Bound in Unity or Destruction: Black Women's History Month

 

                                              TransAtlantic Productions Dr. Barbara Sizemore

The narrative of the African American woman in the United States is of vital and national security importance to the Black family, and Pan-African Society. Our women, are our most important resource and treasure. Likewise, for the Black women, the Black Man is their most important resource and treasure for the maintenance of African or Khemetian society. The relationship is reciprocal and the seed and egg defines our oneness as an organism and species. For her to lose her mind, personal & historical identity, self value, and social role within the African American family, during our Diasporaic sojourn in the Americas, is to observe the slow genocide of a family and an entire group of people. 

 

Thus, the narrative of Black Women's History in the United States must take meticulous care to identify specific mechanisms and historical ideologies, which form the foundation of American society (English, Spanish, French, Dutch, or Portuguese) and dictate life in various manners. 

 

The Black American Women's History

First and foremost, the African American woman cannot forget the manner in which she came from the continent of African (Khemet) to the Americas under the White Capitalist Patriarchical Military Supremacy colonization of Western Europeans (Thinking Critically Bell Hooks). The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is as much of cause and effect as The American Revolution or US Constitution is to the White American, it determines the legal socioeconomic realities of life in these lands. Furthermore, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade did much to the African woman, that she should never forget, lest she fall victim to the same devices which captured and enslaved her in these lands. 

Unforgettable Tenets of Black American Women's History 

1.

The separation from her original family and protection is the first of many traumatic actions which define this identity. The break up of her family is the catalyst for the rest of her life and her children. Thus, this is a theme that is constantly repeated in the course of all, each and every Black American Woman's life, especially if they are not conscience of it. Not enough can be said about this first historical aspect. Next, The monetary valuation of her body and subsequent, reevaluation for the uses of her body, especially as sexual vice without consequence or permission, secondly as labor, and third, as the mechanism for birthing new humans. The history of the Black American woman begins with dehumanization, the loss of identity and history, and the re-evaluation of her body, not for her essential social role as daughter, Sister, Wife, and Mother, but for her labor contribution to the capitalist system of the Americas, North, Central and South. This is how a proud African tribal woman becomes a Black American in Spanish, English, French, Dutch, or Portuguese. It is the same system in the diaspora of the Americas. Please understand, this recent western, post 1500s, Crusades inspired history, is not the same, or minutely equivalent to the holistic 200,000 year history of the African or Khemetian woman, but one very recent subcategory.

                                             Breaking Family on Coast of Africa

2.

Next, in the history of the Black American Woman is language and renaming. The loss of family and identity (clan & tribe) is replaced by a new social orientation of people, new language, new name, and forced mannerisms, in which to express herself. It can be argued that the Black American Woman is an created woman, much like the Black American Man, is an created man. For the record, Blackness is a concept and idea, not a factual place and there is no land known called Black land. Still, these specific aspects of the machinery of the system primarily shape the Black Woman, inside and out, spiritually and physically. Any narrative of Black American women must begin with this brokeness and disconnect with her original safety, original identity, original environment, and original reality. And most importantly, the narrative must identify the cause of the brokeness and the role the dominant society plays in causing this trauma and how the society constantly changes how it redefines Black Women over time. Again, black women are created by the dominant society and their reality is determined by that society's capital valuation of their body and how it will be used. 

3.

Given the above framework filling the foundation of the Black American Woman's History, the Black American Woman in the Diaspora of her people and land (in other words, in a massive forced migration of her people by war), begins her story.

Niggerification: How A Black Woman (Or Man) is Created

a. Separation from Original Clan, Tribe, & Family. 

b. Physical Separation from Original Homeland & Native Biological Environment

c. Physical Imprisonment, forced coerce behavior with violent torture including maiming and rape as tools of war. Physical Enslavement and separation from her native biological male, which is one and the same original organism species. The Black Woman is then coerced into breeding & sexual violence by her foreign captives.

d. Loss of Culture, language, traditions, style of dress, diet, belief system, personal value, unique customs, social roles, family identity, family name and re-education into another culture with another language, tradition, style of dress, diet, belief system, personal values, unique customs, social roles, new family/social orientation, and new family names. The new society and environment applies a capital value and assigns an occupation for labor.

e. A Black Woman or Man is created.

