Terry Mcmillian's Report

In “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”, Alice Walker looks to educate us on the hardships that almost all black women face when trying to express themselves through things such as art. She delves into many sociological and psychological concepts that have affected black women throughout human history. These concepts and ideologies created a realm for mass exclusion, discrimination, and oppression of many African American women, including Alice Walker’s Mother, who Alice utilizes as one of her particular examples. The writing thematically aims to show how these concepts of sexism, racism, and even classism have contributed to black women’s lack of individuality, optimism, and fulfillment for generations. The author does a tremendous job of defending and expanding upon her arguments. She has a credible background, being a black woman that produces the art of literature herself. As well as being raised by one, Walker’s first-hand experience warrants high regard. Therefore, her use of abstract and introspective language is presented clearly and convincingly. Also, her use of evidence and support from sources like Jean Toomer, Virginia Woolf, and Phillis Wheatley, all produce more validity for her stance through poems, quotes, and even experiences. All these individuals have their own accounts pertaining to the oppression of black women and their individuality. Successfully arguing that the artistry plights of black women described in “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” are

In Elise Johnson McDougald’s essay “The Task of Negro Womanhood,” she elaborates on the difficulties of being a black, working woman in society. In order to understand the struggles of a black woman in America, “one must have in mind not any one Negro woman, but rather a colorful pageant of individuals, each differently endowed” (McDougald, 103). This is because to be able to understand the problems they face as individuals one must think of black women as a collective unit. McDougald focuses on the women living in Harlem because they are more free and have more opportunity to succeed than in the rest of the United States. Though they are considered more

The systematic, oppressive dehumanization of black womanhood was not a mere consequence of racism. It was a calculated method of social control, manipulation, and misogyny. With capitalism on the forefront of the American society during the Reconstruction years, and a booming manufacturing economy was on the rise, white supremacy capitalism patriarchy needed a group to be at the very bottom of the social hierarchy, a scapegoat. That scapegoat was black women. Manumitted black women showed that when given the same opportunities to live their lives like humans, they surpassed and excelled in all areas. Their success was a direct challenge to the racist ideologies that darker races were inherently inferior. Racist

The plot, or basic storyline, of this short story is about a black woman, Annie Johnson, based in the United States before 1905. Her marriage had collapsed due to her husband leaving her to pursue religion in Oklahoma and leaving her with very little money. The plotline develops on to show her struggle to support herself and her two sons and how she has to use courage to support herself and her family.

This autobiography is about a young girl named Frado, who was born free but when her mother Mag and step-father Seth abandoned her, she was forced into being an indentured servant for the family she was left with. Mag was a white woman who became an outcast after she bore a child out of wed-lock. The child only live but a few short weeks before she passed away; Mag found it to be a blessing for the child couldn’t be taunted for her mother’s mistake. After leaving the town that looked down upon her, she met and befriended a black man named Jim, he later convinced her to marry him, which in this 19th century society put her even lower on the totem-poll. Together they had two beautiful mulatto children, Frado and a son whose name was never mentioned in the book. After a couple of years of being

While the majority of black women accounts are lost to history due to anti-literacy laws, we do have a good idea of what their lives were, through slave narratives and other records. The life of a female slave in pre-civil war America was characterized by sexual assault, physical and mental abuse along with harsh treatment both in the fields and inside the master’s house. Female slaves were treated as property with no regards to their

An End to the Neglect of the Problem of the Negro Woman by Claudia Jones

The largest of his foundational chapters deals with sexual honor. Wyatt‐Brown paints a picture of a singularly depraved and sordid society. The essence of his argument centers on the dichotomy between women’s weakness and power. It would have been better argued from a different point of view about power and points of leverage instead of a stale discussion of women’s matriarchal power over hen‐pecked husbands balanced against the dependency of women and their requirement to marry to avoid barrenness and shame. He is particularly challenged by the ideal of a southern woman who is to be “not only ethereal but also hardworking, politically aware (though never ‘to mingle in discussion’), and prudent in household management” (p.35). I think he could have done a much better job in describing the black‐white sexual relations as well, while highlighting the differences and the social preeminence of the white classes over the black. This book is ultimately a one-dimensional study of a very complex society. I think it is written without objectivity. He never tells the story from the side of the white slave holders. Though most, if not all of his writing is true, this book only sheds light on one side of the topic and therefore cannot be taken as absolute

By expressing this with the African American society of women who are continuously torched by the demanding words of men, McLune appeals strongly to all American women’s intellect of equality and respect. Women should not have to be judged by men and expect to be treated as if they owe anyone something, let alone have to be mistreated and belittled, if that were to be the case then men should be treated the same, therefore McLune’s audience, should understand that that is not how you define a black woman in any terms.

