5 Assignment 01

In chapter 3, Angela Davis’s discusses a historical women named Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Elizabeth Cady Stanton is a white women who came from the upper middle class, trying to gain equal rights for women all over. She believes that depending on your gender, race and class, it will determine your basic human rights. Stanton was determined to prevent further progress for Black people because she felt as it was not fair that Black people would advance in history and receive more rights than women. She was determined to merge the women’s causes with the Black causes and make one big association out of the two. In May of 1866, equal rights were both incorporated between Black and woman suffrage into one campaign. I personally think that Stanton was a little racist considering the fact that she believed that women were far more important to receive equal rights and the rights to vote rather than Black men. Her true colors appeared when she stated this and too me, I perceived her as racist. She explained that once black men were to be freed, she believed that they would not support the women suffrage movement. Her actions behind all of this came off as competitive, and that this was a competition she needed to win. Elizabeth Cady Stanton served co-vice-president along with Frederick Douglass, to search for unity. Stanton and a few of her coworkers made sure that Black men would not receive equal rights until white women did, which is another example how she was racist. Stanton had a history of being involved in the abolition movement, but once she started to worry about the rights and freedom of women becoming less than black men, that’s when her attitude about this entire movement changed. She did not want women to support black people’s rights just incase they would advance and receive the rights before women did.

In Chapter 3 Davis guides the reader through the creation of the Women’s Movement. She does so by creating complex tapestry that weaves in issues of race, class and gender. In doing so she shows us the ways that all three are interconnected and most importantly how the struggle for the rights for women, black people and workers are all dependent on one another.

Davis explains that the women’s movement was born from the involvement of white northern women in abolitionist activism. Through this activism they realized they could assert themselves in the public sphere and were just as capable as men in leadership roles. In this we see the way white women’s struggle for rights was inextricably tied to the abolition of slavery. However, Davis notes that within the abolitionist movement there was widespread sexism which resulted in the silencing and exclusion of abolitionist women from public speaking. In 1840 at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London women were barred from speaking and forced to sit behind a curtain where they could quite literally be neither seen nor heard. Events like these inflamed abolitionist women who realized that in order to play a real role in anti-abolitionist movements they had to assert their rights as women. This sparked a need for a conversation on women’s rights which led for the case for women’s suffrage. In the Seneca Falls Convention the discussion of suffrage rights for women brought about opposition from many. Frederick Douglass a prominent black writer and activist stood with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and advocated for the full equality of women. This is significant because Davis is attempting to demonstrate how the Black Liberation movement stood with the fight for women’s rights.

However, Davis also notes that the Seneca Falls convention was not attended by a single Black woman. How could a convention proclaiming the need for women’s rights and equality, born from the abolitionist movement not include a single black women? The black women, who stands at the intersection of both racial and gender oppression, was forgotten. At a convention in Akon Ohio Sojourner Truth an ex-slave spoke passionately about this dual oppression when men claimed that women’s inherent weakness would not allow them to exercise suffrage if they were to gain it. Citing experiences as a slave she countered that she was in no way weak, carried the same loads slave men carried and was never afforded with the gentle treatment white women did. With this she proved that these ideologies were false and women were just as capable as men. The white women in the audience many of which sneered and worked to bar Truth from speaking in the first place now cheered her. This I think is an interesting show of the ways white women accept black women in their movements so far as they perform labor for them.

