Identity Politics In The United States

"Our politics initially sprang from the shared belief that Black women are inherently valuable, that our liberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else 's may because of our need as human persons for autonomy". The opening of the second part of The Combahee River Collective Statement, What We Believe, expresses one of the major will of the Third World Feminist studies: making Women a topic of research in its own rights. It 's in 1977 that the Combahee River Collective, a US radical feminist lesbian group, wrote this very famous manifesto that became essential for the Black Feminism Mouvement. They made as central the total recognition of the different forms of oppressions, sexual, racial, social, that black women endure and the necessity to fight against them. Therefore, the integration of notions of gender, sexuality, race, class in any feminist analysis that deals with power and domination become unavoidable. They express clearly the logical result of their struggle, the destruction of the political, social and economical system as they are the representative basis of an unfair and racist society. To bring a fresh way of looking at the position of some women in the American society turn to be a way to consider differently the organisation and the functioning of the actors of a society on a national and also international level.

Celebrated communist Claudia Jones responds to Du Bois reading “Marxism and the Negro Problem” who stated that the double burden of race and class made African Americans seek democratic justice. In her reading, Claudia Jones adds to Du Bois conclusion stating that black women are an essential link to the African American quest for justice in a democracy that would not only oversee the emancipation of women but of the whole class of the oppressed (Jones, 1949).

As a result, the black feminist movement developed, where black women were the sole leaders of the movement that liberated all people. Many black women believed that it was counterproductive for the Civil Rights Movement to neglect the needs of black woman because black men continued to use the same systemic oppression that white people used against them on black women. In “I Am a Revolutionary Black Woman,” Angela Davis writes that “black women constitute the most oppressed sector of society” (Davis 461). It is evident that black women have been super exploited by American society economically, sexually, and politically, making them the lowest on the social hierarchy. Because of black women’s low social standing, if the black woman is liberated, then everyone else will follow, which will ensure the liberation of all people. Thus, Davis argues that “women’s liberation is especially critical with respect to the effort to build an effective black liberation movement” (461). Unlike Hamer, Davis believes that black women should liberate themselves from the black man if they are too oppressive like the white man; black men should be held accountable for their chauvinistic efforts, and should embrace the fight for liberation of women just as black women supported the liberation of black men.

She explains Marx’s argument that capital penetrates and transforms every aspect of life (Brown, 2003, p. 19). Capital remakes everything in its image and reduces every value and activity to its cold rationale (Brown, 2003, p. 19). Essentially all is subject to the relentless submission of the state and the individual, the church and the university, morality, sex, marriage, and leisure practices to this rationale (Brown, 2003, p. 19). Thus liberal democracy especially for women has been compromised and undermined. Within the film, several women who were interviewed mentioned about the rise of union activism. Once you were unionized you were guaranteed benefits and more pay. However to ensure this cold rationale of capital as Marx stated, governmentality was achieved as one African American women, Margaret Wright, described she had gotten increased work hours making it harder for her and many other women to participate in union meetings. In the government’s eyes, unionism was equated with freedom and therefore seen as unpatriotic.

In addition to broader concerns about institutions and whether to work inside the system, there is also discussion about the goals of an organization. Long and short-term goals are an issue addressed in many of our readings. In the “New Now Report,” Kunreuther and Thomas conclude with recommendations that include making long term goals, finding other organizations to work with, taking risks, all with an intersectional lens. This is connected to the question of whether or not intersectionality is too large an ideal for one movement let alone an organization to accomplish. Some of the organizations that Roth mentions in her book, specifically when talking about Black feminisms, had a hard time thriving because their goals were too ambitious. Some of the, arguably, most successful organizations, for example, were small organizations with locally specific goals and frameworks. One explanation for the success of The Esperanza Peace and Justice center is the fact that it was a local organization that derived its activist tactics and goals from its membership and its location. Bernice Johnson Reagon discusses social change as something that is accomplished in the long run it is not something that “has to be addressed at this moment or we will die” (366). No one organization and no one person can be expected to change the world overnight; it is a process.

African American women’s influence indicates how well democratic institutions uphold their key governing principles. Ultimately, Smooth concludes, the future of black politics and women’s politics both in the states and beyond depends upon the ability of African American women to attain institutional power and

In the early 1900 club women, who mainly affiliated with Republicans, focused on developing skills to be a good mother, run a home and take care of the children. Deborah White Grey explains, Mary Hill Terrell is one example of a club women in the early 1900, who “writes regularly about characteristics, virtues, and perils of womanhood.” (154). The idea of uplifting women to better the race was the fundamental principle may club women agreed upon. In the 1930, the women’s clubs supported an increase for racial solidarity, promoted by the New Negro Movement. Club women during this time focused on political and economic awareness and demanded an increase in citizenship rights on a national level. Bethune, a club women in the 1930’s, was an example of the change that had taken place. She and the Council, focused on “the entry of black women into the practical work of broker politics” (155) During this time there was a focus on professional upliftment and getting women into national and international citizenship roles.

