Black
Feminist Movement
All too often, “black” was equated with the black man, and “woman” was equated was equated to the white women. As a result, Black women were an invisible group whose existence and needs were ignored. These women were racially oppressed in the woman movement and sexually oppressed in the black movement, thus there was the creation of the Black Feminist Movement. The purpose of this movement was to develop theory which could adequately address the way race, gender, and class were interconnected in their lives and to take action to stop racist, sexist, and class discrimination.
Toni Morrison
In her book, The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison gives a very strong description of how things were for black women;
Everybody in the
world was in a position to give the [Black Women] orders. White women said,
“Do this.” White children said, “Give me that.” White men said, “Come
here.” Black men said, “Lay down.” The only people that they need not take
orders from were black children and each other. But they took all of that and re-created
it in their own image. They ran the houses of white people. And knew it. When
white men beat their men, they cleaned up the blood and went home to receive
abuse from the victim. They beat their children with one hand and stole for them
with the other. The hands that felled trees also cut umbilical cords; the hands
that wrung the necks of chickens and butchered hogs also nudged African violets
into bloom; the arms that loaded sheaves, bales, and sacks rocked babies into
sleep. They patted biscuits into flaky ovals of innocence- and shrouded the
dead. They plowed all day and came home to nestle like plums under the limbs of
their men. The legs that straddled a mule’s back were the same ones that
straddled their men’s hips. And the difference was all the difference there
was.