Excerpt from Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment PDF

PATRIC I A H I LL COLLI N S EXCERPT FROM "BLACK FEMINIST THOUGHT: KNOWLEDGE, CONSCIOUSNESS, AND THE POLITICS OF EMPOWERMENT" (1990} Patrici a Hill Col lins is an award-winning writer and socia l theorist. Her books include Black Feminist Thought: Knowl- edg...

PATRIC I A H I LL COLLI N S EXCERPT FROM "BLACK FEMINIST THOUGHT: KNOWLEDGE, CONSCIOUSNESS, AND THE POLITICS OF EMPOWERMENT" (1990} Patrici a Hill Col lins is an award-winning writer and socia l theorist. Her books include Black Feminist Thought: Knowl- edge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment (1990); Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the Ne w Racism (2004); and From Black Power to Hip Ho p: Racism, Nationalism, and Feminism (2006). She is Distin­ guished University Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland-College Park and former president of the American Sociolog ical Association Council. B lack fe minist thou ght de monstrates Blac k wo m- en's e m e rging power as agents of know ledge. By portray ing Afr ican American women as se lf- our kno wledge claims in an Afrocentric e pi stemol- ogy have produced a rich tradition of Black femi- nist thought. d efined, self-re li an t indi vidu a ls co n fronting race, Traditiona ll y such women were b lues singers, ge nd e r, and class oppress ion, Afrocentric fem inist poets, autobi ographers, storyte llers, an d orators thought speaks to the im po rt ance that know ledge va li dated by everyday Black wo m e n as expe rts on plays in e mpowering oppressed peopl e. O ne dis- a Blac k women's standpoint. On ly a few unu su a l tinguishing feature of Black femin ist thought is its African-A m er ican fem in is t scholars have been ab le insistence that both th e ch anged consciousness of to defy Eurocentric masculinis t ep istemologies and indiv idu a ls and t he social transformation of po liti - exp licitly embrace a n Afrocentric feminist episte- ca l a nd eco nomic in stituti o ns constitute esse ntial mology. Cons id er Ali ce Wa lke r's description of ingredients for soc ia l ch ange. New knowl edge is Zo ra Nea le Hurston: impo rt ant for both dimen sions of ch ange.... In my mind, Zora Nea le Hurston , Billie Holiday, and Bessie Smith form a sort of unholy trin ity. Epistemological Shifts: Dialogue, Zo ra belongs in th e tradition of black women sing- Empathy, and Truth e rs, rather th a n a mong "th e li terati."... Like Billi e Black Women as Agents of Knowledge and Bess ie she fo ll owed her own road, believed in Living li fe as a n Afr ican Amer ica n woman is a her ow n gods, pursued her own drea ms, and re- necessar y pre requisite for producing Black femi- fused to separate herse lf from "co mmon" people. nis t thought b eca use within Black women's com- (Walker 1977, xv ii -xviii) muniti es thought is va lid ated a nd produced wi th refe re n ce to a particular set of historical , material, Zora Nea le Hurston is an exce ption for prior and ep istemolog ica l condi ti ons. African American to 1950, few African American women earned ad- wo m en w ho adhere to th e idea that claims about vanced degrees and most of those who did com- Black women must b e substanti ated by Black wom- p lied w ith Eurocentric masculini st e pistemologies. e n's sense of o ur ow n ex pe ri e n ces and who anc h or Alt h oug h thes e women worked on behalf of Black So urce: Copyright ill 1990 From Black Feminist Tilo11gilt: Knowledge, Co11scio11s11ess, and tile Politics of Empowennent by Patricia Hill Co llins. Reprod uced by permi ss ion of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a divisio n of lnfo rm a pie 71 72 CREA T ING KNO WL EDGE women , they did so within the co nfin es of per- outsider-w ithin statu s and produce innova ti ve vasive race and ge nder oppression. Black wome n Afroce ntri c feminist