4/22 "How We Get Free"

The Combahee River Collective was a group of radical black lesbian feminists which can trace their lineage directly to the 1960’s civil rights movement. It branched off of the National Black Feminist Organization because their ideals and organization was not sufficient in the eyes of the collective. As well as civil rights pioneers, they are also socialists. Page 19 says, “We realize that the liberation of all oppressed peoples necessitates the destruction of the political-economic systems of capitalism and imperialism as well as patriarchy.” They believe that systems of oppression are interlocking and many (more than one) factors synergize to oppress certain people. Page 15 states “...based upon the fact that the major systems of oppression are interlocking. The synthesis of these oppressions creates the conditions of our lives.” Since these systems of oppression are overwhelmingly evident in their everyday life, the “personal is political” slogan arose. The slogan means that the individual's personality and political beliefs were molded by their everyday conditions. I could not help but to agree with the many arguments stated in this book. Page 10, “A more accurate view of the United States comes from the ground, not the perch of the White House. When we judge this country by the life of Charleena Lyles, a thirty-year old, single Black mother, who was shot seven times and killed by Seattle police officers in June 2017, the picture comes sharper into focus.” The United States, contrary to what Michelle Obama has said, is by no means the greatest country on earth with justice for all. This situation calls into question the concept of “identity politics,” using one’s identity to pave a path to politically confront injustices. This concept was borne out of the fact that (page 8) “their [black women] multiple identities opened them up to overlapping oppression and exploitation.” This could also be called intersectionality. I believe what the CRC preaches is justified. The failure on part of white feminist organizations to aid the black feminist organizations lead to their (blacks) alienation. Their views are justified because of the oppressions mentioned in the beginning. This movement also created new pathways for the oppressed to become politically active.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Freedom Riders 3/26

As I watched the “Freedom Riders” documentary, the more disgusted I become at that racial injustices in American history. At the beginning of the documentary, there is a small montage of bigots giving poor excuses as to why the South should remain segregated. However, there was one quote that stuck out that stated, “You can not change a way of life overnight. The more they try to force us into doing something, the worse the reaction is going to be.” Racism should not be a way of life anyone wants to live through or put onto someone else. The Freedom Riders and many nonviolent protesters weren’t physically imposing on others, so why was the reaction of segregationists to worsening as “they try to force” them into a realistic way of life? Watching the documentary and listening to how the Riders were willing to be martyrs for the Movement as they were physically attacked, their property was destroyed via molotov and mentally drained daily makes me appreciate activism a great deal more, ...
Read more
After reading the rest of Kwame Ture and Charles V. Hamilton's Black Power and then reflecting about what we talked about in class on Tuesday, I still cannot put my finger on an exact definition of "black power." I do believe, though, that "black power" cannot be achieved without a change in the political structure of America. When reading the fourth chapter of this book, the idea that people in power control the law is brought up. I, almost, one hundred percent agree with this. The quote from the book that stood out to me was "Law is the agent of those in political power; it is the product of those powerful enough to define right and wrong and to have that definition legitimized by "law." This is not to say that "might makes right," but it is to say that Might makes Law." This quote shows how political leaders shape the law. Those in power get to make the laws, whether they are just or not. I still believe this today. I believe...
Read more

What It's Like to Be Black on Campus Now

In Melissa Harris-Perry’s article, “What It’s Like to Be Black on Campus Now”, she discusses the issues behind race in education and institutions through ten black student journalists who tell their personal experiences. She gives an example from the University of Missouri, explaining how one student decided to stop eating in protest of inaction and ineffective administrative responses to racial incidents on campus. 30 Missouri football players joined this one student in protest and University of Missouri’s president resigned soon after. This example is powerful because it shows other institutions that when you unite together, change can come. Harris- Perry continues to talk about how important education is to black families and how hard it is to send their children to a place that can be so full of hatred towards their race. She wrote, “Viewing higher education as a pathway to equity, African American families and communities have made enormous sacrifices to send black kids to college...
Read more