After watching “Untold Stories of Black Women in the Suffrage Movement” I went down a bit of a youtube hole and continued to watch short documentaries on this topic. I became very angry about the fact that I had never learned about these incredible black women, like Ida B. Wells in school when I had been learning about women like Susan B. Anthony. It is not at all surprising but I’m thankful there is more public information online about this history as I need to do a better job about educating myself on these things. I know not to trust typical history books in reporting the full story as history is told through the lens of whomever is writing it and the books we read are typically by white men, especially in the schooling system.
These videos make me think about how the feminist movement continues to largely not be inclusive and intersectional. The progress we have seen in the feminist movement has largely supported white women and society highlight white feminists while covering up the rest of the story.
* I wanted to add to my thoughts a bit on this… Over the past few years I’ve spent a lot of time on the island of Guadeloupe. On Guadeloupe my friends and extended family talk a lot about the slave trade and often highlight the bravery of abolitionists. Guadeloupe, still a French territory, saw what was happening in France after the Haitian Revolution and started to riot themselves against slavery. One abolitionists name was a woman named Solitude. There are many myths about her and many fictional stories written of her but the main thing to take away from her is that she was a incredibly strong black mother and leader who even now, so long after she was alive is celebrated for her femininity and her leadership in the fight against slavery on the island. Seeing her statues while I was there made me consider how back home in the U.S.A. we continue to celebrate people who may have had some feats but were only put on the pedestal for making change in a way that continually benefited (and benefits) white people. It is maddening that school children are just beginning to learn the truth of Thanksgiving but are not being taught about women’s liberation in any type of way but especially in a way that celebrates all kinds of women. I want to learn more about those who truly have made change, whom we don’t celebrate and honor in the ways that we need to.
Do you know the “That Wasn’t In My Textbook” Podcast? You might like it. It addresses exactly some of these oversights. I appreciate your comments and that you went on to check out more. I do agree that the mainstream feminist movement is pretty white-washed – in fact, I find it hard to participate in some ways because of this and because it is so heteronormative and rarely accounts for gender diversity. I have made my social media feeds such that they are full of wonderful work by BIPOC and gender-variant people and so sometimes I forget that outside the world I have created for myself, people aren’t exposed to the same histories. I am glad I was able to share this with you through this class. If you are interested in other resources, let me know. I’d love to share.
RE: Your response, is much too short and you don’t address a classmate’s snapshot. Please be sure you do that and follow the guidelines for these posts.