Barbara Smith

In my reading of Barbara Smith, she begins by discussing her role in the the feminist movement. When she was asked when she became a feminist, she states that "I began to identify or to be curious about feminism in the early 1970s." (31) Then she goes on to say, "I was very involved in political organizing on my campus, which was Mount Holyoke, including being involved in the peace movement to end the war in Vietnam." (31) She was very involved in the movement and tells us that this was stepping out of the boundaries especially being around the time of the Vietnam war and being a black feminist. Furthermore, she states that she was one of the very few in the black community getting involved in black women's rights. One of Barbara’s main points to her interview was that her understanding of white feminism changed over time, especially when she began to experience different things in society and that helped her grow. She also touches on racial welfare in Boston and due to the fact that schools and busses were becoming desegregated, there was a social unrest.
One day Barbara realized that press for black feminism had not been published or even talked about like white feminism had been. She then discusses The Kitchen Table. There was an influx of white feminist publishing but nothing for black women. Following this realization Barbara made it a point to get women of other backgrounds to join. She states, “We would be a press for all women of color, not just for women with African heritage.” (47) She devoted a portion of her life to this, she says and that helped bridge the gap a bit between the black feminism and white feminist movement and bring them closer to a union.
Lastly, she talks about the idea of “This bridge called my back concept” which was the concept that “we all need to work together” and not see each other as enemies just because of the obvious, or not obvious differences that these women shared. I think that the main point that I took away from her interview was that her goal in life was to give people the real definition of feminism and what it meant to be a feminist. That, no matter if you are Black, White, Trans, Latina, Able-Bodied etc. that these women should all recognize that they share differences and are different and that is what should bring them together to promote equal rights and to make a difference.

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