There is one primordial
reason why we do not doubt Europeans have taken the lead in history, in all
epochs before and
after 1492, and it has
little to do with evidence. It is a basic belief which we inherit from prior
ages of thought and
scarcely realize that we
hold: it is an implicit belief, not an explicit one, and it is so large a
theory that it is woven into all of
our ideas about history,
both within Europe and without. . . (Blaut pg. 6-7).
African-American people
have had to climb over many obstacles to get to their position today. First,
was the selling of
their people into slavery.
Then, they endured slavery itself, being treated like an animal. After slavery
was abolished,
Colored people still had to
deal with racial discrimination and hatred. If this sounds rough, black women
had it worse.
African-American women had to deal
with all the previously mentioned things, but they were women too! Females were
oppressed almost as bad as
the blacks. White women were not able to vote until the 1920. Therefore colored
women
had a double edged sword,
they had to fight for freedom, but not be to dominate as to effect the men.
Alice Walker's The
Color Purple is a good
example of colored women's plight. Three obstacles black women had to overcome
to be able to
express themselves were
Racism, the lack of education, and the stereo-type that women are inferior.
African-Americans have
always experienced racism throughout their habitation in America. Slavery, is
what caused most
of the hatred towards
blacks. African Americans were sold by their people and sent off to a foreign
land. Colored people
were used as work horses
when they entered America. "It was acceptable for a white person to be
lazy (in the South),
and therefore, a white
person takes advantage of this" (Theriault). White people wanted to keep
their laziness. If the
slaves were set free, then
the whites would have to do more work. The slaves still fought for what they
wanted, and finally
won their
"independence." Another dilemma was "if the south could abolish
slavery, what would happen to the slaves?
These slaves have been
slaves for all their lives and would require education. These slaves would also
require homes,
some type of compensation,
and more" (Theriault). Blacks were put in prison for rebelling against the
white establishment.
Most times these crimes were
minuscule in comparison to the crimes committed against blacks or by whites. A
colored
person could be put in jail
for looking at someone inappropriately, but if a black man was lynched, nothing
happened. "I
have been locked by the
lawless. Handcuffed by the haters. Gagged by the greedy. And, if I know any
thing at all, it's that
a wall is just a wall and
nothing more at all. It can be broken down" (Shakuer). This excerpt from
"Affirmation" is an
example of the feelings of
hatred for the Whites. However, this quotation also shows the fight in the
African-American
race let alone its women.
If the South could have kept education away from the blacks. Then ides as the
one above
would have never been
published.
Lack of education was a way
the South tried to keep the blacks in a lower class. In The Color Purple, Celie
is not
allowed to go to school
because she is to be kept barefoot and pregnant. She still received an
education by learning what
her little sister was
teaching her, though. It was believed that if the blacks were kept uneducated
then they would not
know any better and would
not fight for freedom. Unfortunately, for the South, the North was educating
their blacks.
Then these blacks were
coming south and starting colleges for colored people. Booker T. Washington
wrote, in his
autobiography,
ONE day, while at work in
the coal-mine, I happened to overhear two miners talking about a great school
for coloured
people somewhere in
Virginia. This was the first time that I had ever heard anything about any kind
of school or college
that was more pretentious
than the little coloured school in our town. In the darkness of the mine I
noiselessly crept as
close as I could to the two men
who were talking. I heard one tell the other that not only was the school
established for
the members of any race,
but the opportunities that it provided by which poor but worthy students could
work out all or a
part of the cost of a
board, and at the same time be taught some trade or industry.
Thus the education had
begun. Most coloreds were not able to read or write because they were never
exposed to an
education. Black women
again had it worse because they were women. Women were believed to be weak and
incompetent in comparison
with men. This has since been disproved, but it was the practice in those days.
In The Color
Purple, Harpo, Mr. marries
an independent Black woman. Sophia is bigger than Harpo and does not really do
what he
says. When Harpo beats
Sophia to "make her mind," she beats him. The idea that a man has to
beat a woman follows
right along with the
stereo-type that women are inferior.
The hackneyed image that
women were inferior was basically just a myth. The black women in the book The
Color
Purple did all the work. Celie would get
up to cook, clean, go out and work in the fields all day, then come back and
cook and clean some more.
Sophia would work in the fields, repair the roof, and take care of the
children. The men, Mr.
and Harpo, would sit and
not do much. Then if the women ever said anything they would beat them. It was
not until Shug
Avery came along did Celie
realize not to take men seriously. Ms. Avery and Celie did become lesbians, but
Shug taught
Celie that a person has to
stand up for themselves, if they want respect. As Celie and Shug fell in love,
Celie grew as a
person. She started to
stand up to Mr. Celie also started to wear pants. In doing so, she was showing
her independence.
In those days, men were
only supposed to be clothed in pants. Celie was showing, in a small way, that a
woman can do
anything a man can. Through
help from Shug, Celie started a successful business making pants for all the
relatives. This is
another way Shug helped
Celie gain her independence. Women were supposed to rely on men for everything
(i.e. food,
clothing, shelter, etc.).
With Celie making her own money she did not need a man. Celie and her sister
Nettie also owned
a house, which was left to
them by their step-father. Celie is further independent from men. Celie found a
way out by
acquiring a plan. This plan was
patterned after an already independent woman, Shug. Shug got out by singing,
Nettie by
being a missionary, and
Celie by making pants. Any minority that is being oppressed can learn from The
Color Purple. A
minority can pattern
his/her assent to greatness after someone who came from similar backgrounds.
All minorities can
take this advice to heart.
Stand up for what is believed. Make a difference.
African-American women have
overcome quite a bit in order to get to be where they are today. Colored women
have(and are still) over
coming racism, lack of education, and the myth that women are inferior. Black
women have taken
care of their children,
men, land and themselves for years. The book The Color Purple shows the
previous point very
well. This book teaches
that if there is a struggle, someone will overcome it. The book also teaches
minorities a way to
get out of their present
situation. First, the desire has to be there, then all the minority has to do
is pattern themselves after
someone else who has made
it out of the ghetto. Even though this book is in the great depression , the
lessons it teaches
can still be applied in
today's society. I think it is finally time black women earn the respect they
deserve. I would like to
thank Alice Walker for
writing a book that has opened my eyes to the struggles of African-American
women. I never
knew that they had to over
come so much in their community let alone the rest of the world.
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