Tiffanie Tovar
Tuesday April 21, 2015
Black Women Matter: Gender Issues for African American Women
Key words
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Male-female relationships, oppression, women of color, women leaders, Black Women
Matter
Description
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This issue brief will examine the gender issues African American women face, from a
lack of discussion on the relationship between black men and women to the need for
black representation in leadership positions in politics and activism.
Key Points



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Gender issues for African American women- beyond the issues of race
Lack of attention to gender issues for African American women
Need for change, possible through leadership in government
Lack of representation of women of color in leadership
New representation of women leaders in Black Lives Matter movement
The roles of Black women in African American communities is a topic that only a small
group of feminists and other gender-progressives have truly explored. Few have gone past raceonly analysis in the African American community to truly hone in on African American women
gender issues.i Race is still one of the foremost pressing issues in the African American
community, but that should not detract from the fact that gender also matter. In 1979, an article
was published in Newsweek, entitled “A New Black Struggle” that brought to light the
antagonistic relationship between Black men and womenii. According to the article, gender
issues for African American women is further complicated by the centuries of oppression in their
history. Some scholars attribute this to be the culprit of gender issues for African American
women, while other scholars insist the issue is internal. As the analysis of gender and race issues
in the book Gender Talk states, “There’s a much needed focus on police brutality and Black
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male-on-male homicide, but too little attention to rape, spousal abuse, and incest.”iii These issues
of gender oppression must be on the forefront for change to occur and gender equality to be
fought for.
Image from Rise Up Times
One way to focus on this need for gender equality for African American women is to see
them in roles of leadership in this nation, both in political representation and political activism.
Women leaders are needed to bring to the national forefront these gender issues. However, in
regards to political representation, women make up a majority of the U.S. population, yet there is
a great discrepancy in the amount of women leaders in politics. More specifically, women of
color make up 18.5% of the current U.S. population and 36.3% of the female populationiv. Yes,
there have been several steps for progress in the area of women representation in American
politics. For instance, following the 2012 election cycle, there was a record number of 28 women
of color elected into the House of Representativesv. According to research conducted by the
Center for American Progress, it has been estimated that it will take until near the end of this
century for the U.S. to reach a level of 40 percent legislative participation by womenvi.
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Furthermore, currently it has been estimated that in the U.S., “it will take until 2085 for women
to reach parity with men in leadership roles in our country.”vii The lack of female representation
in leadership is even more severe for minority women, and specifically on African American
women. For instance, women of color only represent 4.5% of the total members of congress.
This is an issue because “women of color elected officials appear to count all underrepresented
groups as their core constituencies and work hard on their behalf.”viii Thus, in a time when racial
reconciliation is more necessary than ever, following the chaos left behind after instances of
police brutality, African American women representation in politics is more necessary than ever.
There has, however, been a large increase in African American women leadership in
political activism movements. The “Black Lives Matter” movement was started by African
American woman.
Image from The Grio:
Black Women’s Lives Matter Too
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In fact, “both the hashtag and the grassroots groups that came from the poignant call were led
or dominated by three black women named Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometipal.”ix
Some of the largest marches in support of the movement were also led by black women.
However, many have labeled the Black Lives Matter movement as “leaderless.” African
American women, thus, have to overcome the barriers that come with being a woman and also
that come with being a person of color to truly let their voice be heard. The “Black Lives Matter”
movement is in fact an aspiring message that black woman are powerful, whether mainstream
society recognizes them or not. In a time when issues of race are at the forefront of national
dialogue, it is important to continue pressing for more women leadership in politics and look to
those who are currently helping build a national movement for inspiration. This is a new day for
black woman, and it is time for their voices to be heard.
Works Cited/ General References
Agard, Veronica. “Black women’s lives matter too: The forgotten victims of police killings.” The
Grio. 20144. Web.
Cardenas, Vanessa. “Why We Need a Political Leadership Pipeline for Women of Color.”
Center for American Progress. 2014. Web.
Cole, Johnetta & Guy-Sheftall, Beverly. Gender Talk: The Struggle for Women’s Equality in
African American Communities. One World/Ballantine, January 2003.
Warner, Judith. “Fact Sheet: The Women’s Leadership Gap.” Center For American Progress.
2014. Web.
Websites
Center for American Progress:
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/report/2015/04/14/110962/women-of-colorand-the-gender-wage-gap/
The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/gender-issues/
Time: http://time.com/3820311/how-hillary-can-win-black-women-voters/
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i
Gender Talk XXII, Johnnetta Betsch Cole & Beverly Guy-Sheftall
Gender Talk XXIII
iii
Gender Talk intro
iv
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2014/03/07/85454/why-we-need-a-politicalleadership-pipeline-for-women-of-color/
v
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/report/2014/03/07/85457/fact-sheet-the-womensleadership-gap/
vi
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/report/2014/03/07/85457/fact-sheet-the-womensleadership-gap/
vii
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/report/2014/03/07/85457/fact-sheet-the-womensleadership-gap/
viii
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2014/03/07/85454/why-we-need-a-politicalleadership-pipeline-for-women-of-color/
ix
http://thegrio.com/2014/12/14/black-women-lives-matter/
ii
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