Feminism and Racism in African American LiteratureFeminism and Racism in African American LiteratureThroughout literature, feminism and racism have played crucial roles in the lives of the characters and plotlines in stories and novels. Audiences are captivated by the drama a character must face in order to succeed in life or society. This struggle to overcome personal discrimination and adversity has transcended centuries and genres of literature. African American literature is no exception. Authors of African American literature would base the events that were taking place in the world around them and incorporate them into their novels. Often times this was the only voice African Americans had in society.
Feminism has been in conflict with African American literature for a long time. In its first half, in 1920, it was considered subversive to tell stories about black victims of lynchings and other crimes. Later on, by the mid-1950s, it was considered by the writers to be the most misogynistic, racially destructive piece of African American literature. This led to the formation of the Feminist Theory of Contemporary American Literature (FATNA). These authors, who used these works to try to change African American society, now publish thousands of novels. These are often based on anti-Semitic elements, with such genres as the Afro-American Indian, Black Power, and the National Socialist movement. There are a number of stories, however, that do not reflect all of this historical context. In the 1960s, even more than that, there was not much of the historical context that would make most of the characters fall into one of those two categories. This is the case with the character of the author named Elizabeth Wint. Despite the fact that the title was a reference to Wint, both writers’ ideas and backgrounds did not match up with each other. Wint’s story involved a character who was a white woman. Her experiences at a bar in Detroit had sparked a lot of controversy between herself and other black female characters. This led to the creation of “Wissimans,” a fictional group working to create the ideal of a Black Woman. This novel was originally published in 1964 and the authors are still publishing the story after that. Some historians have attempted to argue that Wissimans could possibly have been black African American women, and because it is written about the life of a black person, it has been considered a source of controversy not only at one time but as far as many more. The author of these books is not the only figure black women have in their stories, both authors have often had to work with fictional characters before the characters are used in their stories. In her autobiographical tales, A Black Woman in Detroit, the character of Rebecca is portrayed by a black woman. Despite the fact that there is no real connection between their different backgrounds, there is a sense that a black woman would have a different set of issues with Rebecca and the story must be different, as is necessary for her to stay alive. This is also evidenced by Wint’s story. In one chapter of the book, Wissimans use their hero as a character of contrast to the real Elizabeth Wint (Shelvey Brown, author of the memoir Harriet and Black Women). The narrator is a student in a public school that has a young black student, Rebecca, in their class. There is clearly a racial or racial-based divide in their lives, and it is apparent in this tale that Rebecca must be in the middle of it. The narrator has a daughter named Rebecca, and these two are constantly in touch.
The treatment of African Americans in America was filled with brutality and hate. However, they have also suffered by the attempts of white slave owners to try and erase not only the history of African Americans, but their heritage as well. While a Haitian can trace his or her roots to those of a great African king, many African Americans can only trace their history to a simple bill of sale (Thornton 733). Although this demonstrates the dramatic impact slavery has had on African Americans, none have continued to face the effects more than African American women.
During the times of slavery, the order of importance in American society was clearly mapped out. First came white males, next white women, then black males, and finally black women. Both white and black women faced the struggle of feminism, however, nothing can compare to the treatment African American women faced from not only white males, but black males as well. They ranked on the bottom step of society’s social ladder, and often times lived extremely hard lives. They would suffer the same harsh and unbearable treatment from black men, as they would white. Physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual assault were all a part of the everyday lives of African American women during the age of slavery.
Zora Neale Hurston had a passion for writing about the destructive nature of love. She often focused her stories on the lives of women who were left weak and vulnerable to men who could not control their desire to conquer new territory. She constantly explored the fine line between passion and violence in the lives of African American men. Much of her most well known novel Their Eyes Were Watching God came from Hurston’s own personal experience. At the time she wrote the novel, she had just broken off an affair with a drastically younger man. She was 40 and he was only 23. Although their relationship was filled with passion and excitement, he had certain ideas on how a woman was supposed to view and depend on her husband. These ideas went against the very core she felt she was as a person and could not bring herself to conform to them. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a direct reference to their doomed romance ( Delbanco 103-104).
Their Eyes Were Watching God is an important novel that sheds light on the difficulties faced by African American women. This novel focuses on the life of Janie Crawford and the trials and tribulations she faced on her journey to find personal independence in a time where African American women were given very little freedoms. Although the novel isn’t a story of her search for a partner, it contains several examples of the mistreatment she had to endure at the hands of several African American males.
Janie Crawford was an attractive, confident black woman. After being abandoned by her mother, she is raised by her grandmother whose primary concern is to find a suitable husband for Janie. During the 1920’s and 1930’s, it was important for a black woman to find a husband for security and social purposes. African American women weren’t viewed as being able to support or take care of themselves. With this in mind, Janie marries a farmer named Logan Killicks. However, it isn’t long before Janie realizes how miserable she is. Logan does provide the security she needs, however, their relationship lacks any real emotional connection, and she is treated more as a worker than a wife.
One day she meets a smooth talking man named Joe Starks. Although at first he appears to be everything Janie has been searching for and the exact opposite of Logan, in reality, he is a cruel, self-involved egomaniac. They quickly begin a secret relationship, and before long she runs away with him to get married. However, she will soon learn that life with Joe is no fairy tale either. Joe, or as Janie called him Jody, had dreams of becoming a “big voice” in Eatonville, Florida. He soon becomes mayor, postmaster, storekeeper, and even the biggest landlord in the town. He viewed Janie as a typical trophy wife who was to be seen and never heard from. He hoped to transform her into what he felt the perfect example of a mayor’s wife should be. She was beautiful, and in his opinion, should provide a certain example of how a woman of character should behave. At first she gives into