thought. scholars were in a position to see the excl usion In estab li shin g th e leg itimacy of th e ir knowl- of African Amer ican women from scholarly dis- edge claims, Black wo me n scholars w ho wa nt to course, and the thematic content of th eir work develop Afrocen tric feminist thought may en- often reflected their interest in exa mining a Black counter th e ofte n conflicting standard s of three wome n's standpoint. However, their tenuou s status key groups. First , Black feminist thought must be in academic institutions led th em to adh ere to Eu- va lidated by ordinary Afr ica n Ameri ca n wo m e n rocentric masculinist epistemologies so that their w ho, in th e wo rds of Hannah Ne lso n, grow to work wo uld be accepted as scholarly. As a result, womanhood "in a wo rld whe re th e saner you are, while they produced Black feminist thou ght, those th e m add e r you are m ade to app ea r" (Gwaltney African American wo me n most likely to gain aca- 1980, p. 7). To be credible in the eyes of this group, demic credentials were often least likely to produce sc hol a rs must be personal advocates for th e ir ma - Black feminist thought that used an Afroce ntric terial, be accountable for th e consequences of feminist epistemolog y. their wo rk, have lived or experienced the ir m a- An ongoing tension exists for Black women ter ia l in some fashion, and be w illing to engage as agents of knowledge, a tension rooted in the in dialogues about th e ir findings w ith ordinary, sometimes conflicting demands of Afrocentricit y eve ryday people. Second, Black feminist thought and feminism. Those Black women who are femi - a lso mu st be accepted by th e community of Black nists are critical of ho w Black culture and many wo m e n scholars. These scholars place varying of its traditions oppress wo men. For example, the amo unts of importance on rea rticul at ing a Black strong pronatal beliefs in African American com- women's standpoint using an Afroce ntric feminist munities that foster early motherhood among epistemology. Third, Afrocentric fem inist thought adolescent girls, the lack of self-actualization that w ithin academia must be prepared to confront Eu - can accompany the doubl e-day of paid employ- rocentric masrnlinist political and epistemologi- ment and work in the home, and the emotional cal requirements. and physical abuse that many Black women ex- The dilemma facing Black wome n scholars en- perience from their fathers, lovers, and husbands gaged in creating Black feminist thought is that all reflect practices opposed by African American a knowledge claim that meets the criteria of ad- women w ho are feminists. But these same women equacy for one group.. may not be translatable may have a parallel desire as members of a n op- into the terms of a diffe rent group. Using the ex- pressed racial group to affirm the va lue of that ample of Black English, June Jordan illustrates the same culture and traditions.... Thus strong Black diffirnlt y of mov ing among epistemologies: mothers appear in Black wome n's literature, Black You ca nnot "tran slate" instances of Stand ard Eng- women's economic contributions to families is lish preocrnpied with abstraction or with nothing/ lauded, and a curious silence exists concerning nobody evidently alive into Black Eng lish. That domestic abuse. wo uld warp the language into uses antithetical to As more African Ame rica n women earn ad- the gu iding perspective of its community of users. vanced degrees, the range of Black feminist schol- Rather you must first change those Sta nd ard Eng- arship is expanding. Increasing numbers of African lish se ntences, th emsel ves, into ideas consistent American wome n scholars are explicitly choosing w ith the person-ce ntered assumptions of Black to ground their work in Black women's experi - English. (Jordan 1985, 130) ences, and, by doing so, they implicitly adhere to an Afrocentric feminist epistemology. Rather than Althou gh both wo rld v iews share a common being restrained by their both/ and status of mar- vocab ular y, the ideas them se lves defy direct ginality, these wo men make creative use of their tran slat ion.  