SEXISM: FROM IDENTIFICATION TO ACTIVISM

Jasmine WadeCENG 106WS-02Professor Peterson April 15, 2011

WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS TOPIC?

Not many women activists are not mentioned in textbooks.

Black women always participated in this struggle but were relegated to the back seat.

I wanted to prove that women contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement.

RESEARCH QUESTION

In what ways did African American women activist shape the Civil Rights Movement?

MY THESIS STATEMENT

Fighting degrading stereotypes of sexism, African American women activists shaped the Civil Rights Movement by joining marches, organizing and participating in mass demonstrations, as well as delivering prominent speeches.

HOW MANY WOMEN SHOWN CAN YOU NAME?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Women planned many organized efforts to overcome discrimination based on race and gender throughout the nineteenth century.

Women being involved in the Civil Rights movement brought forth a more social and cultural change and had an impact of families, women in society, and the factor of gender. (Encylopedia)

Although defeating the sexism controversy was a large factor during the movement, one of their main goals was integration.

RELEVANT SUPPORT/EVIDENCE

“Although embedded within a structural context of three interlocking systems of oppression-- racism, sexism, and classism-- modern Black women activists in communities performed roles that would eventually merit them to be considered “leaders” and “heroes”. (JSTOR)

“African American women operated as “bridge leaders”, who – through frame bridging, amplification, extension, and transformation. . .” (American Journal of Sociology)

SIGNIFICANCE TO HISTORY

Women as well as others risked their lives and worked tirelessly, demanding for a social revolution.

But it turns that history has often overlooked them.

Only highlighting important aspects of works done by woman that are significant.

WHAT DID I LEARN

Firstly, I learned of more woman involved in the movement.

Speeches and rebellious actions were not the only way women attempted to get their voice heard, they also formed various organizations.

They were just as strong and brave as the men.

REASON FOR SELECTING THIS TOPIC

I wanted to broaden my knowledge on women roles during the Civil Rights Movement.

I wanted to learn more about women who participated in the movement.

Being a young black woman, I wanted to prove that women too, have a role in society.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnett, Bernice McNair, “Invisible Southern Black Women Leaders in the Civil Rights Movement: The Triple Constraints of Gender, Race, and Class,’’ Gender and Society Vol. 7 NO.2 (1993)163-165, accessed April 12, 2011, http://www.jstor.org/stable/189576

Evans, Sara M. Born for liberty: a history of women in America. New York: The Free Press, 1989.

Robnett, Belinda,“African-American Women in the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965: Gender, Leadership, and Micromobilization,” The American Journal of Sociology Vol. 101 (1996) 1664, accessed April 12, 2011, http://www.jstor.org/stable/278211

Black women in America: a historical encyclopedia; Darlene Clark Hine, editor. Brooklyn, New York: Carlson Publishing, In

THE END

Questions, comments etc?