The blogger that I felt should read Too Heavy a Load: Black Women in Defense of Themselves 1894-1994 by Deborah Gray White is bobkat09. The blogger revealed that she has little experience dealing with people of different races than herself and therefore little knowlegde of the subject. But, I chose this blogger because the first step in learning something is to want to learn it. Bobkat09 seems genuinely interested in the plight of black women and White does a good job explaining the situations of the day. White’s work is thorough, although slightly repetitive, and she presents her argument well. If someone does not have a grasp on the black woman’s experience before reading this book (as bobkat09 admits), she would do well to learn from White’s insight.
White really spells out the Black women’s club movement and its inception, which I feel would benefit bobkat09 the most. I say that because the situations surrounding the inception reveal why the clubs were even needed. Plus, the situations surrounding the demise reveal the struggles that black women face today. Bobkat09 talks about how she thought that black women and white women shared the same struggles, White shows those stark, important differences between the two races. White’s book is intriguing and informative and any one would benefit from reading it.
For a moment, I toyed with the idea of inciting outrage by saying that I didn’t benefit from the Black woman’s club movement. I decided, for the purpose of this class, jokes may not be found harmless. It just seems so silly for me to say, “I benefited from the Black women’s club movement.” To me, that is the bigger joke because the reader who has read my introductory blog would just say DUH! Well, I’ll humor you and admit that my skin color reveals that I obviously benefited from the Black women’s club movement.
I will go further to admit, before reading this book, I had no idea what a Black women’s club movement was. I have heard of the Black feminist movement in passing, never really studied it and, quite frankly, never saw a point. I have always just assumed that being black is the most important thing and the most hated thing and being woman is secondary therefore black people (male and female) stuck together ferociously fighting for civil rights. Boy, was I WRONG.
This book took the cloak off the history of black male-female relations; therefore, revealing (at least to me) the reasons for the peculiar relationship that we as a black community share today. A lot of times history teachers in high school will try to pretend that the plight of black and white women were one and the same. The man was the breadwinner, the woman wanted to work, the women fought to vote, the black people fought for freedom and everyone lived happily ever after. If women’s studies was a grand eye opener to the predicament of women, this book takes it ten steps further and throws up brick walls between white men, white women, and black men. Finally, the black woman is left alone with her own special fights and struggles. Thus the Black women’s club movement is born.
I personally benefit from this movement because these are the women who fought for equal rights for black women. Also, Alpha Kappa Alpha was involved in this movement and I am a member of that sorority. Therefore, I am a beneficiary there as well. Had it not been for the club movement, the difficulty of black women may or may not have ever been brought to light.
The movement I know the most about is National Association of Colored Women. That is the movement that White talks about at length. “The bottom line was the eradication of racism…the superiority women in black matters concerning the moral welfare of black people, and the equality of black men and women in everything else” (White 39.). Black women involved in this movement were convinced that they were the saviors of the race. Most of the leaders of the movement were bi-racial or light-skinned, middle to upper-class black women. Their objective was to be totally free and in that set the race free. They wanted to be given equality with men, voting rights, stop lynchings, kill segregation, and promote education. They wanted to build the black home, and thus, build the nation.
The nation-building efforts definitely contributed to the nation as a whole. Someone once said, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If black people continued to be looked at as a “weak link” the United States could never build up to its greatest potential. If the country was divided over race and if black people were denied educational and political access, the country would not be strong. Black women ignited a flame in black men (whether they will admit it or not) and encouraged them to step up and be male leaders if they didn’t like a women leading them. This caused the Black race as a whole to rise up and be strong and fight against the prevalent stereotypes. This unified rise gave strength to the black nation. Black people unified (first the women, then around the time of Marcus Garvey the men united with them). This united front encouraged the new black nation to fight against the larger nation and win. Thus removing the perception of a weak link, and causing this nation to grow strong. I am speaking in ideal terms because, of course, this nation isn’t where it needs to be entirely, but it is has made great strides in terms of acceptance and diversity than when these clubs were started. That, to me, is owed in part to this club movement.
If these club women had not stepped up and raised their grievances against both the white community and the black men, then no one may have ever known. Consequently, the black nation would have never disagreed (strengthening the male side and female side) then united even stronger. Stereotypes would have continued to be perpetuated, black women would have continued to suffer in silence while fighting a half-hearted civil rights battle, black men would have been confused at the black womens’ situation and thus there never would have been the strength to fight the status quo. Thus black women, ignited a flame of insistence in terms of justice, that has yet to be put out.