Women, in the early 1900s, had few freedoms or choices. Men treat women like they are a piece of property, something that they can own and push around without feeling any type of guilt. Black women have even fewer freedoms and choices. It is the same throughout the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Women are portrayed as maids who are reduced to animals that have a sense of requirement to follow their mates.

Mattie J. Jackson was born a slave in 1843 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her narrative was a book called “The Story of Mattie J. Jackson; Her Parentage—Experience of Eighteen Years in Slavery—Incidents During the War—Her escape from slavery. A True Story.” Similarly, like most slave narratives, it exemplifies the hardships of slavery up until to her freedom. Mattie’s narrative is a somewhat true depiction of a slave narrative because it is spoken through her mouth throughout the entire book except part of the preface. This is because the co-author is her stepfather’s wife; Dr. L.S. Thompson, who is black as well, and according to the “How to Read a Slave Narrative” article by the National Humanities Center most slave narratives were prefaced by a white person and rarely by a person of African descent (Andrews). According the narrative’s preface, she explains that her main goal for her book is to gain sympathy from people; others like herself, who were bound against their will by a dominant race; white slave owners (Jackson 2). Mattie’s other goal is to raise money from the profits of her book in order to have a greater education. Thus, she encourages people to learn to be literate as it benefits them greatly. The harsh treatment and unjust practices of slavery reaffirms the values of abolitionists, but the character of her mother goes against the racial stereotypes of slaves. Despite the slave narrative being about her, the narrative demonstrates an unusually specific story of her

With a time period of unjust treatment of people of color, and a childhood filled with trauma from inequality, it is easy to see that Malcolm X’s time and place he resided in having a great influence to his beliefs and ideas. Not only had Malcolm X been greatly influenced by the time period he lived in, but also living in Harlem, New York brought him closer to the people who endured all of the nauseous history of racial inequality. Mia McKenzie was also influenced by time and place, as she too grew up in a time of American history of Anti-gay and Anti-sexual orientation. Mia grew up in Philadelphia, and why not subjected to segregation, she was highly exposed to racism. In her book Black Girl Dangerous she speaks of the hardships and struggles she has undergone as a queer person of color such as …………….. With these problems still prevalent in modern society, it is clear that the time period and place she lives in have attributed to her ideas and beliefs. Her childhood of bullies and racial slurs adds on to her influence of beliefs. Mia McKenzie also fights the new version of segregation which is a sexual orientation, giving her the same values and credibility to speak on the subject as Malcolm x has in racial inequality. Together both of these critical thinkers share a common influence of time and place even though they are over fifty years apart.

Jacobs autobiography which is known by the name of ‘Incidents in a Life of a Slave Girl’ gave a true account of the treatment that black women faced during that time and also throwing some light on a perception which has been kept in shadows from the society. While writing the story of her life, Jacobs though focused on her defeat due to obstacles like race and gender, gave voice to something which was hidden from society regardless of the presence of patriarchal society of the nineteenth century.

This text along with many other texts relating to Black feminism: love, sex, and relationships, gives a perspective on sexuality and a woman’s right to not submit to the traditional expectations of the above. The text looks at the misinterpretations of single Black women, or women who are portrayed as unmarriable or not wanted. An interesting part of the text, is one that features Being Mary Jane and her desires for marriage and children or rather it leads to question if its simple “Black girl brainwashing. In the following season, she pursues, what some of us would consider to be the American Dream and that is to be married and with children, as a failed attempt, Jane chooses to focus once more on her career. During the third season, she explores

Alice Walker’s historical novel Meridian proposes a complex story of intersectionality describing the unequal social power dynamics between Black women, White women, and Black men throughout the Civil Rights Movement caused by the overlapping combination of race, gender rather than standalone factors (Collins 2). The novel deals explicitly with the Women’s Liberation movement: a journey through which women of all races break free from internal domestic struggles, exemplified by Lynne and Meridian’s characters. At the same time, these women struggle to define themselves and the causes of their actions. I argue that by presenting and constructing three main characters-Lynne, Meridian and Truman who are struggling to define themselves against expected social roles, Alice Walker is demonstrating that women who participate in political movements for rights of oppressed groups experience greater struggles, sacrifices and social criticisms than men who have done so. Their struggles create a rebellious social dynamic in which women break free from their expected role. In this paper, I will prove her aims by analysis of characterization, the characters’ actions and their connotations in reference to their relationships with men.