Black Women on Black Women Alice Walker The

Black Women on Black Women

Alice Walker: “The Civil Rights Movement: What Good Was it? ” “Because of the movement, because of an awakened faith in the newness and imagination of the human spirit, because of “black and White together”- for the first time in our history in some human relationship on and off TV—because of the beatings, the arrests, the hell of the battle during the past years, I have fought harder for my life and for a chance to be myself, to be something more than a shadow or a number, than I had ever done before in my life. ” (124)

Alice Walker Continued “Part of what existence means to me now is knowing the difference between what I am now and what I was then. It is being able to look after myself intellectually as well as financially. It is being able to tell when I am wronged and by whom. It means being awake to protect myself and the ones I love. It means being alert to which part it is that I have joined and knowing how to change to another part if that part doesn’t suit me…This, at least, the Movement has given me. ”

Walker continued “If the Civil Rights Movement is “dead” and if it gave us nothing else, it gave us each other forever. It gave some of us bread, some of us shelter, some of us knowledge and pride, all of us comfort. It gave us our children, our husbands, our brothers, our fathers, as men reborn and with a purpose for living. It broke the pattern of black servitude in this country. ”

Walker Continued “ What good was the Civil Rights Movement? . . . If it had taken black eyes off of white television series, it would have been enough. If it had fed one starving child, it would have been enough. ” “ It shattered the phony “promise” of white soap operas that sucked away so many pitiful lives. It gave us history and men far greater than Presidents. It gave us heroes, selfless men of courage and strength, for our little boys and girls to follow. It gave us hope for tomorrow. It called us to life. Because we live, it can never die”

Kiswana Browne • Fran Scoble’s “Mothers and Daughters: Giving the Lie” might tell us quite a bit about the relationship between Kiswana and her mother. What do you think Scoble might say about the relationship between them? • Pride of heritage is an important theme in this story. How does it, ironically, interfere between the relationship between mother and daughter? • How does the relationship change and what changes it? • What role does intersectionality play in this story?

BLACK PRIDE? SOME CONTRADICTIONS. ANN COOK “How far, if at all have we we moved psychologically and intellectually since the new “Black Awareness began? ” • “What really pained me was the elaborate fashion show of clothing in African prints and styles. Now, I would be the first to admit that there is nothing sacred about most African cloth itself. But our turn to Africa should, hopefully be for the richness of its culture, and awareness of which can enable us to smooth out the rough spots of what we have stubbornly held on to. We should look to the heart of Africa for a purge of decadent Western values, for a new philosophical and spiritual base, in short, for regeneration. ”

Cook continued “But what did these “proud” African designers show us? Directly inspired by Africa—there was even a West African model making it all very African—models slithered past the cameras in African-print bikinis; they wiggled by in hip-hugging African-bell-bottoms miraculously held up by the model’s pelvic bones; and, if enough Western-style sex was not marketed with those, there were the Moslem long coats that were transparent! (Such irony. )

Ann Cook continued “Another more subtle, anti-Africanistic tendency is becoming apparent in the bush afro. We do not mind wearing an afro if we have the kind of hair that can make a bush or if our straightening comb can help us out. So, again, it is “good hair” afros. That is what Afro-sheen, Raveen and all the other complex kits of sprays are all about—getting the kinks out. ”

Ann Cook continued “ one hears of a brilliant young economist whose skin was very black…. For four months she lay in the hospital after she seriously burned her face trying to bleach herself with a soda solution. ” “We sing, I’m black and I’m proud, but we are far from convincing. ” “we are having to convince ourselves that thick lips, broad noses, and kinky hair accompanying the now acceptable black skin can be beautiful. ”

Everyday Use: Historical context “Everyday Use” is set in the late 1960 s or early 1970 s, a tumultuous time when many African Americans were struggling to redefine and seize control of their social, cultural, and political identity in American society. There was also a greater attempt to recognize the contributions that African Americans had already made in America’s long history. At the time, both scholars and laypeople became interested in unearthing and reexamining the African American past. They were particularly interested in the aspects of African heritage that had survived centuries of slavery and were still present in African American culture. During this time, many blacks sought to establish themselves as a visible and unified group and take control of how their group was named. Black (and later Afro-American) replaced the term Negro, which took on offensive associations. Many black Americans, uninspired by a bleak history of slavery in North America, looked to their African roots in an effort to reconnect with their past.

http: //www. sparknotes. com/short-stories/everyday-use/section 1. rhtml The time period in which “Everyday Use” takes place was also an era when groups of all ideologies—some peaceful, some militant—emerged. The Black Panthers and Black Muslims were groups created to resist what they saw as a whitedominated society. Dee is possibly emulating the Cultural Nationalists, artists and writers who wore flowing robes and sandals and emphasized the development of black culture as a means of promoting freedom and equality. Walker may have created Hakim-a-barber with this new, younger, more militant generation in mind. When Mama describes the Muslims who live down the road, who lead a labor-intensive life, Hakim dismisses their hard lifestyle. He is unwilling to commit to the hard work of the cause and faith he claims to embrace. Ultimately, Walker’s story is a critique of individuals who misapplied or misunderstood some of the ideals that black consciousness groups promoted during that time.

Questions about “Everyday Use” • What denotes patriarchy in this story? What represents the real patriarchy and how does it show up? What would Scoble say about the motherdaughter relationships? • What are the women’s sense of identity in the story? What do they feel defines them and how do you know? • Who has the poser and what shows it? • What do the quilts represent? The yard? The butter churn? What is the use to which Wangero intends to put the things she demands? Why is that ironic and how does that relate to a sense of heritage and the title of the story? • Can you see intersectionality in this story? How and where?