educationtaya.blogg.se

It also implies that Black women’s activism should be passive and unassuming. This phenomenon of rendering Black women civil rights activists as two-dimensional steals their agency, and reproduces what historian Jeanne Theoharris terms “gendered silences,’ within the larger history of the movement. Women such as Rosa Parks, are reduced to limited images of obedient femininity, or “accidental” matriarchs. Mainstream histories of the civil rights movement tend to praise a certain type of Black womanhood. However, Black women’s activities must also be accounted for in order to tell a more accurate and comprehensive history of the movement. This meant that while Black women took on important strategic roles at the local level, they were often prevented from having a more visible role or accessing the highest levels of leadership in national organization. Men, particularly religious figures came to serve as formal leaders, which the movement then coalesced around at the national level. Their labor and sacrifice kept the movement going.Īccording to scholar Belinda Robnett, much of the labor of the modern civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s was organized around gender. Many African American women operated as leaders at the local level, serving as the bridge between national and grassroots organizations.

But the reality of the civil rights movement challenges these narratives. While countless women played important roles at various points during the Black Freedom Struggle, it is men who still receive more attention and credit for the successes of the movement, particularly in commemorative efforts and historical narratives. When discussing Black women’s leadership and organizing efforts during the African American Civil Rights movement it becomes clear how often their contributions are overlooked.

They found ways to organize and lead for a more just and equal society, not just for themselves, but for all people. Throughout the history of the United States, Black women have participated across most major social movements.

"Jim Crow Must Go," Date Unknown Introduction