Black Feminists

 (1977) “The Combahee River Collective Statement”

Key Terms: Feminist, Struggle, Politics, Oppression

The Combahee River Collective Statment starts off by defining who they are. They are a group of black feminists that formed in 1974 and have been “political work,” working alongside “other progressive organizations and movements” (1977). The work talks about the “issues black feminists face, the practices they do, their beliefs, and the genesis of contemporary black feminism” (1977). It further informs the reader that there is more than just feminism that they face. Alongside fighting for equal rights as a woman, they also faced racism and homophobia. Because of this, they had great “difficulty in their political work” because they had no “racial, sexual, heterosexual, or class privilege to rely on” (1977).

Quote(s):

1.) “Our liberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else’s may because of our need as human persons for autonomy.”

The message of this quote was very striking. Instead of viewing obtaining liberation as an act of fairness but as a necessity as a human being was very hard-hitting. Liberation is a human right.

2.) “The major source of difficulty in our political work is that we are not just trying to fight oppression on one front or even two, but instead to address a whole range of oppressions.”

This quote stood out to me because I find it very inspiring. Addressing oppression as a whole is a very difficult task. I agree it is important as it can create further disadvantages for those who are already oppressed.

 Ijeoma Oluo (2018), “So You Want to Talk About Race”

Key Terms: Race, Life, Oppression

The overall message of this video was how the conversation of race is ignored and treated with little care because people don’t want to be labeled as a racist for mentioning anything about race and that the system of power in regards to race is for meer “sheer convenience” because it is easy to find a scapegoat to take the fall while the other rises (Timestamp: 11:51). There are people that do want to talk about it, though. However, people fail to start a conversation about race because of the lack of tools provided to do so. The speaker in this video speaks about the conversation about it being silenced because people are “deliberately denied the tools needed to talk about it.” (Timestamp: 11:35).

Quote(s): “What if I get called racist? Oh, the last time I tried a couple of times, it ended really badly. Trust me, no conversation on race has ever ended nearly as bad for you as it ends for people of color.” [Timestamp: 21:07-21:24]

This quote stood out the most to me. I agree wholeheartedly that people of color, when speaking about race, have it worse than those who are white. I have witnessed people of color being shut down and silenced because they dared to speak out while a white person said whatever they wanted and received little to no backlash.

It is better to speak out about injustice than to sit back and let it happen, no matter the risk. It will help ignite the flame to bring about change in the world.

Audre Lorde (1980), “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference”

Key Terms: Difference(s), Oppression, Society

This text spoke a majority about how every type of oppression should be recognized instead of generalizing it and that we must take into account every aspect that could affect it. The author lists many factors to account for, such as: “sexual preference, race, class, and age” (Page 116). By ignoring other aspects of it and only accounting for one, it isolates other people from a similar situation. For example, the author speaks about how white women “define woman in terms of their own experience alone,” which then isolated women of color because their experiences would be far too “alien to comprehend” (page 117). By doing this, it is creating even more oppression as they silence fellow women’s voices.

Quote(s):

1.) “By and large within the women’s movement today, white women focus upon their oppression as women and ignore differences of race, sexual preference, class, and
age. There is a pretense of homogeneity of experience covered by the word sisterhood that does not in fact exist.” (Page 116).

This quote is about how people focus on only one aspect of oppression instead of looking at oppression through a wider lens to see how it affects other groups of people in a similar way.

2.) “Refusing to recognize differences makes it impossible to see the different problems and pitfalls facing us as women.” (Page 118)

This quote helps bring a better understanding of how ignoring and avoiding the issues in society will bring about inequality for longer. If society refuses to recognize the issues that are currently hurting women and other oppressed groups, less work will be done to fix such injustice and possibly leading to more inequality in the long run.

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Multimedia: Momo Pixel (2017), Hair Nah and Solange (2016), “Don’t Touch My Hair”

The game, Hair Nah, is a great game that lets players get a view into situations that people of color face. The song also illustrates this. However, it allows the listener to get a deeper meaning as the singer relates their hair to their own soul.

“Define women in terms of their own experience alone” Audre Lorde (1980)

This game and song help illustrate specific struggles that white women would never face. As Audre Lorde said, some would base the definition based on their own specific experiences, which would disregard black women’s struggles like this- people touching your hair without permission because it’s different from their own hair.

Connections:

The Combahee River Collective, Ijeoma Oluo, and Audre Lorde would all agree with each other. They all mention looking at oppression from a wider scope. Instead of focusing on one given characteristic of a person, they should focus on more than that, as other factors call also play into oppression, like sexuality and race. Ijeoma Oluo and Audre Lorde also would agree on how people shouldn’t sit back and avoid tough conversations. They do contain their own unique characteristics but generally provide insight into how speaking out is essential to progress society forward.

Questions:

How can we stop oppression from occurring? Is that even possible? If not, why?

Can schools help in any way of mitigating oppression? Will teaching students about it help or make it worse?