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USA Africa Dialogue Series - RE: 15 black feminist books everyone should read

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Opanyin AB:

 

African intellectuals, especially females, have always been planted in the margins of the academy by the powers that be. To overlook, or is it to disregard Ama Ata Aidoo speaks volumes. We know that Oga Falola has been winning a spate of awards, but just imagine  that he is a non-African who has prolifically co/authored over one hundred books! Me I like matter oh. It is too early and the cock just crowed. Anyway, I just came back from Ghana. That is another story.

 

Kwabena 


From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Assensoh, Akwasi B. [aassenso@indiana.edu]
Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2013 7:39 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Cc: anthonyakinola@yahoo.co.uk; rigodan@yahoo.com; Osili, Una O
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - FW: 15 black feminist books everyone should read

 

Dear All:
 
A writer in London is asking about the list of 15 black feminist books and their authors, and why the following feminist writers are not included: Ama Ata Aidoo (Ghanaian), Nawal El Sadaawi (Egyptian), Amina Mama (Nigerian), Oyeronke Adeyumi (Egyptian), Fatima Mernissi (Morrocan), Ife Amadiume (Nigerian), Molara Ogundipe-Leslie (Nigerian), and others.

http://www.theroot.com/views/15-black-feminist-books-everyone-should-read
 
======================Cut and Pasted Version=============

15 Black Feminist Books Everyone Should Read

Solidarity may be for white women and black power for black men, but these books are for everybody.

 
 
    Sister Citizen, Melissa Harris-Perry; Sister Outsider, Audre Lorde; Black Girls Are From the Future, Renina Jarmon (Amazon.com)
    Black Feminist Books: Beyond the Hashtag Conversation
    Solidarity may be for white women and black power for black men, but these books are for everybody.

    Solidarity may be for white women and black power for black men, but these books are for everybody.

    Solidarity may be for white women and black power for black men, but these books are for everybody.

    (The Root) -- White feminism's disregard for black women's issues is nothing new, and sexism in black power movements from the United States to South Africa is also well documented. So it was no surprise when Twitter exploded on Monday with the #solidarityisforwhitewomen trending topic. Writer Mikki Kendall started the tag in response to the insensitivity of some noted white feminists toward victims of writer Hugo Schwyzer's vicious attacks on feminists of color.

    On Tuesday, Ebony's Jamilah Lemieux's #blackpowerisforblackmen continued the conversation, this time focusing on the plight of black feminists within the black community. With these hashtags, black feminists used Twitter to revisit discussions that are often ignored in both mainstream feminist media and historical accounts of black liberation struggles. Unsurprisingly, by the end of the night, the #solidarityisforwhitewomen stream was full of tweets from people who clearly don't read books about black feminism. The #blackpowerisforblackmen hashtag was filled with comments from those who refused to acknowledge black male privilege.

    It's not a good idea to tell black feminists anything about black feminism if you don't know what you're talking about. Or, as my grandmother always tells me, don't open your mouth if you don't have anything intelligent to say. While I'm tempted just to tell everyone to Google this information on their own, I've also compiled a list of black feminist books that everyone should read before entering conversations like the ones these hashtags started.

    • 1. 'Feminism Is for Everybody,' by Bell Hooks

       
      Feminism Is for Everybody (Amazon.com)

      Feminism Is for Everybody -- which explores topics such as reproductive rights, violence, race, class and work -- is essential reading by Bell Hooks, one of the most prominent black feminist writers. Her book proves that feminism is, in fact, for everybody.

    • 2. 'Sister Citizen,' by Melissa Harris-Perry

       
      Sister Citizen (Amazon.com)

      I am a "stan" for Melissa Harris-Perry. In this book, she delves into the four tropes of black women -- Jezebel, Mammy, Sapphire and Strong Black Woman -- and presents her thesis of the "crooked room" that black women live in because of the multiple oppressions they face. This is an important read for contemporary feminists.

    • 3. 'Blacks,' by Gwendolyn Brooks

       
      Blacks (Third World Press)

      Gwendolyn Brooks' collection of poems explores the everyday life of black Chicago. It also includes her novel "Maud Martha," in which readers are introduced to a self-aware and determined black woman facing the realities of being black in 1940s Chicago.

    • 4. 'Black Girls Are From the Future,' by Renina Jarmon

       
    [END]

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