Can I be Black and a Feminist

It is no secret that the feminist movement, which began in the late 1800s, was important and paved the way for women in America, but what they do not teach you in 11th grade U.S History, is that it was totally cut off for Black women. The movement was separated and Black women were pushed out. This piece is not intended as any judgment towards all of you Black feminist out there but these are just a collection of my thoughts.

Here is a little history on the feminist movement.

During the beginning of the feminist movement, Black women were below White men, women and Black men in the social hierarchy. In the book, Overcoming Racism and Sexism edited by Linda Bell and David Blumenfeld, there are a number of papers that were written for a conference called “Racism and Sexism: Differences and Connections” in 1992. The first chapter speaks about the tension between Black feminists and white feminists and where that tension began. In a chapter titled “Racism and Sexism: Twenty First Century Challenges for Feminists,” the author, Blanche Curry, makes her arguments about why the standpoints on racism and sexism still exist in this century. White and Black female philosophers tend to have different views on what feminism is. Some white female philosophers reject the idea that Black females are more oppressed than white females. Some welcome the idea. Both use personal experiences to back up their claim so the argument can go both ways. This division began when the 15th Amendment was passed.

This amendment gave Black men the right to vote in 1870. White feminists, who were working with Black feminists prior to this, separated themselves from Black women and created the National American Women’s Suffrage Association in 1890. They viewed the passing of the 15th amendment as an insult to white women, and as a result examples of racism by white women became more deliberate. “ Also implicit in Kearney’s remarks was white women’s view of African American women as African Americans rather than women.” (Blumenfeld 22). Some white women at this time did all they could to separate themselves from Black women, including shunning Black women from the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. Because of this tension that occurred during this time period, racism became a more important factor for most Black women feminists. The author then goes on to explain why some Black women feel like sexism is second to racism, and one of the thoughts is that Black women believe that sexism will never be destroyed until racism is first destroyed.

“The idea [was] that Blackness was by far more difficult and energy-draining than femaleness….Both racism and sexism exploit Black women…Racism, however, destroys Black women, Black men and their offsprings….Sexism enslaves, racism destroys… Racism destroys Black culture and prevents Blacks from maintaining economically and socially stable communities.” (Blumenfeld 28).

Here the author explains that the viewpoint of many Black feminists and some white feminist just do not agree. The problem also lies in that white women accuse Black women for not knowing what sexism is or really recognizing it as a real problem when that is not the case at all. They recognize it, but racism is the first priority for some. They must learn to agree to disagree and accept that everyone does not have the same priority, but overall every woman is working for the same outcome and that is respect.

With that being said, I have trouble with calling myself a feminist. Of course I believe in equal rights for all people, but after my research on the actual feminist movement during my time in college, I will always identify as Black first, woman second. After going through a thought process, I always identified myself through those means anyways because any time I ever felt separated it was because of my skin complexion. Also with knowing this history, why would I want to identify with a group that was created to shun all Black women? I think I can stand in my beliefs of equality without claiming a group.

In addition to this being said, I also found myself grappling with the fact that most Black women feminist I encounter, especially on Instagram, tend to troll other women. That by nature is the opposite of what feminism is. Now that could just be my experiences and I could be wrong.

Ladies, especially my Black ladies, all I ask is that you acknowledge the history and understand where I am coming from. Until I can have a peace of mind that we are working to end the racism we suffer from that effects our education, our wealth , health and so much more, I will continue to focus my work towards being a respected Black person. Only after I can achieve that will I be able to work on helping the white feminist movement if they are willing to have me.