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A review by reverie_and_books
Women, Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Women, Race and Class by Angela Y. Davis - Review (🇬🇧)
Abolitionists and suffragettes - did they go hand in hand or were they more foes than friends? Written in 1981, this short book contains some insightful history lessons that help explain US politics today. Davis writes straightforward, no nonsense, with many citations and context information.
One insight is how white women supported the abolition of slavery, demanded women's suffrage to do so, and then turned their backs once the power balance started shifting.
Another are the consequences of said abolition and actions took: former slave owners had trouble to keep the margin up. But there was a new law which relied on convicts. Guess who was convicted for nothing and everything and put under even worse conditions as prior to the abolition? Mostly Black men.
Yet another insight concerns the bourgeoisie and bored white housewives who fought for women's rights but totally disregarded the horrendous working conditions of the labour class.
And there are quite a few more things to take away, for me anyway. Davis essays are about the common human behavior of seeking power and status and – once gained – step on those who were formerly fighting alongside them. It’s seriously f*cked up.
Intersectionality is the key word here. The idea: If people thought more about the combination of different kinds of discrimination, structural jigsaw pieces would fall together more easily. Davis takes gender, race and class, but there’s certainly more.
I highly recommend this read, especially if you care about history and it’s part in political currents. I’ve read books about women’s rights and racism before, but separately. This was eye-opening on another level.
Abolitionists and suffragettes - did they go hand in hand or were they more foes than friends? Written in 1981, this short book contains some insightful history lessons that help explain US politics today. Davis writes straightforward, no nonsense, with many citations and context information.
One insight is how white women supported the abolition of slavery, demanded women's suffrage to do so, and then turned their backs once the power balance started shifting.
Another are the consequences of said abolition and actions took: former slave owners had trouble to keep the margin up. But there was a new law which relied on convicts. Guess who was convicted for nothing and everything and put under even worse conditions as prior to the abolition? Mostly Black men.
Yet another insight concerns the bourgeoisie and bored white housewives who fought for women's rights but totally disregarded the horrendous working conditions of the labour class.
And there are quite a few more things to take away, for me anyway. Davis essays are about the common human behavior of seeking power and status and – once gained – step on those who were formerly fighting alongside them. It’s seriously f*cked up.
Intersectionality is the key word here. The idea: If people thought more about the combination of different kinds of discrimination, structural jigsaw pieces would fall together more easily. Davis takes gender, race and class, but there’s certainly more.
I highly recommend this read, especially if you care about history and it’s part in political currents. I’ve read books about women’s rights and racism before, but separately. This was eye-opening on another level.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault