: Female Slaves in the Plantation South, author Deborah Gray White writes about the cruel treatment that female slaves faced, as they were given no choice when it came to marriage and were sexually assaulted. By including Primary and Secondary sources, White further explains the inhumane treatment that female slaves had to go through. White’s work offers first hand accounts of how women were stereotyped and mistreated by their owners in the antebellum period. These events play a big role in the way we view local history, as many first hand accounts of cruelty towards female slaves are uncommon to find. The time period is important as the antebellum period viewed all dark skinned women as slaves. “They were black because they were black, and even more than sex, color was the absolute determinant of class in Antebellum America” (White 15). This quote by white illustrates the way people thought about African Americans in Antebellum as they judged a person for what their skin color was and formed opinions about them. Being black in Antebellum meant that you were a slave and every decision was dictated by your slave master.

Slavery is a very important discussion in America’s history. It is very important to know how it actually began and what exactly did African experienced throughout this period. We have spent twelve years or more in school, learning only what the white man wanted us to know.

African Americans is one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States. The African American mainly have an African ancestry. However, many of them unbelievably have non-black ancestors. The African Americans are mainly the descendants of the people that were brought to America to work in various places in the New World. These are the people who had limited rights and had no right to share political, social and economic progress in the U.S. Despite that, African Americans have a large contribution to the United States both in history and culture. The blacks played an important role in the slave trade and the slavery at large. They also offered much contribution to the development of the Southern dancing, food, culture, folklore, speech and culture

“Angry black woman. Baby Momma. Black Barbie. Gold Digger. Unhealthy fat black woman.” -Krissah Thompson, Essence Magazine. All of these phrases in which 901 black women themselves have illustrated other black women in a survey given by Essence magazine and partners. Thirty of the women who participated in the survey kept diaries for almost two weeks to document the media images they saw portraying black women, proving the media and stereotypes are both very persuasive. The media has come a long way in the portrayal of black people and especially black women in our progressive society, yet black women are still being depicted poorly in media because Hollywood, in particular, prey on black women insecurities and Black women themselves label and stereotype other Black women.

The book focuses on intimate relationships and trying times for enslaved women. The readers have insight into the world of American Slavery its effect on women of African descent.

During the time of slavery, not only were African Americans were treated unfairly, but their women had it worse at times; African American women would be raped would be raped by their owners, or be trafficked around from man to man (Browne-Marshall). The white man was seen as evil, disgusting and cruel, so being a black woman carrying a white man’s child was basically