Bridging Yesterday & Today: Women's History Month Reveals a Timeless Fight
Overcoming Patriarchy's Death Grip: Reclaiming Black Women's Voices
Throughout history, Black women have faced immense oppression at the intersection of racism and sexism, known as misogynoir. Our minds, bodies and spirits have been contested sites upon which patriarchal power is inscribed – from slavery until the present day.
Despite immense oppression, Black women have made pathbreaking contributions as leaders, artists, scholars, and saints. Yet our names and stories too often disappear from history books and public celebrations like Women’s History Month. If we do not continually uncover the past and amplify present accomplishments, we stand to lose Black women’s hard-won progress. This erasure continues the spiritual violence of racism and sexism.
By centering Black women’s voices and experiences, we can better challenge intersecting structures of oppression. We can advocate for policies and practices that honor the full dignity and humanity of all people. This Women’s History Month, may we rage against the lingering death grip of patriarchy by reclaiming and rejoicing in Black women’s lives.
Dehumanization from Slavery to the Present Day
Medical exploitation of enslaved African women is merely one example of this oppression. Subjected to forced gynecological experiments without anesthesia or consent, their bodies were treated as disposable by the white male medical establishment. This dehumanization laid the groundwork for ongoing discrimination and mistreatment within healthcare systems.
Centuries later, Black women still suffer much higher maternal mortality rates, with structural racism and implicit biases contributing to the crisis. Just as enslaved women’s childbearing was coercively controlled under slavery, Black women today lack reproductive autonomy and access to quality prenatal & childbirth care. Medical violence remains a key way that Black women’s bodies and choices are policed by societal forces.
The Stubborn Roots of Misogynoir
Gender and racial oppression intertwine to undermine Black women’s health, voices and identities in these examples. By connecting past dehumanization to modern health disparities, we see the stubborn persistence of institutional misogynoir over generations. Yet Black women have always resisted this oppression - as healers, activists, and leaders. We stand on the shoulders of their bravery and vision in our shared struggle for liberation.
Influential Thinkers from Across the African Diaspora
Outside of the United States, Black women have also made remarkable contributions in scholarship, politics, literature and activism. In the Caribbean, activists like Claudia Jones tackled systemic oppression through their writing and community organizing. On the African continent, Wangari Maathai’s environmental and political leadership earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Her Green Belt Movement has planted over 51 million trees worldwide. In Britain, community leader Olive Morris fought for racial and economic justice alongside Black liberation groups. Women like Stella Dadzie and others such as the late Bernie Grant MP advanced Black British feminism and challenged discrimination through their work.
By connecting the struggles against imperialism and patriarchy across borders, these women’s stories reveal the persistence of misogynoir across continents. Despite this, their courage provides hope and a legacy for today’s movements.
They remind us that the fight for women’s full humanity is global and ongoing. We must continue lifting up bold Black women leaders and activists from all backgrounds in order to drive liberation forward. There is still much work to be done.
Amanda Golden-Peace for the Misogynoir to Mishpat (M2M) Research Network © 2024
Further Reading:
Bethune, Mary McLeod. “‘Certain Unalienable Rights’: Second-Wave Feminism and the Fight for Sexual, Economic Equality.” National Women's History Museum, 2022, https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/mary-mcleod-bethune-certain-unalienable-rights
Burroughs, Nannie Helen. “Black Women and Reform.” African American Registry, https://aaregistry.org/story/nannie-helen-burroughs-black-women-and-reform/
“Get in the Way: The Journey of Fannie Lou Hamer.” MAKERS, PBS & AOL, https://www.makers.com/videos/get-in-the-way-the-journey-of-fannie-lou-hamer
Cooper, Anna Julia. “Anna Julia Cooper.” Visionary Project, https://www.visionaryproject.com/cooperanna/
Hansberry, Lorraine. “A Raisin in the Sun.” YouTube, uploaded by Criterion Collection, 27 Aug. 2014,
hooks, bell. “Understanding Patriarchy.” Louisville Anarchist Federation. (Fed.), lafed.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Understanding-Patriarchy-by-Bell-Hooks.pdf
Morris, Olive. “Olive Morris – A Black Panther in Brixton.” Past Tense, https://pasttenseblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/today-in-london-black-history-the-brixton-black-women’s-group-organise-rally-in-support-of-olive-morris-facing-trial-on-squatting-charges-1978/
Morrison, Toni. “Mouth Full of Blood.” Books & Such Literary Management, 1 Oct. 2019. https://booksandsuch.com/blog/mouth-full-of-blood-toni-morrison/
Murray, Pauli. “Pauli Murray.” YouTube, uploaded by DukeUniversity, 9 Mar. 2021
Walker, Alice. “Alice Walker’s Appeal: Do Not Normalize Cruelty; Preserve Compassion.” Democracy Now!, 27 July 2022, https://www.democracynow.org/2022/7/27/alice_walker_appeal_against_cr