    

The Ugly Truth & The Horrible Past

4. 

Thus, the story and history of the Black American Woman must begin with her slave experience and her narrative. What happened to her parents, her Mother and Father and how did she come to be born? What happened to her family, Brothers and Sisters, and what was the nature of their existence and cooperation? How did the American system of enslavement affect her family? How has America changed towards her family over the years? How are mature Black mates brought together to produce another generation and what does life look like for those children? In outlining these things, the Black Woman will begin to understand that she is not an individual, but a sum of many parts. It is impossible to separate the plight of the Black Woman, since she is apart of the Black Family. The eras of Black Women's history are adjacent to Black History in America. Understanding this unity is vital to the safeguarding of the Black American family and Black Women's History should always be used to scaffold to the larger picture.

a. Colonial Era (1499-1830)

Examples:

Bars Fight by Lucy Terry (1724)

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley (1798)

b. Antebellum Era (1776-1865)

Examples: 

Ar'n't I a Woman? by Sojourner Truth

A Narrative of Sojourner Truth

Religion and the Pure Principles of Morality by Maria Stewart

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriett Jacobs

Thirty Years A Slave and Four in the White House by Elizabeth Keckley

Our Nig by Harriett Wilson

c. Post-Bellum & Reconstruction Era (1865-1877)

Examples:

Famous Women of the Negro Race by Pauline Hopkins

An Appeal to My Country Women by Frances Harper

The Scarlet Woman by Fenton Johnson

I Sit & Sew by Alice Moore Dunbar Nelson

d. Jim Crow America (1877-1965)

Examples:

A Red Record by Ida B Wells-Barnett

Before the Feast of Shushan by Anne Spencer

Sweat by Zora Neale Hurston

Mules & Men by Zora Neale Hurston

Hoodoo in America by Zora Neale Hurston

To a Dark Girl by Gwndolyn Bennett

Saturday's Child by Countee Cullen

The Living is Easy by Dorothy West

The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks

A Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansberry

A Blue Book from the Blue Black Magical Women by Sonia Sanchez

The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara

From A Logical Point of View by Nikki Giovanni

I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Beloved by Toni Morrison

e. Civil Rights Integration & Contemporary History (1965-Present)

Women by Alice Walker

Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid

The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor 

Teaching Critical Thinking by Bell Hooks

Aint I a Women by Bell Hooks 

 

How the Black Woman is Portrayed Today

5. 

"The Modern American feminist movement has convinced the Black woman that she doesn't need a man (Interview Dr. Umar Johnson 2022)." 

Since the American Civil War, the perpetual enslavement of Black Americans has been outlawed except in certain Criminal cases, which indicates that the Slave system in America is still in existence (13th Amendment 1865). After the overt enslavement period in the United States, it is vital to portray Black American Women in unity with the Black Male, which is an symbol broken by the Slave institution. The education of the Black woman in the Diaspora and in the United States must withstand the dominant American discourse, which seeks to represent Black American Women as the same caricatures that were forced upon her by dominant society during the Antebellum (Slave) Era. These portrayals include Mamie, Tragic Mulatto, Jezabel, and the miseducated, misguided "Independent Woman," in post modern times. 

