The role of the Black woman in the liberation of womankind must first be clearly defined to establish the context in which the term  liberation  is used before discussion of the subject can have any significance. If by the term  liberated,  it is meant the throwing off of some kind of yoke of oppression and dehumanization invoked by men which often reflects itself in unequal opportunities and pay scales, particularly in the professional world, then it is highly questionable that the Black woman needs this type of liberation as the ultimate object of her energies and concern.
If on the other hand, the term  liberated  means striving toward building a Black nation, which is separate from purely capitalist, monetary obcessions but which is steeped in nationalism, self-determination and Pan- Africanism being the concept with Africa as the focal point of a unified international Black identity and a consolidation on the political, social and economic bases then, indeed, we are speaking of the very life blood of the Black woman

Bingham, Gail E.

English

Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law

IUSTITIAVolume 2Number 1 Women: Special Issue by Women Article 154-1974The Liberated Black Woman: A Question of BlackPower and NationalismGail E. BinghamIndiana UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/iustitiaPart of the Inequality and Stratification Commons, Law Commons, Politics and Social ChangeCommons, and the Race and Ethnicity CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Repository@ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in IUSTITIA by anauthorized administrator of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For moreinformation, please contact wattn@indiana.edu.Recommended CitationBingham, Gail E. (1974) "The Liberated Black Woman: A Question of Black Power and Nationalism," IUSTITIA: Vol. 2: No. 1, Article15.Available at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/iustitia/vol2/iss1/15The Liberated Black Woman:A Question of Black Powerand NationalismGail E. BinghamThe role of the Black woman in the liberation of womankind must first beclearly defined to establish the context in which the term "liberation" isused before discussion of the subject can have any significance. If by theterm "liberated," it is meant the throwing off of some kind of yoke of op-pression and dehumanization invoked by men which often reflects itselfin unequal opportunities and pay scales, particularly in the professionalworld, then it is highly questionable that the Black woman needs this typeof liberation as the ultimate object of her energies and concern.If on the other hand, the term "liberated" means striving toward build-ing a Black nation, which is separate from purely capitalist, monetary ob-cessions but which is steeped in nationalism, self-determination and Pan-Africanism being the concept with Africa as the focal point of a unifiedinternational Black identity and a consolidation on the political, social andeconomic bases then, indeed, we are speaking of the very life blood of theBlack woman.The adoption of the term "liberated" in the latter context may raise manyobjections with which the present women's movement does not intend todeal. This type of liberation and use of the term in relationship to buildinga nation is stretching matters a bit, if not being totally beside the point.But it is the point for the white woman is basically not trying to fight asystem that flatly rejects her, but rather is seeking to modify that systemto give her a bigger piece of the pie, so to speak. The Black woman muststruggle to be included respectfully in the system of things, even in themanner, many white women see degrading. The problem for the whitewoman is to crush the pedestal she has for so long been placed on as thesheltered "little woman". She struggles against being a highly respected"art piece" on whom white men have placed certain restrictions andcreated various myths, involving the mixing of her worshipped fragilnesssuccessfully into the sweat and crudeness of high level economic, businessMis. Bingham is presently finishing her Ph.D. in Political Science at Indiana University, where shereceived her B.A. in Political Science.84and professional transactions and involvements, without even mentioningmanual labor jobs, such as street cleaning, trash collection, bus driving, etc.The Black woman has not yet reached a meager point of acceptabilityby the system. Thus it appears ludicrous for her to crusade for the samegoals as the "liberated" white women seeking "liberation". She doesn'teven have the initial respect and consideration that gives her a place inthe mainstream at all, much less an opportunity for a more significant rolein the American society. The present women's movement essentially meansbecoming that much more enslaved to a structure of government and societywhich is based on material wealth and which thrives on the ruthless ex-ploitation of all members of society and, particularly, of minority peoples.It is a system which reinforces atrocities in foreign policy, particularlyin the Third World. These atrocities in foreign policy include colonialization,imperialism, depletion of natural and manpower resources, and the creationof dependency relations. Most of these same atrocities are also employedagainst minorities within the United States. Thus the Black woman is andwill continue to be the victim of this type of system: not intentionally apart of it, not only unintentionally, but in ANY manner!!There are many works printed by Black men that state the particularsituation Black people, men and women, are in today in America. Bymaking reference to some of these male works, the writer by no means,accepts the argument that Black women are discriminated against withinthe Black context also. The reason lies in the history of the Black woman.She has traditionally been the dominant, if not the only influence in thefamily, because Black men generally tended to leave their responsibilities.The motivating factor behind these desertions may lie in the fact that theBlack woman was admitted into the working white society above her malecounterpart. Although the work she did within the white society beforeand after emancipation may now be viewed as demeaning, it provided noless a stable job and a steady income. That was more than could be saidin many cases for the Black male as provider in any context! The Blackmale has now finally decided to protect and beautify his woman. He hasdecided to accept and support the responsibilities of family more thanbefore. And it is high time we, as Black women, had this kind of treatmentsince for years we have bleached our skins, straightened our hair and triedto duplicate in many other ways white woman's qualities, which many ofour men also held in high esteem. So it is not an insult to the Black womanto have her men speaking in Blackness and structuring something that hasmeaning, commonality, unity and progress for all Black people. This is anew kind of pedestal, one that does not rest on superficialities, but onpride.The question of Black survival as presented by Stokley Carmicael andCharles Hamilton in their well-known book, Black Power, makes somepoints that are relevant in viewing the Black