Key work by the pioneering activist/professor/ex-political prisoner. An intersectional work before the term existed.

can we get a few audiobook editions?

Angela Davis spans the time period of the 1830s to the 1970s, concentrating mostly on the pre-civil war experience of black people in the 1830s to the even more brutal experience of black people post-civil war in the 1890s. Not at all making the argument that black people were better off before the civil the war, but demonstrating how racist attitudes adapted and became more ruthless with every advancement of Black Liberation.

Davis expertly shows the connection between racism, sexism, and classism- arguing persuasively that racism nourishes sexism. By the White women constantly betraying black women in the struggle for liberation, white Women ensured the continued the oppression of themselves as elite white women, of white working class women, of immigrant women, of black elite women, and black working class women. Davis shows through her excellently researched historical timeline how white women consistently chose to support classism and white supremacy over Liberation. Every. Time. Which explains why “White Woman Feminism” is again being strongly critiqued today. The same dynamics are playing out once more.

Black people and in particular, black women, have been agitating since the 1600s for their liberation. White women often claim credit for progress made, but unfortunately they came in to the struggle at the 11th hour after black women and men had laid all the foundational work and done all the dangerous work of liberation- all while white women’s denial made it harder. When white women flipped their tune- often in service to themselves and their own self-interests, it was on the brink change initiated by black women and men.

A succinct historical analysis that delves into the racism in the white feminist movement, the stereotypes of the black rapist and black whore, eugenics movement, birth control and reproductive rights, classism, socialism and communism in the US. Beyond that, it is an illuminating portrait of significant black activists, their struggle for Liberation, their culture, and the many institutions they established and nourished to provide economic self-determination. Highly recommend.

I absolutely loved reading this book. This is essential reading for intersectional feminists because the book shows how women, race, and class connect to structure our lives. The book is centered around cis African women, which leaves me yearning for more narrative on queer indigenous women. However, I would 100 percent recommend this book to everyone.