 

 

Mammie I & II Archetype Courtesy of Sean Smith for I Color

 

 

Tragic Mulatto Courtesy of Jim Crow Exhibit Ferris

 

 Jezabel I, II-Josephine Baker, III- Twerking Team, IV- Modern Jezabel

Single Black Mother Archetype

 

Independent Black Female Courtesy of Atlanta Black Star 

The Fight For Proper Black Women's Portrayal

We must inform our daughters, sisters, wives and Mothers of the coerced behavior forced upon them during enslavement and the sheer strength it took for Black Enslaved Ancestors, Black Men & Women, to fight for our current generation of Black Women to be able to be, daughters, sisters, wives, and Mothers, as opposed to property for labor and sex. The American society intentionally seeks to separate the Black male or female, physically & psychologically, for the purpose of control and division from the group, which would lead to the destruction of the entire unit, and continual enslavement and poverty. This is the moral summit of Sojourner Truth's A'n't I A Woman? Truth, encouraged by the early White Feminist Movement to split from her inextricable support of equality & suffrage of the Black Man for the universal suffrage of White Women, voiced her understanding the the plight of the Black Woman cannot be separated from the Black Man. Truth too, would like someone to place a rain coat over a puddle of water, but since she is a Black, no one would waste a coat, but "An't I a Woman?" The devices to divide Black Women and Men are not new. However, the Black women must be reminded that it took the sacrifice of everyone in the Black American culture, to understand and fight those devices, so our women and families today could soar out of the government planned ghettos and contributed to the American Society in monumental ways. We must identify those ways, while still drawing the connection to the Black American historical origin and plight in the United States. Today, the Black Male is being destroyed by mass incarceration, in many cities the percentage of single Black women are as high as 70%, and the percentage of children coming out of two parent households has dropped from 7 out of 10 in the 1960s to 2 out of 10. The hegemony of the United States has directed the same slave  "Mammie- Tragic Mulatto, Jezabel, Single independent Women," propaganda, legal  (Auction Block-Child Support), and socioeconomic (Section 8) attempts to drive a permanent wedge between the Black Male and female to effectively break the Black family, through divide and conquer, once and for all. The result will create a permanent caste of Blacks in the Americas suffering from the ills of broken family, and the poverty it breeds. Thus, our Black women must be well versed not to be fooled by the popular American social attempt to separate her from the Black Male. Black Women must be specific and particular about the Women publicly endorsed as role models and icons. The Dominant American Society will endorse Black Women, who fit the traditional roles of Mammie, Tragic Mulatto, Jezabel, and Independent Women. Thus, the leaders of genuine Black Feminist organizations must counter these popular forces with drug free, authentic, tenacity, and historically knowledgeable Black female Icons. The same must be done for our Black American Men, to provide role models of substance and character. Essentially, in America,two groups will be pushed, a group embedded by the White American Establishment for social control, and another endorsed by the community for the genuine representation of values, direction, and cultural mores. History has given us examples of the type of Black American Women, we should support and endorse. It is time to raise up another generation of daughters, sisters, wives, and Mothers of substance and character.

Mary McCloud Bethune

 

Biddy Mason

Ida Wells-Barnett

Zora Neale Hurston

 

Toni Morrison

 

Bell Hooks 

 

Michelle Obama 

Black Women in Unity or Black Women in Destruction

It is unfortunate in the sojourner of the American Diaspora and the long fight of Africans in Americas from the Middle Passage, Revolutions to the Plantation and Jim Crow, that we find among ourselves traitors and those who would betray our sacred heritage for temporary convenience. The Black Women, who are in solidarity with the Black Man, the struggle for the Black family, and the plight for the future of our children cannot be praised enough. Black Women's History Month, must center around these characters of substance within our communities; daughters, sisters, aunts, wives, and Mothers. Their stories are ubiquitous and their triumphs are inspiring.

 In opposition to Black Unity are the very loud, historical trauma driven, Black women in Destruction of Black people and the costs are mighty. Of late, these are the Black Women, American Media & Popular Agencies promote to influence Black behavior and thought. Again, the characteristics are the same as during the slave era caricatures, "Mammie, Tragic Mulatto, Jezabel, and the Independent Woman." Each character is toxic towards Black people, consuming them for their worth, then jettisoning them when they are finish. This is all done in over appreciation and service of the White Capitalist Patriarchy Militant Supremacy system. Furthermore, there is a serious development in the destruction of the Black family and Black Male, which is caused primarily by the toxic Black Woman. 