Excerpt from Bl ack Fem inist T hought 73 For Black wome n w ho are age nt s of knowledge, Situated Knowledge, Subjugated Knowledge, th e marginality th at accompani es ou tsid er-w ithin and Partial Persp ectives s ta tus ca n be the so urce of bo th frustration a nd c re- "1\lly life see ms to be a n increas ing reve lati o n of the at iv it y. In a n a tte mpt to minimi ze th e differe nces intim a te face of uni ve rsa l s tru gg le," cla im s Jun e betwee n th e cultura l context o f Afri ca n Am e ri ca n Jo rd a n: co mmuniti es and th e expecta ti o ns of soc ia l insti- Yo u begin w ith yo ur fa mil y a nd th e kids o n th e tutions, so me wo m e n dich oto mi ze th e ir be hav ior block, a nd nex t yo u o pen yo ur eyes to what yo u a nd beco m e two diffe re nt peopl e. Ove r time, th e ca ll yo ur peop le a nd th at leads yo u into la nd stra in of do ing this ca n b e e normous. Ot h e rs reject refor m in to Black Engli sh in to Angola leads yo u th e ir cultura l co ntext a nd work aga in st t he ir own back to yo ur own bed where yo u li e by yo urself, best interes ts by e nforcin g th e dominant grou p's wo nder ing if yo u deserve to be peaceful , o r tru sted speciali zed th o ught. Still o th e rs m a n age to in- o r des ired o r left to th e freedom of yo ur own unfal- h a bit bot h co ntex ts but do so cr iti ca ll y, using their te rin g hea rt. And th e sca le shrinks to th e size of a o utside r-w ithin pe rsp ecti ves as a so urce o f in sights skull : yo ur ow n in terior cage. (Jord a n 198 1, p. xi) a nd ideas. But whil e outsiders w ithin ca n m a ke subst a nti a l contribu ti ons as agents of knowledge, Lorra ine Ha nsbe rr y ex presses a simi la r id ea: "I be- th ey rarely d o so w ithout substantial p e rs o na l cost. li eve th a t o ne of th e most sound ideas in dramatic "Eve ntu a ll y it co mes to yo u ," obse rves Lo rra ine w ritin g is that in o rd e r to create th e uni ve rsa l, yo u Ha n sbe rr y, "t h e thing th at makes you exce ptiona l, mu st pay ve ry g reat atte ntion to th e spec ifi c. Uni- if yo u a re a t a ll, is inev ita bly that w hi c h must a lso ve rsa lity, I thin k, e m e rges from th e truth ful ide n- m ake yo u lo nely" (1969, 148). tity of wh at is " (1 969, 128). Jord a n a nd 1-l a nsb e rry's O nce Black feminist sc ho lars face th e notion insig hts th at uni ve rsa l struggle a nd truth m ay wea r th a t, o n ce rt a in dim e n sion s of a Black wo m e n's a par ti cul a ris ti c, intim ate face sugges t a new ep is- s ta ndp o int, it may b e fruitl ess to tr y a nd tr a n s- te m o log ica l stan ce concerning how we nego ti ate late id eas from an Afrocentric fe mini s t e pistemo l- competing kn owledge claims and id e ntify "truth. " ogy into a Eurocentric ma sc ulini s t fr a m ewo rk, The co ntex t in w hi ch Afric a n Ame ri ca n wo m- th e n other c hoices e m e rge. Ra th e r than try in g e n's id eas a re nurtured or suppressed m atte rs. to un cover uni ve rsa l know led ge c la im s that ca n Unde rst a ndin g th e co ntent a nd ep iste mo logy o f w ith sta nd th e tra nslation from one e piste m o logy Black wom e n's ideas as specia li zed kn owledge re- to a no th e r (initi a ll y, a t leas t) , Black wo men inte l- quires atte ndin g to th e context from wh ich th ose lec tu a ls might find efforts to rearticulate a Blac k ideas e me rge. W hil e produced by indi v idu a ls, Black wo m en's standpoint es p ecia ll y fr uit fu l. Rearticu- fe minist th o ught as situ a ted know ledge is e mbed - latin g a Black wo m e n's sta ndpo int refashions th e ded in th e co mmunities in w hi ch