Black Feminists and Oppression

(1977) “The Combahee River Collective Statement”

This specific text touches on the struggles of black women in feminist spaces. Oftentimes the space that white women made in the movement remained strong since there weren’t factors of racism getting in the way. Black feminists were faced with multiple instances of oppression and this made it very difficult to progress forward. Not only were there problems with racism outside of the black community, but on the inside there were black men who also were not fond of what black feminist represented. “As Black feminists we are made constantly and painfully aware of how little effort white women have made to understand and combat their racism, which requires among other things that they have a more than superficial comprehension of race, color, and Black history and culture” (Combahee River Collective).  I think this particular quote is important because it adds perspective to the experiences of black feminists. On the outside the frustration surrounding seeing white women making progress while they aren’t proved itself to be daunting. 

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

Lorde touches on the topic of oppression in relation to not only the topic of race but also in relation to things like age, class, and identity. Oppressed groups are often left to educate their oppressors, which only acts as a way to drain their energy.  This statement is definitely something I agree with. While there is a need  for oppressors to be educated on just how much harm they can cause, it is not the job of those who are oppressed. Dealing with oppression is hard enough, and attempting to get someone who’s experiences differ to change their mind is even more draining. “We find ourselves having to repeat and relearn the same old lessons over and over that our mothers did because we do not pass on what we have learned, or because we are unable to listen” (Lorde 117). This quote relates to the idea of educating oppressors although she is not directly referencing oppressors when mentioning it. There is a level of knowledge that they already possess but that knowledge isn’t truly drilled into their minds. Listening and taking in information is a big part of truly trying to understand.

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

Ijeoma Oluo talks about the realities of being a woman of color. No matter how much she wanted to steer away from the topic of race, it became such a prominent art of her life. There are factors in the world that bring the topic of race to the surface. Additionally, she urges people who are not people of color to realize that despite their attempts to prove that they want to do no harm, it doesn’t change how others feel. She touches on the difficulties of talking about race and includes that concept as a factor. An important point she made was, “very often, white people come to talk about race to try to make sure the person they’re talking to knows that they are not the person that’s harming them.” I think this ties into the main reason for speaking on the topic in general. She tries to lead white people into a direction of handling topics of race in the proper way.

Making Connections

I think that the thing tying each of these texts together is the topic of oppression and the difficulties of trying to find a place in a space that isn’t particularly inclusive. Oluo’s purpose of talking about race in the first place is to acknowledge that clear disconnect. Oluo’s message also mentions the need for people of color’s feelings to be included.  The Combahee River Collective strives to acknowledge that black feminists were not being included and accepted in crucial space. The text by Lorde ties into the same idea as Oluo’s text. When the oppressors are trying to push education from those they oppress, there is not an inclusion of the oppressed individual’s feelings.

Nina Simone (1966), “Four Women”

This song ties into the ideas of Oluo’s text the most. Oluo mentions trying to remain quiet and dress in a certain way to be deemed as acceptable. Nina Simone’s song is all about stereotypes amongst black women. Essentially it separates the views of black women into four categories. Aunt Sarah takes on the stereotypical role of an Aunt Jemima. Saffronia deals with the complexities of a child that was conceived through a white man forcing himself onto an enslaved woman, which happened fairly often. Sweet Thing represents the overly sexualized views placed upon Black women and Peaches takes on the more aggressive stereotypical views. Each of these factors really put Oluo’s reasons for wanting to seem a certain way into perspective. There are very harsh and confining stereotypes placed onto black women, as seen in the song. Oluo’s text is a great example of the extent of harm that can be done because of those limiting ideas. I really enjoy this song, I heard it for the first time a relatively long time ago. I find myself relating to the song and when connecting it to Oluo’s text, I find myself resonating with it even more.

Question:

If you have experiences that align with any of the readings, in what ways do you relate to them? If not, how has your knowledge expanded after reading and watching the texts?

Keywords: Feminism, Oppression, race