White Feminist Umbrella By Robert Collins

“I am a black feminist… I recognize that my power as well as my primary obsessions come as a result of my blackness as well as my womaness, and therefore my struggles on both of these fronts are inseparable” … As a woman of color, I find that some feminists don’t seem terribly concerned with the issues unique to women of color—the ongoing effects of racism and post-colonialism, the status of women in the Third World, working against the trenchant archetypes black women are forced into (angry black woman, mammy, hottentot, and the like). (Gay 173).

Patricia Hill Collins’s work, Black Feminist Thought seeks to center Black Women into intersectionalist thought, addressing the power struggles that face them not only due to their race but also to the gender. Masculine rhetoric and powerful male leaders such as Huey P. Newton and Eldridge Cleaver have overshadowed Black Women’s stories, both in and out of the Civil Right Rights/Black Power

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.

Racism is still a very prominent issue in America today. Yes, it has improved from the days of slavery, and we do have a black president; but society is nowhere near equal, and that is not acceptable. White Privilege by Paula Rothenberg truly opened my eyes to the extent of the social injustice on African Americans. Just by being white, one is oppressing another race because the privilege and respect that comes with the skin color. Whether intentional or not, the racism is still there and present and that is not acceptable. Being white, I’ve never suffered from the repercussions of racism, but after reading and becoming more aware of the suffering of African American’s, it is significant to write and spread the knowledge about racism and especially implicit racism. Everyone is surrounded by racism on a daily basis, and it’s important to be aware of your actions and the effects they have on society.

“We must open the doors and we must see to it they remain open, so that others can pass through it”

White privilege is the societal privileges that specifically benefit white people. White privilege is why white people can get pulled over by the police and escape a ticket with just a smile and apology. White privilege is also why whites are in charge of a company and they see a black person, they bypass the application. Whites carry a certain privilege not available to people of color. Marilyn Frye describes how whiteness is a form social and political power.

I attended the Gender, Labor and Politics event provided by the Black Studies Project at UC San Diego. During this event, I was able to hear about the research done by three black women in which they examined the intersectionality of black women in America during different time periods. There were three speakers but I found that the research done by Sarah Haley brought forth the most relevant and interesting information.

In “The White Umbrella”, author Gish Jen illustrates the life of a Chinese family living in America, where they don’t fit in. The narrator, a girl who is embarrassed by the fact that her mom works, tries hard to keep it a secret and doesn’t realize how much she needs her until she might be dead. This short story teaches the lesson that you should appreciate the things that already make you happy and not get distracted by what you think will make you happy. Throughout the story, the author shows this theme by the character’s actions, repeating important symbolism, and in the turning point of the story.

Mary Churchill Terrell, a college educated African American, daughter of former slaves, and activist. Terrell, also known for great accomplishments such as being the first African American woman of Washington DC 's board of education, the first president of the national association of colored women, and her most memorable work, the delivery of her speech at the Washington 's women club, "What it means to be colored in the capital of the US." This speech is so iconic and memorable because Terrell speaks on the oppression that blacks dealt with during the time the Jim Crow law 's from a personal perspective, and also because she is a woman who at the time was considered the bottom of the social ladder. Her mission for this speech is admirable, she presents the realities a colored experience in Washington DC otherwise known as "the colored man 's paradise" she accomplished this with a strong use of diction, and a mixture of multiple rhetorical tools to address the problems of unrecognized racism.

Angela Davis is one of the most influential women when it comes to feminism, race, and politics, just to name a few. She has paved the way for many generations of women to have a voice when they once wouldn’t. It is essential to realize that one can’t discuss feminism and black power without discussing Angela Davis. The reason I chose Angela Davis is because she is a household name that I have always heard, but had never known much of. I think it’s deeply important to understand the impact she’s had on the feminist movement, specifically for women of color.

The contributions of female thinkers have generally been overlooked thought-out the years, even though they have an understanding of theory and society similar to their male counterparts. There are many women who have made a major contribution to the development of modern day sociology. Patricia Collins is a well-known sociology professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her work focuses on several issues concerning issues with feminism and gender in the African American community. She has discussed topics on socioeconomic status, which ties into “the new racism”. “The new racism” basically is disenfranchising voters and driving politics by economic influence, which is neither in the hands of Blacks, but falls in the hands of

In an attempt to define Black Feminism, Collins clarifies that it must “avoid the idealist position that ideas can be evaluated in isolation from the groups that create them (Collins 385).” This clarification forms her basis for why Black Feminism is necessary, and who it serves. Thinking about feminism historically, the concerns of black women were pushed aside in favor of fighting sexism; a notable example occurs within the Suffrage movement, where votes for white women were prioritized over women of color in order to push such legislation through. And even when feminism began looking at other social injustices, such as racism and class issues, often only prominent feminists were invited to the discussion. What resulted was, and often continues to be, a problem of white women speaking for oppressed people. It’s impossible, Collins argues, to have Black Feminist thought without examining the experiences and positions of African American women. Therefore, Black Feminism must be a movement that “encompasses theoretical interpretations of Black women’s reality by those who live in it (Collins 386).” However, such a definition brings about many questions:

‘The White Man’s Burden’ is a book by William Easterly. The book explain why Western relief has done more harm than good. There are high poverty levels in Africa where millions of children are dying from easily preventable diseases despite the increase in foreign aid. Gordon brown called for doubling of foreign aid which was a Marshall plan to help the world’s poor countries. According to Easterly, the West spent around $2.3 trillion on foreign aid for the past five decades and has not yet managed to get affordable medicines for children to prevent half of deaths caused by malaria. The West spent that amount and had not managed to buy cheap bed nets for poor families or give three dollars to every mother to prevent massive deaths. Easterly also argues that, despite the doubling of school fees, students from poor families do not go to schools.

Patricia Hill Collins’ piece, Defining Black Feminist Thought, sets out to do exactly that: to determine what Black Feminism is, who is a Black Feminist, and who can become a Black Feminist. While not always specifically stated, her argument and analysis arises from the historical context of the role of Black women in feminist and activist spaces, as well as the social reality of differing lived experiences of African American women from traditional white female feminists. Created in 1990, Collins’ work is well situated in the time period of Third Wave Feminist thinking, incorporating strong themes of the need for intersectionality and altering opinions within feminism, as well as proposing that multiple versions of feminism can be

Black feminist thought has gained popularity in recent years and remains a noteworthy matter in view of the fact that in the United States black women form an oppressed group. Inequality entails a complex situation, in which oppression cannot be identified as one type, for example, race, gender, class or sexual preference. In this particular situation, we will acknowledge the challenges from the standpoint of black feminists. Patricia Hill Collins educates us through the four tenets of black epistemology, in addition to the contradictions against the scientific methods of social science; positivistic knowledge. Beyond the characteristics of epistemology, there are several key implications for black feminist thought.