Black Feminism
Black feminism – a form of feminism based on the idea that feminism which ignores racism is inadequate. Although feminism as a whole seeks to speak on behalf of all women, it has often been criticized for being a movement of white middle-class women. From the perspective of Black women, white feminists struggle against sexism but do not sufficiently oppose racism and class contradictions.
Black feminists have existed for as long as white feminists. In the United States, the Women’s Liberation Movement emerged from the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Liberation Movement. However, there are also women of color who, without being African American, feel that their experience differs from that of white feminists. In this connection, another term is sometimes used – womanism – while others propose redefining the term feminism so that it includes women of all races and classes.
The main representatives of Black feminism include Alice Walker, bell hooks, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Angela Davis, Patricia Hill Collins, Audre Lorde, and others.
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