The opposition between the hope for equality, the reality for Black women, and the Canadian society’s “dominant notions of ‘true womanhood’” through “the nurturance of a moral home” collided with Black women’s active participation in their community and formations of various organizations. It was a challenging process to mediate in between when these organizations and education were not funded and supported by the Canadian government. For instance, being marginalized by their community, Black women “were assigned with the task of raising money for their churches and schools, and clothing impoverished members of their community.” Not surprisingly, their active engagement publicly in their community was also frowned upon as it failed to meet the expectations of “true” womanhood. In the Red River Colony, there are some representations of Black women’s mimicry of middle class white women because of the “restrained sexuality as a category for social and cultural inclusion or exclusion, [in which] emerged as a form of social engineering fought around who could pass for White.”

At the height of the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968), women played a big part in not only keeping the crusade alive, but also played a big part in energizing the masses to continue the long and arduous struggle against the seemingly impenetrable institutions of power which disenfranchised African-Americans and regarded their humanity as nothing more than mere pieces of property owned by others. Women like Coretta Scott King, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Septima Clark and countless mothers, sisters, and daughters proved to be important

To be a woman meant that one had no say in regards to political affairs or in government making decisions. If being a woman had limitations, imagine what a black woman experienced, as they were considered less than human and mistreated more than any other female from any different background. In “A Plea for the Oppressed”, Lucy Stanton, one such black woman, tried to avail her people’s plight upon an audience of white women, to support the antislavery and reform cause.

Being an educated individual helps combat ignorance and help people be aware of the injustice around the world towards the people of color. Having knowledge can help change the world and fight against police brutality implemented on people of color and fight the constant oppression by the white supremacy. These powerful woman activist knew that change is inevitable. People are becoming more socially conscience and they wanted to fight and be part of the positive social change. These strong women activist believe in the power of unity. Promoting solidarity amongst people of color knowing it will one day help transform the world. Being political organizers they as Davis says, “never saw themselves as doing anything meaningful as an individual” they knew that people are the most powerful when they are united. These woman inspired social change and started revolutionary acts. Engaging in peaceful marches, protesting for the right of the black people and most importantly teaching people about racism and how it affects people of color. These women have dedicated their lives to fight and bring victory to more people of color in the form of justice and

Moving beyond the factory as the primary location through which class-consciousness is formed; expanding black women’s activism beyond the confines of church, women’s clubs, and the Garvey movement; and combating the masculinist framing of black radicalism, McDuffie’s research on women such as Grace Campbell, Louise Thompson Patterson, and Esther Cooper Jackson seeks to highlight the diverse and collective experiences that formed radical black feminist politics” (Woman in Struggle

July 13, 1848 marked the beginning of a movement that would shape the beliefs and rights of today’s society. It was on this day that the fight for social and political equality among America’s women began to develop. This renowned movement, the Women’s Rights Movement, had many goals in which mighty-powerful women would achieve with a mind-set to push them through any barrier or obstacle obstructing their path to equality. Lasting until 1920, the Women’s Rights Movement had a target towards changing how women were treated and looked upon within their “stereotypical” societies. Women advocated their rights through organizations and campaigns, as well as educating others of the unfair justice. With the help of the Women 's Rights Movement and the brave, fearless women who supported this reformation, the fight for women 's liberation was on the move towards success. This historic

Numerous groups throughout history have wrestled for equal rights and engaged in combat against oppressors. Both the American women’s suffrage movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s and the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s were examples of an oppressed group grappling with those above them for equality. Each group had to press for legislation that would protect them against inequality. Although the time periods of the women’s suffragette struggle and the African American Civil Rights endeavor were separate in history, the goals and methods of each were immensely similar.

Combahee River Collective in their article “Combahee River Collective Statement” examines the relationship between racism, heterosexism, economics, and racism. The group of black feminists, Combahee River Collective, strived to firmly and clearly establish their position when it came to politics of feminism, and therefore separated from the male counterparts and white women (Thomas). In the statement, the activists dwell on four major topics, including the dawn of modern Black feminism, the domain of politics, short history and the issues and practices of the group. This paper gives a summary of “Combahee River Collective Statement” and reviews some of its key points.