An Exploration of Black Feminism in Literature and Music

This essay delves into the multifaceted concept of Black feminism, examining its origins in the interconnectedness of sexism, racism, and oppression. It explores the historical context, including the Black Liberation Movement and the Civil Rights Movement, highlighting the struggles faced by Black women and the formation of feminist movements. The essay analyzes the role of music, particularly rap and artists like Queen Latifah and Beyonce, as a means of expressing Black women's experiences and asserting their identities. It also examines the challenges Black women faced within feminist movements and the impact of misogynistic writings. The essay further discusses the intersection of Black feminism with literature, analyzing how these mediums have been utilized to challenge patriarchal views, reclaim agency, and promote societal upliftment. The document is a student assignment contributed to Desklib, a platform offering AI-based study tools.

Running head: ENGLISH LITERATURE
Black feminism
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Table of contents
Insight into black feminism.............................................................................................................2
Black women in black liberation movement...................................................................................2
Black women in feminist movement...............................................................................................5
Music in civil rights movement.......................................................................................................6
Women, feminism and music..........................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Insight into black feminism
Black feminism projects the interconnectedness of philosophies like sexism, racism,
oppression and gender identity. The concept Black feminism first appeared in the creations of
Crenshaw, where he enhances the clarity of the readers regarding the independent existence of
black and the tragedy of being a women. Intolerable racial oppressions encountered by the
members of the Black community resulted in the birth to feminism (Evans, 2015). According to
the researchers, Black Liberation Movement was one of the other reasons for the formation of
Black Feminism. Countering this, liberation means freedom. Protests and revolts in this direction
signify fighting for the needs of the black women, struggling to find meaning to their existence.
Black women in black liberation movement
The color black represented the dark tragedy in the lives of the black community women.
Continuous sexual and racial oppression from powerful patriarchy compelled them to undergo
identity crisis. The category “black” included the black men and white women. The inclusion of
men within these movements distorts the stereotypical notion regarding men dominating women
(Digby, 2013). Attachment of racial concept in this direction upholds the tragic fate of the tribes
of Black community. Incapability to counter these harsh blows aggravated their complexities. As
a matter of specification, the black women were at a loss, which necessitated the formation of
Black Feminist Movement. At the initial stages, the movement faced hard-core opposition from
the patriarchy; however, the formation of National Black Feminist Organization in New York
assured the masterminds of the movement about making noticeable progress.

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Under the leadership and guidance of National Black Feminist Organization, several sub-
movements were formed- Civil Rights Movement, Black Nationalism, The Black Panthers,
Student Nonviolent Coordinating committee and others (Meyers, 2014). All these movements
possessed enough flexibility to provide freedom to the black race from their tragic fate. Here,
black signified the black men, which needed to be protected for securing manhood within the
threshold of United States. This consideration can be considered as an affirmation to masculinity,
negating the aspect of liberating women from their black fates. Discussion on men is a deviation
from the aspect of feminism, placing women out of the feminist movement.
Achievement of success in the form of restoring the lost rights made the black men
powerful, which can be reflected from the utterance of sexist and racial comments in order to
demotivate the women in terms of fighting for their rights (Patterson, Howard & Kinloch, 2016).
Acceptance of these comments without criticism seemed a mature step of the feminists in terms
of studying the scenario, prior to the initiation of the actions. Through these concepts, Amiri
Baraka and Eldridge Cleaver shed light on the fact that racial discrimations between men and
women are self-made. Countering this, these discriminations are an affirmation to the
stereotypical notions injected within the minds of the people by the hard-core followers of
religion and fail to accept the changes in the civilization.
Embracing a value system does not change our traditional origin; it just reflects the
mentality to blind acceptance of what the others do (Love, 2016). Discriminations and
oppressions of women is one of the components, which the people perform under the company
of certain people, hungry for the fulfillment of their needs. Society has never accepted the
equality between men and women and therefore, the result is the formation of patriarchy for
dominating and suppressing the women. Bakara correctly projects the outcome of this

