Race Is a Social, Political

¶ … race is a social, political and ideological construct. Explain the projects of critical race feminism. How have critical race feminists such as bell hooks, Beverly Guy-Sheftall and others explored the history and conditions of slavery, colonialism / neocolonialism, racism and patriarchies to understand the effects of these historical and contemporary forces on the lives of women of color and Black women in particular?

The catalyzing book for modern, Second Wave feminism in America is widely regarded as Betty Friedan's the Feminine Mystique. This book chronicled the frustrated aspirations of women living in the suburbs, women who had been educated in college yet found themselves frustrated and depressed by the enforced, feminine role they had to play in the postwar nuclear family. Some women cheered and sympathized with Friedan's complaints. But some African-American women took a far different point-of-view of Friedan's ideas. Black women had always worked, and continued to work outside the home, even after Rosie the Riveter had been relegated to the kitchen. Black women worked in invisible occupations, such as maids, that were underpaid and overlooked because they were deemed to be menial 'women's work.' Working for African-American women was not empowering, given how demeaning the work (and the pay) they were forced to accept was, and because the work often took them away from their own families, into the alien families of wealthier whites. The work black women performed was so unacknowledged, so silent, it was marginalized even in the rhetoric of white, liberal feminists. Friedan's complaint that she was not 'permitted' to work rang hollow in many African-American women's ears.

Yet Second Wave white feminists, according to the black feminist writer bell hooks, often portrayed themselves as speaking for all women, despite the radically different social experiences of black and white women. This left black women in a quandary: African-American male Civil Rights activists often portrayed themselves as speaking for all black people, without regard to the impact of gender. White feminists pointed with pride to Sojourner Truth's famous speech, chronicling her work and suffering under slavery "ain't I a woman." But they did not fully recognize Truth's implications that work that was not recognized and appropriately compensated was not empowering. Simply working was not the answer for all women. Feminists of the Second Wave spoke about the oppression of women, without regard to the impact of race upon black women's lives.

The lack of a critical analysis of race created a divide between feminist and black activists, as chronicled in the words of feminist and scholar Beverley Guy-Sheftall: "Coming out of the Civil Rights era, black feminism was a contentious, debatable, demonized and divisive notion. It was perceived to be a pro-white, anti-male doctrine that would destroy black families and prohibit unity. I can remember going to all-black gatherings and people asking me whether or not I was a lesbian, because being pro-female translated into a hate for men" (Ofori-Atta 2010). In her book, Ain't I a Woman? bell hooks noted that under slavery, abolitionists often said that black men were 'wronged' because slavery emasculated the men and denied them the right to defend their wives against the advances of slave-owners. But this did not recognize the impact that the threat of rape had upon black women. Simply the phrase "the oppression of blacks and women" seems to write out the existence of black women.