Shirley Chisholm: The Black Woman's Role In Society

In the article The Politics of Black Women’s Studies by Akasha Hull and Barbara Smith, Hull and Smith studiously literate the politics and controversy around the fundamentals of black women’s studies in the past and modern day. Furthermore, the ideology of the article falls under the premise that racism and prejudice are still current and prominent factors that affect the development of black women’s studies in the way it is taught in universities, and the role it takes upon the lives of black women.

If black women were free, everyone would be free, because that would mean all systems of oppression had been destroyed (Balliet, pg. 162). The Collective would continue to examine politics, including racism in white women’s

“We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society” (“Famous Angela Davis quotes - We have to talk about ….). Angela Davis no longer accepted the philosophies or ideas she could not modify within others, but worked to change the beliefs she could no longer accept. Davis aimed for her voice to be heard, so that her perspectives would perceive and taken into account by society. Davis is best known as a profound African-American educator, extremist for civil rights, and other advocate of other social issues. She realized about racial prejudice from her experiences with discrimination growing up in Birmingham, Alabama. She emerged as an influential counterculture activist and radical in the 1960s as an authority figure of the

The reputation of women is expressed in her speech. She talks about how women are just as powerful as men, women can do the same job that a man can do, women deserve the same job opportunities as men. She appeals to her audience’s emotions by talking about her life and how she grew up with the diversity between blacks and white. She felt the same diversity happening between men and women, and how men were becoming more “powerful” than women. Chisholm used the rhetorical device antithesis in her speech by saying, “The physical characteristics of men and women are not fixed, but cover two wide spans that have a great deal of overlap.”

As black women always conform under patriarchal principles, women are generally silenced and deprived of rights because men are entitled to control everything. Women are silenced in a way that they lose their confidence and hesitate to speak up due to the norms present in the society they live in. Hence, even if women have the confidence to try to speak, men wouldn’t bother to listen since men ought to believe that they are superior to women. In addition to that, women often live in a life cycle of repetitions due to patriarchal principles since women are established to fulfill the roles the society had given them. It is evidenced by Celie as she struggles to survive and to define oneself apart from the controlling, manipulative, and abusive men in her life.

Shirley Chisholm’s Presidential Bid From the beginning, the world was a place of inequality. However, it is possible to change. Through hard work from significant individuals, the world has fought wars and created laws that have led towards equality.

She wants her audience to see how much this means to women in society and how it is a dream for women. She wants them to see it is bigger than many things and not something to ignore. She is effective also in the sense that she is referring to MLK’s speech and thus showing the importance of her words she is stating. She also uses power in her tone to almost attack the values of the members on the International Olympic Committee. She does this by saying that the “IOC’s vote will be a fundamental test of its commitment to women and its own core Olympic values, particularly equality” (Finch).

The public speaker starts off by bringing pathos into the speech by asserting “I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! Ain’t I a woman?” (“Ain’t I a woman”). That statement established an emotional bond between herself and the mothers in the audience, however, the spokesperson not only appeals to the African Americans in the audience, but also to the White mothers in the audience, too. The merging of the two races created a greater appeal to the audience, as a whole, because they all have shared one common goal, the desire of wanting women to be given equal

In John Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage, he defines political courage as one’s willingness to take action on personal ethics, even though it may trigger public criticism, retaliation, and political death. (Kennedy 7) Shirley Chisholm, the first African American Congresswoman used her voice to advocate for racial minorities, women, and the poor. Chisholm was a bold woman who wasn’t afraid to raise current social issues that many avoided talking about. On account of her strong sense of justice, she faced numerous obstacles in her years in office for doing what she believed was in the best interest for our country. Throughout her political career, Chisholm strived for education opportunities and social and economic justice for all.

The essence of the speech relies on Chisholm’s fundamental ability and her own personal

Maiya Minor 4/10/17 Professor: Ellis Shirley Chisholm Reaction Paper: Unbought and unbossed “Unbought and unbossed” is an interesting film that covers issues with African American women, and sexual politics that also offers a simple  literary perspective of a black woman who puts herself in the middle of at the some of the most political and important issues like: black nationalism, feminism and african american women, etc. Chisholm herself writes in her book “unbought and unbothered”, “…My present attitude toward politics as it is practiced in the United States: it is a beautiful fraud that has been imposed on the people for years, whose practitioners exchange gilded promises for the most valuable thing their victims own, their votes. And who benefits most? The lawyers. (Chapter 4)”.

However, the events that propelled the notoriety of the social movements during the Jim Crow era involved numerous women who both led and organized events. Charles Payne in I’ve Got the Light of Freedom, emphasizes that the development of male and female leadership was based on an organizing tradition involving community members (Payne, 2007). The civil rights movement represented an era of conflict for Black men as some sought to distinguish themselves as protectors and defy the “demonization of Black masculinity” (Estes, 2005, p.66). Mr. Estes argues that it was defense of the overt racism men experienced which led them to use “masculinist strategies of racial uplift” to gain political and social power (Estes, 2005, p. 7).

Walker’s essay shows the dehumanization and abuse that black women have endured for years. She talks about how their creativity was stifled due to slavery. She also tells how black women were treated more like objects than human beings. They entered loveless marriages and became prostitutes because of the injustice upon them. Walker uses her mother’s garden to express freedom, not only for her but for all the black women who had been wronged.

Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was born on November 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York. As a young girl, she went to public schools, but for college she attended Brooklyn College and graduated in 1946 cum laude with a Bachelor in sociology. Not only was she giving her time to further her career, Shirley had an interests in helping children. In 1946-1953, she dedicated those years to being a nursery teacher and performed her duties in a daycare. From there, she received her Masters at Columbia University in early childhood education in 1956. Her prosperous need to care for children led her to become a consultant for New York City Division Day Care in 1959-1964. Chisholm wanted to further her career in the political spectrum and her biggest attempt

Then by appealing to pathos, she reminds the world of the horrendous events that occur every day as a result of the inability of girls to speak up for themselves. Finally, she ties in a sense of hope through a shift in tense, as to present that together, everyone can aid in the success of the program in the end. Overall, Michelle Obama’s speech unites the world in supporting the cause for not only a woman’s right to education but also the right to speak up against those who shame them for being a part of the female