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suppression, “We could never be equal. Nature has not provided thus.” Countering this, the
movements like civil rights sheds off the aspect of women could not be equal to men in terms of
power. Bakara also shuns the presence of reciprocation in the relationship between men and
women. In most of the cases, it is seen that the women submit themselves (Chambers & Worrall,
2017). This submission is mostly against the wishes of the women, which affirms the identity of
the men as “rapist”, as intrusion into femininity against her wishes is considered as rape.
Cleaver on the other hand expresses dual attitude to these perceptions of Bakara. On one
hand, he sympathizes with women for getting such a societal position. On the other hand, it
sticks to his standpoint regarding the importance of both sexism and racism in suppression of
women. Typical evidence of this lies in the provision of less power to the black girls in terms of
the white ones. Cleaver can be applauded for mentioning the strict laws, which function for
providing justice to the women. Instances of discriminations and harassments diminish the
individuality of black women; however, the strict actions undertaken by the statutory bodies of
law are flexible enough to liberate women in terms of restoring their lost honor and justice
(Alexander, 2017).
Misogynist writings about Black Liberation Movement upholded the tragic instances,
which women faced in their daily life. One such instance is the meeting of Black congress, where
Elaine Brown and her team members were compelled to wait for lunch until the men have been
served well. One of the striking facts in this instance is the utilization of funds by Black Women
community for serving the men. This incident reflects suppressing the initiatives of the black
women in terms of establishing their independence. Explanation of the rules to Elaine and her
friends is the live example, which enhanced their clarity regarding their position behind men and
respecting men (Norwood, 2013). Calling men “brother” signifies the mentality of the black

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women to perceive men as their companions in the journey towards the establishment of
individuality. Rejecting the offer of companionship made the black women sterner in their
standpoint. Typical evidence is the denial of Elaine to leave the discussion of Regional Black
student and go to the kitchen for helping in the preparation of foods.
Side parting with men reflects the betrayals of some black women towards their sisters in
terms of sharing a common goal- to fight back the lost honor and respect. These women
encouraged sexism and racism, which divided the women into two groups- one, fighting for
their rights and other one, submitting to men’s wishes (Boylorn, 2013). This division created
fissures within the goals of the feminist movements in terms of reciprocating to the orthodox
visions of patriarchy.
Black women in feminist movement
Being a victim of racism compelled the black women to join Feminist Movement.
However, the initial phases included rejection from participating in the conferences dealing with
subjects other than the ailments and sufferings of the black or the third world women. There was
a dearth of equal treatment of women in the Faculty of Women Studies Departments, who could
make the black women aware of the actual history revolving around their predicament. One of
the positive facts here is the representation of the sufferings and ailments as “women
experiences”, which generalized the predicament of women as a whole (Lemieux, 2014). The
creations by the black women were accepted as “token”, without any challenges or critical views.
However considering these creations as “black experiences” is a kind of looking down on the
efforts of the black women to voice out their opinions regarding their sufferings.

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The white women were unwilling to accept the dominations from the white men. Delving
deep into the aspect, those who were oppressed from beforehand were unable to oppress others.
However, being a part of this oppression, the women, irrespective of the tag, black or white, have
learnt the basic dynamism of the movements. This acquaintance has enabled them to act
according to the ideologies and establish their identities as the oppressors (Cohen & Jackson,
2016). The story was not so simple. The women, in the process of altering their fates, faced
severe oppression, which nullifies their attempts and resulted in the confession that these
movements posed as an obstacle in the re-establishment of their individuality. The era of 1963
was a turning point in the life of women. This is when white women got employed as private
household workers. This employment brings them out of the confinement from the four walls of
the home. Treating the women as slaves compelled the women to treat the men as their enemy,
nullifying the concept of “brotherhood”.
Being anti-racist on one hand and not acknowledging the ability to oppress the other
colored women applauds some white feminists in supporting their sisters in terms of fighting for
their individuality (Mowatt, French & Malebranche, 2013). Adrienne Rich is an example in this
context, who has added to the power of the patriarchy by attaching a different perspective to it.
Bell Hooks nullify the concept of strong anti-racist female tradition in terms of lack of evidence
regarding the collective attempt of female advocates to preserve the rights of women.
Movements were thus an agent to abolish malice like slavery and racism from the fates of
women and ensure their societal upliftment.

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Music in civil rights movement
Afro-American spirits, gospels and music were an important component of civil rights
movement. This movement witnessed the conglomeration of singers and music composers for
creating songs for increasing the enthusiasm of the people involved in movements, protests and
marches (Cooper, 2016). Sometimes, songs were also created for adding momentum to the
environment, making the wait for outcomes a thrilling one.
Women, feminism and music
The field of music can be considered as one of the other avenues selected by the women
to express their individuality. A living example in this direction is the achievement of Grammy
Award by rapper and actress Queen Latifah for UNITY in 1995. The song projects the domestic
violence, which the women faced. Viewing it from the other perspective, objectification of
female sexuality, through the song, is an affirmation of the patriarchal views regarding women.
The song UNITY ignited a spark of revolt in the Afro-American community especially in terms
of the violence, which the women had to face. Indulging in music is the plea of the black women,
searching for liberation (Saucier & Woods, 2015). Here, music specifically relates to rappers,
where women had dominance far more than men.
Advent of hip-hop in 1970s popularized this mass appeal by black women in search of an
escape from this black tragedy. Typical forms of these appeals were graffiti art, break dancing
and rapping, which upholded the attempts of the black women in terms of preserving their
culture. However, as rap gained prominence in the music industry, initiatives of women were
looked down upon. The major drive behind the success of rap was obsessiveness with wealth,
glamour and the original projection of the women in their roots (Lindsay, 2015). In other words,

