In history and arguably now, we’ve seen the voices of Black women overshadowed by White Women’s. We’ve seen the concerns of Black Women put behind those of Black men (cue the 15th amendment). We’ve seen Black men attempt to speak for Black women because hyper-masculinity can only show so much sympathy. Often times, we acknowledge Martin Luther King as the sole reason behind the success of the Civil Rights Movement, without acknowledging the women who organized his marches and helped write the speeches that he took credit for. It is undeniable fact that Black Women have been the backbone of this country’s most successful movements, but what have they gotten in returned? Appropriation by White Women and hatred by black men.
These of course are generalizations only to emphasize the fact that before there was a Barrack Obama there was a Shirley Chisholm and before Gloria Steinem there was a Sojourner Truth. It’s important for us as a society to learn from the women whose voices were unheard not too long ago. Below are just a few of those women.
1. Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was a women’s rights advocate, suffragist, abolitionist, and radical who educated the world about a whole subpopulation that had been disenfranchised. Although she encountered injustice due to her skin color, sex, and illiteracy, she was able to rise from the blistering depths of slavery and become a free woman. At the time, women weren’t allowed to get jobs let alone speak out publicly; however, Truth did not let that discourage her from being an advocate for both Black people and women. Even though she had very limited support from Black men in the community, she became the first woman to ever challenge and win a court case against a white man. In addition to this, she was one of the first women to ever publicly demand women’s right. Truth and abolitionist alike are responsible for the ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment. Although she didn’t live to see it, she helped pave the way for the ratification of the 19th amendment through her work at Women’s Rights conventions. Truth is most known for her “Ain’t I A Woman” where she challenged the idea that black men and women should now be treated different now that they are citizens, despite the fact that they did the same work as slaves.
2. Ella Baker
Although executive female organizers were rare, Ella Baker did not let that discourage from being an essential part of the Civil Rights Movement. Baker was a women’s rights advocate and one of the first things she did as an activist was co-found “In Friendship” with A. Phillip Randolph. This organization was funded the Montgomery Bus Boycott that ended with the supreme court ruling that segregated busing in Alabama was illegal. The leaders of the boycott wanted to keep the momentum going, so they along with Baker formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Most are only familiar with MLK as a member, but Baker was actually the executive director of SCLC. With that being said, the majority of the members were men and ministers who were not ready to listen to the voice of the opinionated woman she was. In fact, King and Baker disagreed on how an activist should lead. Baker believed that “Strong people don’t need strong leaders”. Her belief was exemplified through her involvement with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Baker formed the group, but left it up to the students to do the organizing. Their most notable sit-in was at a Greensboro lunch counter in 1960.
3. Shirley Chisholm
In a field dominated by men, especially White men, Shirley Chisholm made a place for women of color that was unheard of. Chisholm believed that a woman’s place was in government so that they could have a say in policies that affected them. She was the first Black woman ever elected to congress in 1969 (just four years after the Voting Rights Act was passed) where she served for 14 years representing the state of New York. During her time in the U.S House of Representatives, she was a part of the group that founded the Congressional Black Caucus. Even though Black women achieved the right to vote after Black men, the first African-American to ever to get the nomination of a major political party was Shirley Chisholm, a Black woman.
4. Dorthy Height
Heights spent the majority of her life fighting for racial equality and women’s rights and specifically focused her work on the struggles of Black Women. As a strong Black woman herself, she understood that there was under-appreciated woman more than the Black woman. Because of her work as an activist and as an organizer for the 1963 March on Washington, she was the only woman seated on the speaker’s list at the march; however, the male dominated executives in charge of the program did not schedule any women to speak at the march. Ultimately, Height received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 for her courageous work.
5. Mary Mcleod Bethune
Although in the 18th and early 19th century only men were expected to get an education, Mary Bethune believed that right extended to females. She believed that America thrived when all its people were educated. Despite the fact that many of her own brown brothers believed that it wasn’t necessary for women to get an education because they “wouldn’t be taking care of the family”, Bethune believed the exact opposite. In fact, she founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Institute for girls in 1904. Bethune went on to form a historically black college, Bethman-Cookman University. Her notable work as both a civil leader and political activist landed her a position in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. According to the National Council of Negro Women, which Bethune also founded, Bethune was “was the first African-American woman to be involved in the White House.”
