It’s never too soon to teach young girls the value of activism and coalition building, whether it’s in the home or in the classroom.
- Joan Morgan’ When Chickenheads Come Home To Roost is a very readable text that discusses feminism in the Black community (staying away from heavily academic language). Through this less rigid and arguably exclusionary language, Morgans is able to communicate to young women without being condescending, allowing the message to sink in. It’s informative, engaging and a great starting point for young black women looking to unpack and examine their own experiences.
“This book, in part, was an effort to combat my own complacency. I wrote i t because I honestly believe that the only way sistas can begin to experience empowerment on all levels- spiritual, emotional, financial and political-is to understand who we are. We have to be willing to take an honest look at ourselves-and then tell the truth about it.”
- Bell Hooks’ Feminism is for Everybody offers a starter course for intersectional feminism, unpacking how sexist and patriarchal ideas impact us all. More specifically, she discusses internalized misogyny and how it can hinder not only the bond between women, but progress within the feminist movement.
“Without confronting internalized sexism, women who picked up the feminist banner often betrayed the cause in their interactions with other women.”
- Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall explores feminism’s relationship with Black women (or lack thereof in many ways). She discusses the impact of gun violence on Black women and the oversexualization of young black and brown women that often frames them as more mature than they are by virtue of their racial identity. Overall, the text does an excellent job of unpacking the many stereotypes imposed upon Black women and how they endanger us (please see the Missing White Woman Syndrome).
“This book will explain how poor women struggling to put food on the table, people in inner cities fighting to keep schools open, and rural populations fighting for the most basic of choices about their bodies are feminist concerns and should be centered in this movement.”
- Sara Ahmeds’ Living a Feminist Life is a guide to feminism which breaks down the perception of race and how it interacts with gender. Due to gender oppression, white women may consider themselves in community with Black and brown women even in situations where the levels of oppression experienced are not the same. Subsequently, this can lead to white women missing where Black women are coming from. It is a bit wordy, which you may want to keep in mind when giving it to your child/student.
“When I drew on this quote from Bell Hooks, a white woman came up to me afterward expressing not so much anger but hurt at Hooks description, and at my uncritical use of Hooks description, for the implication that all white women make women of color the problem. There was no all used in the example, but this does not mean someone cannot hear the example as all. When that is all they can hear, they hear you as saying all. And in being heard as saying all, you become a problem all over again.”
- In Angela Davis’ “Women, Race and Class” she begins by unpacking how slavery and Black women’s forced servitude placed them in a position where they were stripped of their femininity and in turn faced a different set of struggles compared to white women in their fight for rights. She also unpacks the connection between the first wave feminist movement and abolitionism. This text, unlike Kendall’s and Morgan’s work, has more heavily academic language to it, so it may be more fitting for an in-depth classroom (or at home) discussion to see if the text is engaging and understandable for young Black women.
“Woman” became synonymous in the prevailing propaganda with “mother” and “housewife,” and both “mother” and “housewife,” bore the fatal mark of inferiority. The economic arrangement of slavery contradicted the hierarchical roles incorporated in the new ideology. Male-female relations within the slave community could not, therefore, conform to the dominant ideological pattern.”
To purchase these books, click the link below:
Living a Feminist Life: Ahmed, Sara: 9780822363194: Amazon.com: Books
Women, Race & Class: Davis, Angela Y.: 9780394713519: Amazon.com: Books
