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Powell's anniversary list: 1971-2021
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Staff Pick
Reading Women, Race, and Class changed my understanding of feminism forever. The book opened my eyes to the deeply racist and classist history of feminism in America, and introduced me to the concept of intersectionality. Angela Davis gave me a history lesson like none I’d ever received in school. (How had none of my teachers ever even mentioned these things about Susan B. Anthony?!) The book spans from abolition to the publication date in 1981, and it remains as relevant as ever. Knowing our history is a crucial step in acknowledging and working to end the racism and classism that still exist in feminism today. Women, Race, and Class is a seminal work, and a must-read. Recommended By Leah B., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
From one of our most important scholars and civil rights activist icon, a powerful study of the women's liberation movement and the tangled knot of oppression facing Black women.
"Angela Davis is herself a woman of undeniable courage. She should be heard." The New York Times
Angela Davis provides a powerful history of the social and political influence of whiteness and elitism in feminism, from abolitionist days to the present, and demonstrates how the racist and classist biases of its leaders inevitably hampered any collective ambitions. While Black women were aided by some activists like Sarah and Angelina Grimke and the suffrage cause found unwavering support in Frederick Douglass, many women played on the fears of white supremacists for political gain rather than take an intersectional approach to liberation. Here, Davis not only contextualizes the legacy and pitfalls of civil and women's rights activists, but also discusses Communist women, the murder of Emmitt Till, and Margaret Sanger's racism. Davis shows readers how the inequalities between Black and white women influence the contemporary issues of rape, reproductive freedom, housework and child care in this bold and indispensable work.
Review
"As useful an exposition of the current dilemmas of the women's movement as one could hope for." Los Angeles Times Book Review
About the Author
Angela Y. Davis is a political activist, scholar, author, and speaker. She is an outspoken advocate for the oppressed and exploited, writing on Black liberation, prison abolition, the intersections of race, gender, and class, and international solidarity with Palestine. She is the author of several books, including Women, Race, and Class and Are Prisons Obsolete? She is the subject of the acclaimed documentary Free Angela and All Political Prisoners and is Distinguished Professor Emerita at the University of California, Santa Cruz.