How can the "backbone" of a movement be confined to the backseat of discussions? Why should I set the table if I can't have a seat at it?
The Civil Rights Movement failed to recognize the hypocrisy of sexism and showed a severe lack of self-awareness that allowed a movement for racial equality to perpetuate hierarchies in other spheres such as class, gender, and sexuality.
Ministers were seen as shepherds of their flocks while the female missionaries devoted themselves to "quiet, selfless services". These women gathered the people so that the men could lead them.
In fighting for freedom, the Civil Rights Movement not only lost crucial voices and input, but denied certain freedoms and leadership privileges to people such as Ella Baker, because she was a woman, and Bayard Rustin, because he was gay. However it was because Baker was a woman that Levison and Rustin felt it unnecessary to inform Baker that they were lobbying King for a position for her. They knew why King was reluctant to work with her, but never considered that Baker could be reluctant to work with King.
This was probably due to the history and expectation of the black woman to drop everything for the sake of her race. Despite all of the baggage between King and Baker, when he got stabbed she picked up all the slack, even though she had been home-bound with back pain herself. Nobody thought twice about the sacrifices she made because that was her role as a black woman-- to support the black man. To do the most work with the least resources, power, influence and recognition.
Black women are expected to:
Organize
Protect
Nurture
Work
Create
We get:
Ignored
Overlooked
Dismissed
Disrespected
Now black women were not completely locked out of the moment, and some, like Baker were able to take on leadership roles. However, there was a pervasive belief by the larger, dominant American society that women were to play a submissive role. These sexist attitudes permeated the movement for racial equality, tainting its professed moral purity.
Tate, thank you for your words.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with everything you have said. It is a sad reality that continues today. For example, #BlackLivesMatter was created by three Black queer women. They gifted us with a love note and rallying cry for our generation. Yet, when talking about Black Lives Matter with some Black men, they ignore or erase how state violence impacts Black women, femme, and queer bodies. They reject intersectionality, but have no problem with taking our labor. It is abusive. To be overworked and overlooked. That is not liberation. That is patriarchy shaded a little darker. That is not a movement for us.
Furthermore, I would like for us to think about how these gendered politics play out in different spheres. For example, how can we make connections with communal violence and domestic violence? It is important to note these connections because the intimate is part of our everyday experiences.
Lovingly,
Mysia