Schwarzer Feminismus: Grundlagentexte
Unrast Verlag published Schwarzer Feminismus: Grundlagentexte, a collection of contributions by Black feminists under the editorship of Natasha A. Kelly, in 2019. The book traces the development of the concept of intersectionality, which has increasingly become the focus of feminist debates in Germany in recent years. The majority of the selected essays were translated into German for the first time for this volume.
After a foreword by Natasha A. Kelly, which gives an insight into the translation process and the considerations involved, the chronologically structured collection of texts begins with Sojourner Truth’s historical speech from 1851 “Am I not a woman*?” in which she describes her different treatment as a Black woman*. The following seven texts refer to Truth’s speech and add other perspectives to it. Angela Davis’ essay deals with the connection between enslavement and class, the Combahee River Collective addresses the interaction of power relations and multiple oppression, and bell hooks shows how Black women* have been excluded from public feminist discourse. Audre Lorde calls for the different positions of power among women* to be recognised and then used effectively for collective goals. Barbara Smith dismantles common myths about feminism and Black women*, and Kimberlé Crenshaw shows the multiple discrimination of Black women* on the basis of US-American court cases. The book concludes with a text by Patricia Hill Collins that deals with the difficulty of finding an identity when your own identity is always linked to racist stereotypes in the public sphere.
The ideas and thoughts of Black women* have had a central impact on feminist discourse, but they are often not given this importance. It is great to see that they are now finally being given the space and attention they deserve in Germany. If you are interested in learning about feminism, classism and racism,I can warmly recommend this collection. The texts of these influential women* have a completely different effect when read together and impressively show the development of one of the most important political concepts of our time.
The texts have only been published in this arrangement in German.
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