Why black women activists stay in the room when they are not being heard

Karlia Nicole Brown

Social Science Quarterly, 2021, vol. 102, issue 7, 3073-3080

Abstract: Objective Despite the vital roles that black women play in black activist organizations, they are often overlooked and mistreated within such spaces. The purpose of this article is to examine why black women remain engaged in black activist spaces given this treatment. Methods I conducted in‐depth interviews with 25 black women engaged in activist organizations in the Chicagoland area. Results This study found that black women remain engaged in black activist spaces where they experienced mistreatment because (1) they believed that the black community's fight for freedom was worth their radical sacrifice, and (2) they felt both empowered by the legacy of black activist women of past movements and responsible for continuing that legacy in order to improve the lives and path to liberation of the black women that will come after them. Conclusion I suggest that the sacrifices of black women activists are ultimately motivated by an ethic of care that stems from a love for their community and themselves. While some do find the legacy of black women activists to be burdensome, many aim to continue the legacy of their predecessors by establishing a foundation onto which future generations can build a path to black liberation.

Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13092

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:socsci:v:102:y:2021:i:7:p:3073-3080

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0038-4941

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science Quarterly is currently edited by Robert L. Lineberry

More articles in Social Science Quarterly from Southwestern Social Science Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().