woman's role or relationshipto the present women's movements. One of these is that it is a myth toassume that a politically and economically secure group can collaborate85with a politically and economically insecure group. Black people constitutea politically and economically insecure group in this country. The whitewoman is in control of the present liberation movement and although she iscritical of the status quo, she does not basically disagree with the presentsocietal structure. She only disagrees with how it manifests or reflectsitself with a male-dominated bias. It is extremely doubtful that the whitewoman will feel inclined to be tolerant of other liberation movements, in-cluding Black liberation, within the ranks of her own movement or organi-zation. As noted in Black Power:"The white groups tend to view their interests in a particularlyunified solified way when confronted with blacks making demandswhich are seen as threatening to vested interests. The whites reactin a unified group to protect interests they perceive to be their in-terests possessed to the exclusion of those who for varying reasonsare outside the group."'If the present woman's movement can be thought of as a kind of whiteliberalism, and this writer feels that it can, then Black women must ac-knowledge that white liberalism has and continues to be impotent. Addi-son Gayle, a professor of English and editor of several books, in an article,"Existential Politics", 2 traces this impotency from the Civil War throughthe politics of the welfare state. Gayle explains the welfare state as beinga pact that offered something for whites by enabling them to pose as thebenefactors of humanity and at the same time make Black people dependentupon them. Speaking of liberalism Gayle says:.The breakdown of the old white liberal-negro coalition hasplaced Black people in the most existential position of their lives.For the first time, Blacks are demanding real change, not the sem-blance of change, real power, not the illusion of power, and areattempting to construct real, viable alternatives to the programsof the past. . . The weight of survival has been placed upon theshoulders of Blacks and only Blacks can determine their future. ...The dedication must be to race. There must be an unashamed, un-abashed commitment to race that admits the differences betweenBlacks and whites and explores these differences. This means thatit is more important to write a Black novel than an American novel,more important to support a Black institution than a white one, moreimportant to address Black problems than American problems.' 3Furthermore with respect to Black women's involvement with the presentpolitical system, James Boggs in his book, Racism and the Class Struggle,points out that no matter what type of bill is drawn up by politicians, itwviii he apparent that, before the ink is dry, the document will not be suffi-cient and another bill is needed and must be introduced. It becomes clear,then, that no bill or act of Congress, or court decision will offer a solutionto Black problems. Politicians cannot offer a solution to Black dilemmas86because to do so would be to put the power of vested interests in thiscountry on the line. Even to speak of democracy is a fallacy, for demo-cracy does not exist in America: elites run the country. Democracy isbased on a class system where the only way to get anywhere is by work-ing against rather than with neighbors and fellow men. With regard to theeffect of such a class system, Boggs notes:"This is what the American classless society is-issuing others andparticularly those of other races to advance yourself materiallyand socially without regard to right and wrong and without re-gard to social responsibility. What has been boasted about as the'opportunity' to rise above your class in America has been in realityopportunism. What has been boasted about as the 'freedom of theindividual' has been, in reality, the freedom to purchase materialgoods regardless of human values. What has been boasted about as'government of the people has been, in reality, the evasion by thepeople of the social responsibilities of self-government." 4The Black liberation struggle should encompass certain criteria forsurvival. These criteria should include self-determination, devotion toa single goal, acquisition of land, unification among Black people and achange of system-economic, social and political. Self-determinationmeans overcoming exploitation, oppression and manipulation. It is adevelopment of a people's identity and control over their destiny. Devo-tion to a single goal implies a need for unification and mobilization towarda mutually desired goal, which is necessary for the effective operation ofthe group and its survival. Acquisition of land is most important becauseit is not realistic to assume that one can achieve a total politics of liberationwithin this country; Black people have tried that route since emancipation.The type of nationalism that Black people must strive for must not simplybe a transplant of present capitalistic orientations, but a different systemaltogether that will address itself better to the fundamental needs of Blackpeople.What then must the Black woman do? The Black woman must resentand denounce concepts of birth control, population explosion, and finan-cial and professional restrictions that hamper her ability and desire toreproduce. She must raise her birth rate more than double its present level,for strength of a people lies in their numbers. In this respect, the Blackwoman has much to learn from her traditional African counterpart. TheBlack woman must not be a housewife if she honestly cannot stand therestriction. However, in securing other activities, she must not be ob-sessed with her own self-fulfillment and aggrandizement, but she shoulduse her employment activities and involvements to spur the emergenceof her people in their struggle for nationalism. She must use "any meansnecessary" to extend her knowledge of that which must eventually bedestroyed if she and her people are to survive and one day be dominant.The Black woman may then be and do whatever she chooses and use87anything to achieve the aims of her people. Whatever she chooses to do,she must maintain a devotion to and striving for Black freedom anddignity. It is an extremely difficult task, for the danger of being cooptedis ever present and alluring. It is extremely risky to assume that any aspectof Black liberation can be advanced or enhanced through a movement suchas the women's liberation organization, because shouldering a white causecan be translated to mean struggling to maintain a status quo which willonly change faces. From past experience, most Black people are quitefamiliar with such integration attempts and "successes" and are wellaware that a change of face is only the beginning of an expensive, time-consuming treadmill that basically changes nothing!FOOTNOTES1. Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton, Black Power, (New York: Vintage Books,1967), p. 7.2. Addison Gayle, "Existential Politics" in Liberator, January, 1969), p. 5.3. Ibid.4. James Boggs, Racism and the Class Struggle, (New York: Modern Reader, 1970), p. 126.88

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