Afri ca n Am e ri ca n co ncre te a nd revea ls th e more uni versa l human wo m e n find o urse lves (Haraway 1988). dim e ns ion s of Black wo m e n's eve ryday li ves. "I A Black wo m e n's standpoin t a nd tho se o f d a te a ll my wo rk," notes N ikki G iova nni , " be- other op pressed groups is not only e mbedd ed in cau se I think poetry, or a ny w ritin g, is but a re- a co ntex t but ex ists in a situation c harac te ri zed fl ec ti o n o f th e m o m e nt. The uni versa l co m es from by domination. Becau se Black wo m e n's ideas have th e particular" (19 88, 57). b e ll h ooks m a int a in s, b ee n suppressed , this suppress io n h as stimul ated "m y goa l as a fe mini st thinke r a nd th eo ri s t is to Afri ca n Am e ri ca n wo m e n to create knowledge take th at a b strac tion a nd articulate it in a lan- th a t e mp owers peop le to res ist d om in ati on. T hu s guage th at ren d e rs it accessible-not less co mpl ex Afroce ntri c fe minist thought rep rese nts a subju- o r ri goro us- but simpl y more access ibl e" (19 89, ga ted kn owledge (Foucault 19 80). A Black women's 39 ). The complexity ex ist s; inte rpret ing it re- sta ndp o int m ay provide a pre fe rred sta nce from m a in s th e unfulfilled cha ll e n ge fo r Blac k wo m e n w hi c h to v iew th e matri x of domin a ti o n beca u se, inte ll ec tuals. in prin cipl e, Bl ac k fe minist thou g ht as specia li zed 74 CR E A T I N G KNOW L EDGE th o ught is less like ly th a n th e spec ia li zed knowl- conce rnin g whose truth wo uld preva il. These ap- edge produced by domin a nt gro u ps to deny th e proac hes sugges t th at th e o ppressed a ll egedl y h ave co nnection b etwee n ideas a nd the ves ted inte rests a clea rer view of "truth " th a n their oppresso rs b e- of th e ir creators. Howeve r, Black feminist thou ght cause th ey lack the blinders created by th e do mi - as subjugated knowl edge is no t exe mpt fro m criti- n a nt gro up's ideo logy. But this ve rsion of sta ndp o int ca l a na lys is, beca use subjugation is no t gro unds fo r th eo ry bas ica ll y duplicates the positiv ist be li ef in a n ep iste m o logy (Haraway 1988). o ne "tru e " interpretation of rea lity a nd , like pos iti v- Despite Afri ca n Am er ica n wo me n's potential ist science, co mes w ith its own set of problems. power to reveal new insights abo ut th e m atri x o f Relativism , the seco nd approach, h as bee n fo r- domination , a Black wo m en's sta nd poi nt is only wa rd ed as th e a ntith es is of and inev it ab le outcome o ne a ngle of vis ion. Thus Black feminist th o ught of rejectin g a positiv ist sc ie nce. From a relativist per- represe nts a partia l perspective. The ove ra rc hing specti ve a ll gro ups produce sp ec ia li zed th o ught a nd m atri x of d o mination houses multipl e gro ups, eac h each gro up's th o ught is equally va lid. No group ca n w ith va ry ing ex pe riences w ith pe na lt y a nd priv il ege cla im to h ave a b etter inte rpretation of th e "truth " that produce corresponding pa rti a l perspect ives, than a no th er. In a sense, relati v ism represents th e situated kno wledges, a nd, for clea rl y ide ntifiabl e opposite of sc ie ntific ideologies of objectivity. As subo rdin ate groups, subjugated kn owledges. No epi ste m o logica l stances, both positivist science and o ne group h as a cl ea r a ngl e of v isio n. No o ne group relativism minimi ze th e importance of spec ifi c lo - possesses the th eo ry or m eth o do logy th at a ll ows it cation in influencing a group's know led ge claims, to di scove r th e absolute "truth " o r, worse ye t, pro- the power ineq uities a mong groups th at produce cla im its theo ri es and m eth od o log ies as the uni- subju ga ted knowledges, and the strengths an d limi - versa l no rm eva lu ating other gro ups' ex periences. tation s of pa rti a l p erspective (Haraway 1988). Give