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rap formed an important component for bringing a new wave in the Black feminism movement.
Viewing it from other perspective, rap strengthened the vision of the Afro-American women in
terms of preserving the culture.
Mention can be made of Beyonce, whose Lemonade redefined authority from the
perspective of black women. The musical movie makes usage of the utopian imagery provides an
escape to the black women from their tragic ailments and sufferings. This escape is like a
fairytale, ending in happiness in the form of entrusting the women with the responsibility to
women to re-shape their lives (Cooper, 2016).
Movies directed by black women, especially Malcolm X, carry the legacy of women’s
liberation to the extent of their awakening to their individuality. The major drive behind acting
on different roles was ultimately to get acquainted to the true self. Projecting black women in the
lead role sheds off the tag “black” and enhances her identity. Beyonce along with their
contemporaries like Kasi Lemmons, Winnie Harlow Shares have established a firm standpoint
regarding uprooting the reign of patriarchy by creating mass appeals through their artistic
creations.
Therefore, it can be said that the movements were flexible enough to inspire the black
women to fight for the restoration of their rights (Mowatt, French & Malebranche, 2013).
Although there were failures in the initial stages, determination, persistence and commitment of
these women assisted in enhancement of their individuality, which added value and meaning to
their existence.

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References
Alexander-Floyd, N. G. (2017). Radical Black Feminism and the Fight for Social and Epistemic
Justice. Broadening the Contours in the Study of Black Politics: Political Development
and Black Women, 63.
Boylorn, R.M., 2013. Blackgirl blogs, auto/ethnography, and crunk feminism. Liminalities: A
Journal of Performance Studies, 9(2), pp.73-82.
Chambers, D., & Worrall, R. (2017). The Frontiers of Sisterhood: Representations of Black
Feminism in Spare Rib (1972–1979). In Re-reading Spare Rib (pp. 159-178). Palgrave
Macmillan, Cham.
Cohen, C. J., & Jackson, S. J. (2016). Ask a Feminist: A Conversation with Cathy J. Cohen on
Black Lives Matter, Feminism, and Contemporary Activism. Signs: Journal of Women in
Culture and Society, 41(4), 775-792.
Cooper, B. C. (2016). But some of us are brave: Black women's studies. The Feminist Press at
CUNY.
Digby, T. (Ed.). (2013). Men doing feminism. Routledge.
Evans-Winters, V. E. (Ed.). (2015). Black feminism in education: Black women speak back, up,
and out. Peter Lang.
Lemieux, J. (2014). Black feminism goes viral. Ebony Magazine, 69(5), 126-131.

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Lindsay-Dennis, L. (2015). Black feminist-womanist research paradigm: Toward a culturally
relevant research model focused on African American girls. Journal of Black
Studies, 46(5), 506-520.
Love, K. L. (2016). Black Feminism: An Integrated Review of Literature. ABNF Journal, 27(1).
Meyers, D. T. (Ed.). (2014). Feminist social thought: A reader. Routledge.
Mowatt, R. A., French, B. H., & Malebranche, D. A. (2013). Black/female/body hypervisibility
and invisibility: A Black feminist augmentation of feminist leisure research. Journal of
Leisure Research, 45(5), 644.
Norwood, C. (2013). Perspective in Africana Feminism; Exploring Expressions of Black
Feminism/Womanism in the African Diaspora. Sociology Compass, 7(3), 225-236.
Patterson, A. N., Howard, A., & Kinloch, V. (2016). Black Feminism and Critical Media
Literacy: Moving from the Margin to the Center. Meridians: feminism, race,
transnationalism, 15(1), 40-64.
Saucier, P. K., & Woods, T. P. (2015). Upgrade and Upstage: Injunctions Against Stephanie
Rawlings‐Blake,“Black Feminism,” and Hip Hop Studies at the Ledge (A Response to
Forster). Journal of Popular Music Studies, 27(3), 353-363.
Smith, S. (2013). Black feminism and intersectionality. International Socialist Review, 91, 6-24.