Along with being a white women’s party The Seneca Falls Convention was almost entirely one comprised of wealthy white women. The Seneca Falls Declaration did not mention nor recognize the thousands of working class women and girls for whom a women’s rights movement was not only ideology but survival. While the convention revolved around the oppression of wealthy women by their husbands, the denial of opportunities to pursue education and being denied access from political realms white working women in factories saw the cause for women’s liberation as something that was tied to their rights as workers. The conditions in the mills led to disease, terrible diets and exploitation something these women worked to resist. As the conditions worsened the daughters of farmers began to be replaced by immigrant women whom Davis explains had no land to fall back on and whose labor was their only means of survival. The women’s movement attempts to be radical failed because they were supportive of capitalism. William Loyd Garrison proved this with his vehement opposition of workers forming their own political parties. While they fought against slavery they did not rally against worker’s rights not realizing that the oppression of slaves and that of the working class derived from the same source: Capitalism. Once again women like Sojourner Truth represent the intersections of Race, Gender and Class. Black women who never enjoyed the comfort that married life gave wealthy white women had been laborers from the very beginning. In this way Black women faced oppression at every side. The Women’s movement did not recognize workers as tied to their liberation because it’s leaders were the wives of northern capitalist or were capitalist themselves. They were not inclined to bite the hand that fed them. Davis is able to show the connection between all these social struggles and allow us to reach the conclusion that the Grimke sisters made: Progress could only come from coalitions formed through the joining of Black, women, and worker’s liberation movements.

Due Sunday, September 10th, by midnight. Word count: 300 words. Please make sure everything is in your own words. Absolutely no quotes should be used. If you paraphrase from the text (from Federici or anywhere else), you must be sure to include the proper citation (either MLA or APA). Late assignments will be accepted for partial credit if they are submitted no later than one week after the original deadline.

Much like Angela Davis, Silvia Federici underlines the relationship of oppression based on race and class to political and economic conditions. In “The Accumulation of Labor and the Degradation of Women,” Federici explains how land privatization structured a new social hierarchy emerging in Europe after the 1500s. Summarize one or two events described in this chapter and then explain how these events are related to the “degradation of women.”

In Chapter 3 of Davis’ book Women, Race, and Class, Davis does convey the relationship between gender, race, and class. This relationship is revealed in the depiction and the contributions made by Sojourner Truth at the first National Convention on Women’s Rights in Massachusetts. Ms. Truth was an ex-slave who fought for equal rights for all women.

At this convention, Ms. Truth reveals that although white women were in attendance at the convention, the white women exhibited racism toward black women. Nevertheless, Ms. Truth unlike the white women in attendance was brave and took on all that were in attendance with her famous speech. This speech silenced all the negative remarks she had been receiving from the crowd. Moreover, Davis reveals that Ms. Truth’s speech exposed that all women share the same gender and should all possess equal rights. Her message was heard and helped to remind white women as well as men, that all women were equal. Ms. Truth further reveals in her speech that race and class should not impact ones’ womanhood and her right to be free.   Davis acknowledges that class does not dictate a women’s right to have equal rights. Economics should not play a role in the women’s movement.

In Chapter 3, Davis reveals the relationship between gender, race, and class through the depiction of Sojourner Truth’s contribution for the women’s movement. Her speech that she bravely gave at the convention in Massachusetts revealed that gender was an issue in the eyes of men, as well as in the views from white women. Race and Class equally impacted the sexist views, as black women seemed more inferior to white women because they came from different economic backgrounds. Nevertheless, her famous speech helped to energize the women’s movement and it called for equal rights and freedom for all women.

In Chapter 3 of Women, Race & Class, Angela Davis makes special note of Frederick Douglass’s participation in galvanizing support for women’s suffrage within the fledgling women’s rights movement. While Douglass stood at the forefront of the Black Liberation Movement as a skilled orator and figure of renown and distinction, Douglass’s initial reluctance to support the cause of women’s suffrage—as demonstrated by the quote in which he cites “ ‘custom,’ ‘natural division of duties,’ [and the] ‘indelicacy of women taking part in politics’ ” as his “shallow plea” against the cause (Davis 54)—forces us to reconsider the sweeping assumption that the separate movements that pushed for a greater sense of equality within our country—such as abolitionism, black liberation, women’s liberation—always perceived solidarity and, in effect, each other as instrumental to the other’s liberation when oftentimes, the opposite was true.