The Auction Block of the Courthouse, which sold millions of Black Men, women and children by law during slavery, has rebranded itself as Family court, where millions of Black families are broken apart again, just like the slave days. Not only is family court turning millions of Black Men into Debtors or Peon Slaves, but as a consequence of failure to pay, criminals and in time, slaves again according to the 13th Amendment. Thus, Black American Women, who were brought to America without the rights of a citizen, are seeking justice from the very system which legally enslaved her and her Ancestors, and in seeking justice from another individual, a previous lover, who also was brought to America without the rights of a citizen, in a court that historically sold millions of Black Men and Women. The logic, I cannot make up but the end result is not only the destruction of that specific Black Man, but if repeated systematically, the re-enslavement of the Black Man by testimony of the Black Woman. Such a betrayal on a mass scale cannot be brushed under the rug of a lover's quarrel, if 7 out of 10 Black men are currently within the system, than, this is one of the most important issues in Black America today. A reason for "Fatherless" homes and mass incarceration among Black families. The taxes received by the Courts from Child Support are used to perpetuate the system, and is actively after the school-prison pipeline, the second leading avenue for Black Men to enter the criminal system. Black Women must acknowledge this and take responsibility.  Black America cannot be silent on the Child Support System any further for not only is it criminalizing Black Men, but taxing the Black Family during calamity.

Jezabel

The Jezabel caricature for the Black American women is the most destructive on the community and the person. The market for hyper-sexuality of Black Women, constantly available, was created by European men in the slave system, and thus, is hyperbole in reality, often coupled by economic need. Keep Black families poor and White America will always have a steady supply of Jezabels for consumption. Before the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, it did not exist for African women and so, Jezabel is strictly created as an Black American Woman caricature because it is ultimately in service for miscegeny and white men. This is a creation of American popular culture from everything from the language, to the style of dress, occupations (Stripper, prostitute, Video Vixen etc), and types of dances a Jezabel does (social or twerking). Of late, this caricature has arisen to influence Black American Woman in the face of literally a decline to Black Men due to mass incarceration, and death. Due to the influence of the modern Jezabel on Men, the impression and influence to other women and for little girls to pursue this type of lifestyle or employment as a viable means to earning a living increased, and the poverty of mind that descends into all type of decadence from drug & alcohol abuse, sexual promiscuity, sexual deviance, and poor moral compass is a grave trauma that can be inter-generational. The spirit of Jezabel is not to be miscalculated because the spirit is all consuming and is hedonistic, narcissistic, and nihilistic. The psychological zeitgeist is to consume men, constantly be available for sexual advances, cheeky behavior, and uses feminism to justify what cannot be justified by honesty or true morality. If a man marries a Jezabel, his family will be destroyed within a matter of time, with the reality of being taken to the modern auction block, likely. We caution our women to find value, historical identity, and fruitful relationships with men which helps develop the experience of different types of love to experience with men, such as Fathers, Uncles, Brothers, Nephews, and sons. All these relationships are not based on sex and so a women develops character which is useful in a community of people, that is not toxic driven or based on consumption. A woman needs to develop this type of fruitful relationship with females as well to be balance.

Final Words

The narrative of Black Women's History is of vital importance to the Black Family and ultimately can influence the Black American experience for the positive or the negative. The history of Black American Women is ugly and horrific, but it is a lesson that is not to be forgotten, lest we repeat them again. It is also a history that is inextricably bound to the Black Man and family, from which Black Women cannot be separate. Any attempt to portray the Black Women as separate is a device by dominant society to divide and conquer the black community. Still, the fight is to portray Black women as daughters, sisters, aunts, wives, and Mothers to inspire triumph and human dignity among our women. Black women will either live in unity with the Black Man & Family or she will destroy it within this American society. History will record the response

  

 

written by Cowan Amaye-Obu