Combahee River Collective Statement

The problem with the “wave metaphor” is, when these periods of feminist history are viewed through an intersectional lens, we see that most of early feminist history was only the activity of economically privileged white women, or women whose intersectionality was favored by the American patriarchy. The marginalization of other women, whose intersectionalities were not favored in the past, leads to a whitewashed view of historical progress. However, women of color had recognized opinions among their own coalitions, but their opinions were simply not recognized by white upper-class feminist movements. Further analysis of feminist movements around the world, when viewed through an intersectional lens, allows us to see that the “wave metaphor” hardly holds it’s water.

The disregard for black women is an issue that is slowly becoming a topic of discussion. In addition to Malcolm X’s acknowledgement that “The most disrespected woman in America, is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America, is the black woman”, Crunktastic writes in the Crunk Feminist Collections about her experience being a black woman and being disrespected. Both Boynton and Crunktastic write pieces that encourage men to put aside their feelings of entitlement and begin to respect black women.

Some may live through being sexually abused, live in extreme poverty, or even fall victim of being physical or verbally abused. Whatever the reason is, this book shows an outlet for these struggles. The only way we can help others fight these intersectionality issues is by knowing your privilege and using it to help the oppressed with no voice. In Brittney Cooper’s article “Feminism’s ugly internal clash: Why its future is not up to the white women” she states that “the future of feminism is not up to the white women. Not by themselves anyway”.

The predominant ideas put forth in the piece from the Combahee River Collective were those that addressed the shortcomings of the feminist movement to include all women and to address the full range of issues that oppress individuals and groups of people in our patriarchal society. This greatly furthered my ongoing development and understanding of what intersectionality is, what its goals are, and how it can help everyone instead of the predominately white, cisgendered, heterosexual, upper middle class women that composed and continue to compose a large portion of the feminist movement. One of the biggest shortcomings that are addressed in this piece focused on the racism within the feminist movement and its limited or even minimal efforts

Black feminists have struggled to organize around issues that affect black women and have even struggled to claim themselves as black feminists in certain situations. The reasoning behind these issues are embedded in the fact that black feminists have no privilege to rely upon and have little access to resources. Despite these setbacks, the Collective worked on issues such as sterilization use, abortion rights, rape, healthcare, and battered women. At the end of the statement, the Collective mentions its dedication to the feminist movement and the importance of the fight against the oppression of black women. “We are ready for the lifetime of work and struggle before us” (Combahee River Collective, Section

This essay examines how intersectionality impacts Black women, examining their various levels of struggle and the tenacity that defines their path. Crenshaw contends that comprehending intersectionality allows us to see the diverse identities of minority women and better grasp how various oppressive systems interact to produce compounded discrimination. She highlights the significance of viewing race, gender, and other social categories as linked components of one's identity rather than as separate and isolated issues. Black women reside at the intersection of race and gender, which exposes them to a unique set of issues that are sometimes disregarded or misunderstood. Black women face racism and sexism in predominantly White nations, making their experiences complex.

In an article by the Crunk Feminist Collective, it discusses a video of a white woman who was getting harassed as she walks down the streets of New York City. The article discusses how the Hollaback video was not only sexist but racist as well. The white men who catcalled the white woman were edited out. Meanwhile men of color are still represented in a “dangerous” way that threatens an innocent white woman. The article also discuses how Black women have the right to occupy public spaces without enduring street harassment.

The Combahee River Collective was a black lesbian organization movement which strived to end the racial, sexual, and class oppressions that all women of color face. While trying to dismantle the interlocking system of oppression, these women faced obstacles brought upon by the systems of capitalism and imperialism. The term outsider within was introduced in Sabrina Alimahomed’s article, “ Thinking Outside The Rainbow: Women of Color Redefining Queer Politics and Identity.” Outsider within means being part of a community, organization, but being marginalized for reasons like race, gender, sexuality. For example, race creates outsiders within’s in the feminist movement, thus women of color experience multiple oppressions at once, unlike white

In Danielle McGuire’s book, At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance, the author argues that sexual violence was a way for whites to intimidate and control African Americans during the movement. McGuire points out that because of the sexual violence African American women went through, it allowed them to fight back against the oppression and shape the Civil Rights Movement. The author introduces the readers to the violence that African American women were facing, “The stories of black women who fought for bodily integrity and personal dignity hold profound truths about the sexualized violence that marked racial politics and African American lives during the modern civil rights movement.” (pg xx). This quote gives readers a broader understanding of African American women's challenges.

In the 1970’s African American women created the Combahee River Collective to address the unique struggles that African American women face in their day-to-day lives. In 2016, black activists founded The Movement of Black Lives to advocate for all black people more generally. Both groups incorporated at least some intersectional ideas into their arguments and used similar stylistic strategies to communicate their ideas. However, these groups differed in the ways that they established target audiences, the breadth of institutions that they addressed, and in the ways they used word choice to further their causes. Both The Combahee River Collective and The Movement for Black Lives incorporated intersectional ideas into their arguments by acknowledging

The term white privilege has become a bad term, just like the word feminism. Society has found a way to distort and change the definition of terms like these to avoid the actual issue that the term is bringing up. By definition feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities, but the word has come to carry a negative connotation (Webster). Many who believe in the principle would not call themselves feminists or participate in trying to reach equality to avoid that connotation placed on them. Their silence only aids the continuation of inequality between men and women.

From the antebellum period through the Civil Rights Movement and beyond, Black women have fought against racism, discrimination, and inequality in a variety of ways. One common thread among these efforts is the willingness of Black women to take bold and courageous actions in the face of oppression. Whether through acts of defiance and resistance, political organizing, or community building, Black women have consistently demonstrated a willingness to put themselves on the line for the sake of justice and equality.

As black women always conform under patriarchal principles, women are generally silenced and deprived of rights because men are entitled to control everything. Women are silenced in a way that they lose their confidence and hesitate to speak up due to the norms present in the society they live in. Hence, even if women have the confidence to try to speak, men wouldn’t bother to listen since men ought to believe that they are superior to women. In addition to that, women often live in a life cycle of repetitions due to patriarchal principles since women are established to fulfill the roles the society had given them. It is evidenced by Celie as she struggles to survive and to define oneself apart from the controlling, manipulative, and abusive men in her life.

Black female feminists have experiences that are identical to those of white female feminists D. Feminism can be threatening to black men* Citation: Combahee

Kareen Harboyan English 1C Professor Supekar March 15, 2018 Word Count: Crenshaw’s Mapping the Margins: The Marginalization of Women of Color Analyzed Through Generalization and A Feminist Lens Crenshaw's Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color expands on the multifaceted struggles of women of color and the generalizations ingrained in society that limit women of color and keep them in a box. In this text, Crenshaw builds on the concept of intersectionality which proposes that social categorizations such as gender and race are intertwined and have great influence on one another.