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Black feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism. Black feminism philosophy centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently valuable, that liberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else's but because of our need as human persons for autonomy."[1]
According to Black feminism, race, gender, and class discrimination are all aspects of the same system of hierarchy, which bell hooks calls the "imperialist white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy." Due to their inter-dependency, they combine to create something more than experiencing racism and sexism independently. The experience of being a Black woman, then, cannot be grasped in terms of being Black or of being a woman but must be illuminated via intersectionality,[2] a term coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. This idea corresponds with Deborah K. King's idea of "multiple jeopardy" which claims that not only do identities intersect, as Crenshaw suggests, they multiply as well which leads to compounded forms of oppression against Black women.[3] These lens of thinking indicate that each identity—being Black and being female—should be considered both independently and for their interaction effect, in which intersecting identities deepen, reinforce one another, and potentially lead to aggravated forms of inequality.[4][5]
A Black feminist lens in the United States was first employed by Black women to make sense of how white supremacy and patriarchy interacted to inform the particular experiences of enslaved Black women. Black activists and intellectuals formed organizations such as the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) and the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW).[6] Black feminism rose to prominence in the 1960s, as the civil rights movement excluded women from leadership positions, and the mainstream feminist movement largely focused its agenda on issues that predominately impacted middle-class White women. From the 1970s to 1980s, Black feminists formed groups that addressed the role of Black women in Black nationalism, gay liberation, and second-wave feminism. Alice Walker, bell hooks, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Angela Davis, and Patricia Hill Collins have emerged as leading academics on Black feminism, while Black celebrities have encouraged mainstream discussion of Black feminism.[7][8]
- ^ Combahee River Collective (1978). "The Combahee River Collective: A Black Feminist Statement". In Eisenstein, Zillah R. (ed.). Capitalist Patriarchy and the Case for Socialist Feminism. Monthly Review Press. pp. 362–372. ISBN 9780853454199.
- ^ "Monthly Review | A Black Feminist Statement". Monthly Review. 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ^ King, Deborah K. (1988). "Multiple Jeopardy, Multiple Consciousness: The Context of a Black Feminist Ideology". Signs. 14 (1): 42–72. ISSN 0097-9740.
- ^ Crenshaw, Kimberlé (January 1, 1989). "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics". The University of Chicago Legal Forum. 140: 139–167.
- ^ "Intersectionality: The Double Bind of Race and Gender" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 18, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ^ James, Stanlie M. (2003) [2000]. "Black feminism(s)". In Code, Lorraine (ed.). Encyclopedia of feminist theories. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. pp. 54–56. ISBN 978-0-415-13274-9. OCLC 43060471.
- ^ Hare, Breeanna (December 12, 2014). "Beyonce opens up on feminism, fame and marriage". CNN. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
- ^ Tinsley, Omise’eke Natasha (November 7, 2014). "Black Feminism Lite? More Like Beyoncé Has Taught Us Black Feminism Light". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 12, 2015.