Gender Talk The Struggle For Women's Equality in African American Communities

In the Black community, rape, violence against women, and sexual harassment are as much the legacy of slavery as is racism. InGender TalkJohnnetta Betsch Cole and Beverly Guy-Sheftall argue powerfully that the only way to defeat this legacy is to focus on the intersection of race and gender. Examining why the "race problem" has become so male-centered and how this has opened a deep divide between Black women and men, the authors turn to their own lives, offering intimate accounts of their experiences as daughters, wives, and leaders. They examine pivotal moments in African American history when race and gender issues collided with explosive results. Along the way, they present the testimonies of a large and influential group of Black women and men, including Byllye Avery, Derrick A. Bell, Farai Chideya, Kimberle Crenshaw, Michael Eric Dyson, Marcia Gillespie, bell hooks, and Faye Wattleton. Fearless and eye-opening,Gender Talkis required reading for anyone concerned with the future of African American womenand men.

Beverly Guy-Sheftall is the Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women's Studies and English, and the director of the Women's Research and Resource Center at Spelman College.