America is afflicted with a grave illness.
In her speeches, Mary Church Terrell makes it abundantly clear that America is afflicted with a grave illness that runs rampant alongside the sickness of racism and slavery. In fact, one could conclude that it is a direct result of both. Misogynoir is defined as the “dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against Black women.” While Marcy Church Terrell is a part of the Talented Tenth, she is nonetheless still limited by her gender as well as her race. Amongst the Black community, there is a great disconnect between herself and the greater community at large due to her class privilege. As a Black clubwoman who subscribes to the “lifting as we climb” ideology, while her intentions are meant to have the best interests of the Black community in mind, they fail to take into account the lived experiences of poor and working-class Black people who will not have had access to privilege in the same way as her, nor is rebuilding a community in this idealized image of gentility as easy to make a reality as is said. The idea that the Talented Tenth subscribes to fails to recognize that rather than allowing formerly enslaved communities to come into themselves by its own means, they instead want to assimilate in a way that is as approximate to whiteness as possible. What I seek to communicate here is that despite these misguided attempts, Terrell still stands as a pillar of progress toward a brighter future for Black America at the time. However, due to misogynoir, women like Terrell and Ida B. Wells are excluded from the greater conversation of what direction should be taken to ensure the success and survival of the Black community. It is unfortunate that Terrell is not placed up on the shelf with the likes of “race men” like Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. Du Bois. Terrell herself remarks in “The Progress of Colored Women” (1898) that “Not only are colored women with ambition and aspiration handicapped on account of their sex, but they are almost everywhere baffled and mocked because of their race.” This inherent hatred and distaste for Black women of color is necessary for the racial hierarchy of America that places white men at its peak, and everything outside of that category beneath them. It prevents Black women from being a part of the “cult of true womanhood” despite being just as qualified to meet the requirements. One could conclude that the cult has a tendency to move the goalpost, depending on whom is deemed desirable enough to enter or not for the sake of racial purity. From within the Black community, misogynoir seeks to subjugate or mold Black women into the “angel of the hearth” role, but it is not conducive to Black womanhood when you take into account what the intersectionality between being Black and a woman entails.
Hi Christie, I really enjoyed this blog post. I think this is an important topic that does not get discussed nearly as much as it should. Your post reminds me of a line from “Sister Outsider” by Audre Lorde, where she writes “From that moment on we have been steeped in hatred – for our color, for our sex, for our effrontery in daring the presume we had any right to live” (Lorde 146). Lorde points out that Black women are considered the core target of biased cultural standings and violence from the birth due to how our society views Black women. When learning about Black womanhood, biased myths and stereotypes often overshadow the struggles Black women endure and add to the violence faced.
i agree Mary Church Terrell, shed light on the severe diseases of racism and slavery that afflicted America at the time. She saw that this disease transcended race and included misogyny, which aims to enslave or shape Black women into stereotypical gender roles. neglecting the distinctive experiences and difficulties encountered by Black women.
Hi Christie, I feel like your blog post covered the issues of the intersectionality of the past and present really well. Specifically, your phrase “moving the goal post” highlighted how societal ideas of progress or what’s “ideal” change depending on who we’re talking about and that analogy illustrates that problem really well.
Constant exposure to racism can take a toll on the mental and emotional well-being of black women. They may experience increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and trauma due to the cumulative effects of racism and discrimination.
It is important to recognize and address these manifestations of racism to create a more inclusive and equitable society. This involves challenging stereotypes, advocating for equal rights and opportunities, promoting representation and diversity, and actively working to dismantle systemic racism in all its forms.
Really interesting post and video. In the video, she says “We aren’t just Black. We are women too” which directly connects to the point that Black women have to deal with both racism and sexism. Black women’s experiences are totally different from Black men’s. It is really disturbing that some people fighting against anti-black racism overlook black women because they usually think of Blacks as men.
I really enjoyed the video you used to illustrate the point on misogynoir, which is a term I had never really heard before. The contrast between the lower-class black people and black people who actually had access to the opportunities that allowed them to be placed in the conversation of the “Talented Tenth” is important, but so too is the distinction that because of her gender, Mary Church Terrell and many other women were excluded from that conversation.
Great post! It was really insightful, and the video was interesting to watch. Intersectionality, in general, is so interesting because the identities we possess take over one at a time rather than all at once. Terrell and other women were not a part of the conversation of leading or curating a better direction for the black community despite being black. What was honed was the fact that they were women. Things like this still occur today there are places and certain interactions where one identity overpowers the other. I wonder what it would be like if everyone took into account the varying identities when maneuvering through life.
Hey Christie, your post was very intriguing to read. It highlights the grave illness that Mary Church Terrell identifies within America, which is not only racism and slavery but also the presence of misogynoir. By emphasizing this, your post acknowledges that Black women face a unique and compounded form of discrimination that stems from both their race and gender and it was done in a very well written way
I really enjoyed how well you explained the concept of Mysoginoir at work, and the attempt to mold black women into something forged from past dispositions that do not classify them really. And their attempts to break the mold is met with great resistance, because … how dare they?
Again, really good post.