n th at groups a re un equal in power in m a king The ex istence o f Black feminist tho ught sug- themse lves hea rd , dominant gro ups h ave a ves ted gests a nother a lte rnative to th e ostens ibl y o bj ec- interest in suppressing the know ledge produced by tive norm s of science and to relati v ism 's claims sub ord in ate gro ups. Given th e ex iste nce of mul - th at groups w ith compet ing know ledge cl a ims a re tiple a nd compet ing knowl edge cla im s to "truth" equal. In thi s vo lum e I placed Black wo m en's sub - produced by groups w ith partia l perspecti ves, w h at jecti v ity in the ce nte r of analysis a nd exa mined th e epi ste mo logica l approach offers th e m ost promise< interd epe nd ence of the everyday, taken- fo r- gra nted know ledge sh ared by Afric an Am eri ca n wo m e n as Dialogue and Empathy a gro up, th e mo re specia li zed knowledge p ro duced Western socia l and politi ca l th o ught co nta ins two by Black wo men intell ectuals, and the soc ial co n - alternati ve approaches to asce rta ining "truth." The dition s shaping both types of th o ught. This ap - first, refl ected in positivist science, has long claim ed proac h a ll owed m e to describe the creative tensi o n th at abso lute truths exist a nd that th e tas k of sc hol - linking h ow sociologica l condition s influenced a arsh ip is to develop obj ecti ve, unbi ased tools of Black women's standpoint and how th e power of sc ie nce to m easure th ese truth s. But Afrocentric, th e ideas th e mse lves gave many Afri ca n Ameri ca n feminist, a nd ot her bodi es o f crit ica l th eory have wo m e n the strength to shape th ose sa me socio logi- unmasked the concepts a nd ep iste mology o f this cal co nditions. I approached Afrocentric feminist version of sc ience as representing the ves ted inter- th o ught as situ ated in a context of domin ati o n a nd ests o f elite white men and th erefo re as being less not as a syste m o f ideas divorced from political and va lid whe n applied to ex peri ences of oth er gro ups econ o mi c rea lity. Mo reover, I prese nted Black femi - a nd, mo re recentl y, to wh ite m a le reco unting of ni st thought as subjuga ted knowledge in th at Afr i- their ow n ex ploits. Earl ier ve rsio ns o f sta ndpoint ca n Am e ri ca n wo m e n ha ve long struggled to find theories, th emse lves rooted in a Marxist pos iti vism , a ltern ative locations a nd techniques for a rti cul at- esse nti a ll y reve rs ed positiv ist sc ie nce's ass umptions ing ou r ow n sta ndpoint.  Excerpt from Bla ck Feminist Thought 75 This approach to Afrocentric feminist thought to enco mpass 111 one's glance a t th e varied world allows Afr ican American women to bring a Black th e common thread, the un ify ing th e m e through women's standpoint to large r ep istemological dia­ imme ns e divers ity" (1983 , 5). Partiality a nd not logues co ncerning the nature of... domination. universa lit y is the cond ition of b e ing heard ; indi ­ Eventually such dialogu es may get u s to a point at vidua ls and groups forwa rdin g know ledge claims which, claims Elsa Barkley Brown, "a ll people can without owning th e ir position are deem ed less learn to ce nter in anot her experience, va lidate it, credib le th a n thos e who do. and judge it by its own standards without need of Dialogu e is critical to the success of thi s epis ­ comparison or need to adopt that framework as temological approach , th e type of dialogu e long their own" (1989, 922). ln such dialogu es, "one extant in th e Afrocentric call-and-response tradi­ has no need to ' d ece nter' anyone in order to center tion whereby power dynamics are fluid , everyone someone e lse; one has on ly to constantly, appropri­ has a voice, but eve ryo ne must li sten a nd respond ate ly, 'p ivot the center"' (p. 922). to other voices in order to b e a ll owed to remain in Those ideas that