Since the very beginning of African civilization, hairstyles have been used to convey messages to the greater society. In nearly every West African culture if unkempt hair was present that particular individual would have been considered unattractive or dirty. Hair maintenance was aimed at creating a sense of beauty. Hair provides women with a means of representing themselves and negotiating their place in the world. Furthermore, what women do and say through their hair care can shed light on how members of a cultural group use hair more broadly as a signifier of status.
The Struggle Continues Many feminists addressed the plight of African American women during the New Negro movement in the US. They shared the same problems and visions but some differ in strategy. The African American educator Elise McDougald’s essay “The Struggle of Negro Women for Race and Sex Emancipation” employs an interesting strategy to gain individuality amongst African American women. While displaying the direct issues similar to those of her allies, McDougald approaches her antagonists with an unusual method. This was an extremely audacious essay and a great subject to debate for that reason.
Fleming uses Robinson’s story to deconstruct claims by male Black Power advocates that women in the movement were just doing a “man’s job”. Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson’s position as executive secretary in the Atlanta branch of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was a mirror image of the backbone that women played in the Black Power message. Robinson shows this through her assertiveness, her ability to challenge male authority and selflessness in action. Women were involved in many aspects of the Civil Rights movement. Certain activists groups included the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
According to Barbara Solomon (1976), empowerment can be defined as a process where the social worker engages in activities with the clients which is aimed towards reducing the powerlessness that has been created by negative connotations based on membership in a stigmatized group. Empowerment theory allows for social work practitioners to become engaged in their own views and biases regarding oppressed people. When incorporating the black experiences, it allows for social workers to better understand what is necessary to continue to have the African American client feel empowered. Empowerment theory acknowledges the struggle of African Americans, whereas, the psychoanalytic theory and social learning theories omit it. See’s article aids in understanding the importance of incorporating the origin of a culture when working with a group of people.
When she came back to visit, she had changed her name to Wangero which she believed represented her heritage more so than “being named after the people who oppress me” (112). Dee’s personal struggle to overcome the oppression directly parallels the African American community’s struggle to overcome oppression. The evolution of the African American community in society can creatively be seen through Alice Walker’s development of the characters Mama, Maggie, and Dee. Walker also uses possessions to creatively represent the heritage of the family. Through the three characters, Walker symbolizes the struggles and success of the African American community.
Mary was the first black women appointed to the Board of Education, she became the first president of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, and she was the first women president of the Bethel Literary and Historical Society. Mary speaks about the trials and tribulations African Americans had to endure during the early 1900’s, and how situations continue to worsen as time goes on. In her speech she goes on to make references how colored people are not being treated fairly and with dignity she believes they deserve. She makes it easy for her listeners to understand these injustices by referencing topics her audience can relate to. Her story about how a young colored women was turned away from a job just because the color of her skin can be linked with how women with higher capabilities than their male counterparts are still not receiving the position.
Chisholm wanted to prove from personal experience how society is more prejudice over gender than race itself. Not only in her eyes is it hard to be black but it was even more hard to be a woman as well. Throughout the speech she uses her own experiences justifying her proposal for equal rights. After
Audience for the speech or document (actual and implied, if appropriate): Audience for the speech was for an intimate gathering for the Organization of Women Writers of Africa in order to raise funds for international symposium. This speech is more tailored to women than men by emphasizing women’s history and empowerment. 3. Stated and implied purposes (if different from stated purpose): The stated purpose is that women need to know their own history in order to know who they are. If people know who they are, they are more opened minded to other of different cultures and will more than likely respect others.
Patricia Hill Collins argues that black women are uniquely situated in that they stand at the focal point where two exceptionally powerful and prevalent systems of oppression come together: race and gender. Being able to understand this position as something she calls “intersectionality” opens up the possibility of seeing and understanding many more spaces of cross-cutting interests and how different systems of oppression interlock. It is much easier to think of myself as oppressed than it is to think about the ways in which I am invested in systems of oppression. For example, as a woman I experience sexist oppression on a daily basis in my family, in school, the workplace, on the streets, etc. However, I am also white, heterosexual, and
The Affect of Colorism and the Beauty Queue on Black Women The issue of colorism torments the lives of Black women around the world, as seen in Latin America, North America and the Caribbean. The idea of beauty continues to manifest as it determines the privileges of a woman. In today’s society, beauty is everything; it affects the lives of women because everyday a woman is judged by her physical appearance, which makes her constantly insecure about herself. Many women are consumed by the notion of beauty, which is reinforced by the beauty queue. According to Margaret Hunter, “the beauty queue is a rank ordering of women from lightest to darkest where the lightest get the most rewards and the darkest women get the least”.