The Evolution Of The Oppression Of Black Women

What is a black woman's position in this world? Where exactly do they belong? These questions pose as a response to the racism and sexism, that black women endure that ultimately impacts their lives. During the 60’s and 70’s, black women often found themselves lost, not having a exact position in which they belong to. There was the civil rights movement along with the feminist movement, but where exactly did women of color fit in? They played a pivotal role in the movement, but received little recognition in return, more importantly they were seen as invisible. What claimed to be the “feminist” movement, fighting for the equality of women, proved itself to be fighting only for the equality of white upper-class women, and forgetting about the oppression of black women.

It is the common belief that women were not put on this earth to lead, but to procreate. A man is thought to be the provider of the household, while a woman’s only job is to cook, clean, and nurse the babies. If a woman were to hold a position, she is thought of to be a clerk or secretary instead of high end jobs like a doctor or lawyer. Like Beale states, the terms “manhood” and “femininity” are defined by the roles America has place on men and women as to what they should be. If a women were to hold a position of power higher than her significant other a man would not be defined as what society believes is a “real