are va li dated as true by Afr ican the co mmunity. Shari ng a common cause fosters American women, African American men, Latina dialogue and encourages groups to transcend their lesbians, As ian American wome n, Puerto Rican differences. m e n, and other groups with distincti ve stand­ Existing power inequities among groups must points, with each group u sing the epistemo logica l be addressed before an a lternative e pistemology approaches growing from its uniqu e standpoint, such as that described by Elsa Barkley Brown or thus becom e the most "objective" truths. Eac h Alice Walker ca n be utili zed. The prese nce of sub ju­ group speaks from its own st andpoint and shares gated knowledges means that groups a re not equal its own partial, situ ated knowledge. But because in making th e ir standpoints known to themselves each group perce ives its own truth as partial , its and others. "Dece ntering " the dominant group is knowledge is unfinished. Each group b eco m es esse ntial , and re li nquishing privilege of this mag­ better able to consider othe r gro ups ' standpo ints nitude is unlikely to occu r without struggle. But without relinquishing the uniqueness of its own sti ll the v ision exists, one e ncompassing "coming standpo int or suppressing other groups' partial per­ to be lieve in the possibility of a variety of experi­ spectives. "What is always needed in the apprecia­ e nces, a varie ty of ways of und e rstanding the world, tion of art, or life," maintains Alice Walker, "is the a va ri ety of frameworks of operation, witho ut im­ larger perspective. Connections made, or at least at­ posing consciously or unconsciously a notion of tempted, w here non e existed before, the strain ing the norm " (Brown 1989, 921). REFERENCES Brown , Elsa Barkely. 1989. "A frican-Ameri ca n Wom ­ Haraway, Donna. 1988. "Situated Knowl edges : The en's Qui lting: A Framework for Conceptua li zing Science Question in Feminism and th e Privil ege and Teaching African-American Women's Hi sto ry." of Partial Pers pec tive. " Feminist Studies 14(3): Signs 14(4) : 921-29. 575-99. Foucault, Michel. 19 80. Powe1/ Knowledge: Selected In- hooks, bell. 1989. Tal/1ing Bach: Thinhing Feminist, terviews and Other \1\fritings 1972-1977, edited by Thin/1i11g Blach. Boston: South End Press. Colin Gordon. New Yo rk: Pantheon. Jordan, Jun e. 1981. Civil Wars. Boston: Beacon Press. Giovanni, Nikki. 1988. Sacred Cows... and Oth er Edi- Walker, Alice. 1977. "Zora Nea le Hurston: A Caut ion ­ bles. New York: Quill/ Willi a m 1'vlorrow. ary Tale and a Partisan View." Fo reword to Zora Gwa ltney, John Langsto n. 1980. Drylongso, Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography, by Robert Hem­ A Self-Portrait of Blach America. New York: Vin tage. enway, xi-xviii. Urbana: Uni versity of Illinois Press. Hansber ry, Lorra ine. 1969. To Be Young, Gifted and _ _. 1983. /11 Search of Our Mothers' Garde ns. New Blac/1. New York: Signet. York: Harcou rt Brace Jovanov ich. Oxford Uni ve rsit y Press is a d epa rtm e nt of th e Uni ve rsity of Oxfo rd. It furth ers th e Uni ve rsity's o b jecti ve of exce ll ence in resea rch , sc ho la rshi p, a nd ed uca ti o n by publi shing wo rl dw ide. Oxford is a reg iste red trad e m a rk o f Oxfo rd Uni ve rsit y Press in th e U K a nd ce rt a in o th e r co untri es. Pub lished in th e United States o f Ame ri ca by Oxfo rd Uni ve rsit y Press 198 ,'vladi so n Ave nu e, New York, NY 10 01 6, United States o f Am e ri ca. © 2020 by Oxfo rd Uni ve rsity Press © 201 3, 2010, 2007, 200 4, 2001 by T he McG raw- Hill Co mp a ni es, Inc. 1998 May fi e ld Publi shin g Co mp a ny Fo r titl es cove red by Sec tion 11 2 of t he US Hi ghe r Edu cati o n O ppo rtunity Ac t, pl ease visit www.o u p.co m/ us/ he fo r th e lates t in fo rmati o n abo ut pri cin g a nd a lte rn ate fo rm ats. 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