Mainstream Feminism
Although mainstream feminism has historically supported women’s rights, Black women have often been left out of the movement’s conversation. White feminists have frequently placed a higher priority on gender issues than the particular racial and socioeconomic challenges that Black women experience, starting with the early suffrage movement and continuing into modern feminist activity. Figures like Sojourner Truth famously challenged this exclusion with her speech, Ain’t I a Woman?, stating: “That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman?” However, Black women continue to deal with the tensions of a feminist movement that frequently ignores their concerns more than a century later.
White women dominated the second-wave feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which was primarily concerned with smashing the glass ceiling, reproductive rights, and job equality. Although these were important concerns, they did not adequately address the structural racism and economic inequality that radically altered Black women’s experiences. Since then, black feminist writers like Patricia Hill Collins and Bell Hooks have maintained that feminism needs to be intersectional, acknowledging the connections between gender oppression, race, and class. However, mainstream feminism still prioritizes the problems of white women while ignoring the experiences of Black women, who bear the dual burden of racism and sexism, in spite of these appeals.
The Black Panther Party and the Role of Black Women
Black women were sidelined by mainstream feminism, but many of them found other political movements that recognized their lived circumstances. Since its founding in 1966, the Black Panther Party (BPP) has grown to be a significant force for Black liberation, promoting economic development, racial justice, and the right to self-defense against police brutality. Although Black women were essential in this movement, more well-known male personalities like Huey Newton and Bobby Seale have frequently overshadowed their activism and leadership.
In addition to being well-known members of the Black Panther Party, women like Elaine Brown, Assata Shakur, and Angela Davis also played a significant role in forming the party’s community initiatives and policy. To improve Black communities, they planned healthcare programs, political education classes, and free breakfast programs for kids. Elaine Brown even served as the party’s chair from 1974 to 1977, during which time she worked to increase the number of women in leadership positions within the organization. However, in spite of their efforts, the Black Panther Party’s story is still largely dominated by men, frequently ignoring the women who served as the foundation of its grassroots action.
Black women in the party also experienced internal sexism, which was a manifestation of larger patriarchal systems that continued to exist even in radical groups. Beyond the Black Panther Party, this trend was seen in several civil rights movements, where Black women played a crucial part in planning demonstrations, voter registration campaigns, and neighborhood initiatives but were rarely granted the credit or leadership positions they merited. Despite their indisputable achievements, women who were instrumental in promoting racial justice have been marginalized in the historical narrative of these movements, which has mostly focused on male leaders.
The Need for Intersectionality in Feminism and Activism
According to KimberlĂ© Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality, social identities like race, gender, and class do not exist independently but rather overlap, giving rise to distinct experiences of privilege and oppression.
Feminism runs the risk of ignoring Black women’s multiple challenges if intersectionality is ignored. Black women are essential to these struggles, and Black liberation movements and Feminist movements that ignore intersectional oppression run the risk of alienating people. Emphasizing Black women’s voices, elevating their experiences, and making sure that the racial justice and feminist movements acknowledge their unique struggles are the answers.
Moving Forward: Centering Black Women’s Voices
To address these historical erasures, we must take deliberate steps to uplift Black women in both feminist and racial justice spaces.Â
- Creating platforms for Black women’s voices, whether in academia, media, or politics, to ensure they are not sidelined in discussions about their own liberation.
Black women have always been at the forefront of justice movements, despite being consistently erased from history. It is time that both feminism and Black liberation efforts acknowledge and correct this, ensuring that the future of activism truly leaves no one behind.