While Douglass later defended that women’s suffrage was essential and necessary, his opinion was held only by a small yet vocal minority when considered within the larger consciousness of the white, upper-class women’s liberation movement. Such sentiments were echoed even at the Seneca Falls Convention, which we as Americans tend to consider the birthplace of women’s liberation in general. And perhaps most tellingly, although members of the Black Liberation Movement were among the first to voice their support for women’s suffrage, no evidence of a reciprocal solidarity was found within the women’s liberation movement, essentially shutting black women and even working class white women out of the conversation, at least based on the narrative Davis puts forward.

Bearing this in mind, I feel that, especially considering the social context of the 1970’s in which Davis created this text, Davis is presenting us with this narrative on the interaction of race, gender, and class to force a greater critical analysis on the ideologies of liberation movements and to remind us that short-sightedness, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness are not just follies of those who stand on the “wrong side of history” but that such fallacies are inherent even within those who agitate for greater social good.

In chapter 3 of “Women, Race and Class” by Angela Y. Davis states that how it was hard for black women even to raise a voice. First of all, there was a convention which was held in London, and this convention was for women’s right. Davis points out that the convention was significant because it was a convention about women’s right even though slavery system still existed at this time. However, it did not contribute for American women’s rights because American female activists were excluded by majority vote. Few years later, convention was held at Seneca Falls in New York. It obviously was for rights for women in United States; however, no black activists were allowed to join the convention except for a male activist. Even though it was a convention for female in United States, it wasn’t for black women. There even was no mention about rights of coloured women. Most of middle class white women were opposed for giving rights to black women because unlike lower class white females, they had social distance to black people, so they still had strong racist view to them. Davis thinks that middle class white women who had some power lacked to think about black women’s situation that they have been used for housing labor as slaves; furthermore, they had the problem being as a female, exact same struggle as the white females had. Black women at that time had a struggle as being women such as violence by men, and as african american, they had been discriminated. However, there was a man, Frederick Douglass, who was capable of introducing the issue of women’s rights to the movement of liberation of black people. He had a strong passion of claiming that because of the unfortunate experience of his sister as a black women. The movement of white women looks like an advanced thought, but they only thought about their racial and sexual group.

The women’s movement was an event that brought many people together, no matter the gender, class, or race. Just like Angela Davis dicussed in chapter 3, the movement was tested in so many levels but at the end it accpmplished a lot. Women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, proved that big issues like this affect everyone no matter their race or class. She had realized how women not only of color, but women in general had faced monumental challenges for many decades. She proved how just like men, women have the ability to fulfill any expectantions. Wether it was to be an exemplar mother or a lawyer, Staton defied the view society had at this time. She faced the same struggle every other women at the time faced. Being a fly on the wall, in a world dominated by man, made her and many others join the abolition movement. She helped women open their eyes and notice the similar situations they were all in, it was a wake up call for everyone to fight for equality. But not only were women in the movement, men were also trying to fight for equality. At this time, equality was a strange concept that was impossible to accomplish if society didn’t come together. Davis was trying to tell us that major issues regarding our basic human rights, will become e everyone’s issue sooner or later. We become all one, equality is something we all enjoy wethee it affects us directly or indirectly. As soon as equality becomes something believable for everyone, it will become a reality for all. Organized movements will always be the right weapon agaisnt any oppression figures or groups.  We must first become educated and use our intelect to fight agaisnt any injustice. Davis used Stanton to show how race, gender, and class are all connected in a harmonized way.

In chapter 3 of Women, Race & Class Angela Y. Davis throughly analyzes and critiques the women’s movement. Davis discusses the actions of Sojourner Truth at the 1851 women’s convention (1981:60). At this event Sojourner Truth reminds the white women that black women are exactly that – women. Throughout this movement, white women would  advocate for their middle-class obstacles. The middle class white women would often not work but would have the skills to do so as many had the privilege and access to education . Thus, the white women would promote the idea of having equal rights in order to work. Yet, doing so they ignored the already working class women who endured abhorrent working conditions and painfully long days (Davis, 1981:54). Moreover, they ignored the black women who for years have been working alongside men but were ignored because of race.

Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Women?” speech was an embodiment of the troubles within the movement. The speech itself was intended to unite black and white women as it reminded the listener that women for decades have worked without the help of men and furthermore bore children. Instead this address displayed the actions of the white women as Gage was told to not let her speak on the second day of the convention (Davis, 1981:63). Truth’s speech was intended to bring white women, black women, immigrant-working women together but she was met with negative response and backlash because of racism and classism. Nonetheless, Truth forced the white middle-class women to be uncomfortable and become aware that their beliefs have halted the great effort to become one and fight against white male supremacy.

The white women of the movement ignored the fight that the black women had to endure. They ignored the fight that the working class had to endure because they could not understand that they did not have money or education to fall back on. Davis wants us to be aware of the separation within a movement that was intended to unify.

In chapter three Davis tells us about the difficult journey of the women’s right movement. She compares gender, race, and class throughout the entire chapter showing how these different characteristics go hand in hand, but at the time many people refused to see it. Women began to fight for equality in education, the working field, and not be seen or treated as prizes men keep at home. Same as African American woman fought for education, the ability to obtain better jobs, and a voice. Through they fought for many of the same rights black women were rarely involved in protests or meetings in the beginning. Davis is showing us that race, gender, and class are a big divider between the people, but the fight for rights and equality unite the people.
In the London Convention as Davis mentions women were allowed to attend but were ultimately silenced allowing them only to watch, but two men William Lloyd Garrison along with Charles Remond, refused to take their seats and participate igniting the start of the women’s movements.Davis tells about the Grimke sisters who had noticed the lack of black woman in anti-slavery societies and said that they should be addressed in the convention. It was not until the Seneca Falls Convention that the people realized that no matter the color of their skin, both black and white people were fighting for equality, education, better working conditions and so on.After the Seneca Falls Convention Davis informs us that a Convention in Philadelphia invited black and white women and Lucretia Mott attended. Later on the first Women’s right convention was held in Massachusetts where people of any race can attend and both white and black women gave their speeches. At the convention was sojourner truth who spoke up against men. Davis writes about Sojourner Truth’s powerful speech and how she proved she, as well as a lot of women, were never pampered and worked just as hard as men in order to get what she wanted in life. Also with a lot of oppression from her peers Sojourner Truth fought that her fight for equality was no different from that of the white women. Lastly Davis tells about how Elizabeth Cady Staton and Susan B. Anthony attempted to unite the people by protesting that all rights be given to both women and African Americans showing the unity of the two groups in order to accomplish their goal of equality.

In the third chapter of Woman, Race & Class by Angela Davis, she places focus on a woman named Sojourner Truth. Davis starts off with how Sojourner Truth became a symbol for black women in their fight against both racism and sexism. Truth is stated to have saved the Akron women’s meeting because she was the only one that answered the arguments made by male supremacists.  Truth’s aggressive and assertive action in her speech “Ain’t I a woman” when she showed her arm to the audience and revealed the muscle she had gained after working in the fields without the aid of a man. Truth showed that women aren’t weak and didn’t need a man’s help with her recollections of her time as a slave in response to any arguments against women’s suffrage, as well as using logic against male supremacists.   Davis says that Truth had gained the attention of the white women who were there through by doing what they could not because of their timid attitude. One person affected by her speech was Frances Dana Gage who basically saw Truth as their convention’s savior through her actions. While there were those who opposed to having Truth be their speaker those views slowly turned after her speech. Truth was a sign that the race and class of a woman didn’t matter.  Truth inspirited those in the women’s movement to not fall under the weight of the opposition. Her actions showed even white women that simply because she was black that didn’t make any different in the fact they were women in their struggle. Truth was a powerful voice in the fight for equality and would often give her two cents; she was a force that not only fought for her rights as a black woman but as an inspiration to her fellow sister regardless if their race or class.