Black Feminist Society



Black Feminist Society

An image of Tyra Banks judging on America's Next Top Model with the caption "Feminism, but make it intersectional"


Soon after I moved to the UK to attend the University of Leeds, I went to the Fresher's fair on campus. The Fresher's fair is a chance for students to visit booths promoting societies (or student organizations as we call them in the U.S.) and sign up for them if interested. I hadn't made any friends at the university yet but I was so excited to be in Europe and on my own for the first time in my life that I didn't mind. I came across the Feminist Society and hesitated - I had majored in Feminist studies (thankfully Women of Color-centered) in undergraduate college and had already signed up for women's societies at the fair. But there is something about "Feminist" anything that makes me apprehensive - because in my experience indiscriminately "Feminist" spaces are created and maintained for white women and are not inclusive of my experiences. However, right next to it I saw the Black Feminist Society's booth; it was like everything I've ever wanted tied up in a pretty bow. I learned that it was created because the Feminist Society didn't (and perhaps couldn't) address Black women's issues. Black Feminist Society's creators had to cajole the university into allowing them to create it by convincing them of its importance. For my fourth blog post on my experiences living in the UK as an American, I will write about one of my favorite aspects of being a student: the Leeds Uni Black Feminist Society.

Even the title of the society gives me so much hope: Black Feminist. In the U.S., many of the women of color I encountered did not identify as feminists or consider women's rights their issue. In my experience, this is because the feminist discourse around women's rights issues in the West are centered on white women. In the African-American community, cisgender, heterosexual Black men take up most of the space. Both racial and gender justice organizers have equated the Black struggle with Black men and the women's struggle with white women. This leaves Black women nowhere, with nothing; you can still see this phenomenon today with white-American women (see Julie Delphy, Rose McGowan) stating things like "It's harder to be a woman than Black", or "It's worse to be called a woman than the n-word." Having a space like the Black Feminist Society is so important for me and Black British women for that very reason. Our experiences are different from Black men and white women and we deserve to have recognition. 

Black Femme is a safe space for Black British and other Black women and gender non-conforming folx to discuss relevant topics and ideas and enjoy each other's company. Much of the conversation revolves around the Black British community or African and Caribbean people. Some highlights from term one: discussing Black feminist theory, African Feminisms, watching Issa Rae's popular YouTube series "The MisAdventures of Awkward Black Girl," and a discussion on Black men, gender and sexuality. Term two highlights so far have been discussing FGM (female genital mutilation) as a Black feminist issue and LGBT Black feminist theory. As an Ethiopian-American/African I really appreciated the chance to talk about something as sensitive and controversial as FGM with like-minded African and Afro-Caribbean women. Likewise, the opportunity to discuss LGBTQIA issues and how they impact our communities, and how we can change ourselves and our communities to be more inclusive, was indispensable. In this way, the society provides a culturally competent platform to better ourselves and our communities and talk to other community members about the best ways to do so. I am looking forward to future meetings on Black love, the refugee and migrant crisis, Caribbean feminisms, and disability and intersectionality. 





Related: From LA to the UK, In Britain, October is Black History Month, The Prevalence of American Media Around the World







Hyphenated Ethiopian third culture kid. Twitter: @moonchereka

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mekdela

The Story of Mekdela Mekdela is a mountain in Gondar, a city in northern Ethiopia. Centuries ago, Emperor Tewodros II fled to Mekdela in an unsuccessful bid to escape the invading British. The British defeated the Ethiopian soldiers and came for Tewodros. He committed suicide on the mountain Mekdela, resolute in his refusal to surrender and be taken as a prisoner. After his death, the soldiers looted the area and took treasures and the deceased's crowns. Some Ethiopian girls born in the region are named Mekdela; time moves on and the mountain continues to witness the passing seasons and events. Who knows how old this mountain is? How long it has been alive? All of the things this mountain has seen? Perhaps girls were named Mekdela long before the death of Tewodros, for as long as the mountain has been alive.
Read more

The Battle of Adwa

Image
The Battle of Adwa Battle of Adwa, Unidentified artist from Ethiopia, 1968. Courtesy of the Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. The Battle of Adwa by Solomon Belachew, 1970. Courtesy of the Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. On March 1 and 2, 1896, the Ethiopian army defeated the invading Italian army at the Battle of Adwa. They were lead by Ethiopia's emperor of the time, Emperor Menelik II. This event ensured that Ethiopia would not be under colonial rule. Ethiopia is the only country in Afrika to never be colonized. The Battle of Adwa occurred after five years of Italian occupation at which point Ethiopian soldiers successfully banished the occupiers and their rule. News of the defeat spread around Afrika and the world and Ethiopia became a symbol of resistance to colonial oppression. In this vein, many countries throughout Afrika and the Caribbean adopted the colors of the Ethiopian flag: green, red and yellow in many different patterns. ...
Read more

The South

The South In America's imagination, version of history and popular culture, the South is both the boogeyman and a scapegoat for its worst sins. Because of the ("completely honest and unbiased") U.S. history lessons I received, I grew up terrified of the South, a place where danger was imminent for a Black woman like myself. Famous for the Klan, the Confederacy (and proudly displayed Confederate flags) and explicit racism, I vowed never to set foot in the South out of fear for my life. Despite this I did eventually end up visiting the South - I have family living in Texas. I have heard second-hand stories about what living with explicit racism is like - some of these stories sound like they are straight out of the Civil Rights era in my U.S. history textbooks. They are shockingly different from the culture I am accustomed to living in on the West Coast, in California no less. When I traveled abroad recently, I met Americans from all of the ot...
Read more