Rather than analyze Betye Saar’s “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima” (1972), watch her own explanation of the piece below.
She describes the piece as a work of protest. During the 1970s, both women and blacks had a number of things to protest, so for black women, the feminist movement took on a duality that white women did not have to encounter. This movement fell under the “New Left”, which had come out of the shift away from male breadwinner liberalism (Donnally).
Black women were faced with the challenge of developing policies and niches that fit both their racial and gender needs. This was somewhat problematic. The women’s movement accused black women of being unsupportive and black men saw black feminists as abandoning the cause of racial progress. Among the issues that black women wanted particular attention on were around discrimination and an expansion of the welfare state or around issues of “matriarchy”. With black women as often the sole provider for the household, they had a more vested interest in gaining access to government supported programs that could ensure better outcomes for their children, more so than white women. The division along such issues caused black women to create their own feminist movement so that they could address the issues that black women faced not only as being black, but also as being a woman. In 1973, the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO) was founded for black women to address the complexities of being black and a woman. This organization was the first of many formal women of color feminist organizations created to organize around dual identity issues.
Works Cited
Donnally, Jennifer. "The Rise of Male Breadwinner Conservatism"
Helene, Charlery. “Le patriarcat ou le féminisme noir”. Revue française d’études américaines 4/ 2007 (no. 114), p. 77-87.
http://www.the-art-minute.com/on-behalf-of-aunt-jemima/
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/feminist_art_base/gallery/BetyeSaar.php?i=324
Black Past
Black women were faced with the challenge of developing policies and niches that fit both their racial and gender needs. This was somewhat problematic. The women’s movement accused black women of being unsupportive and black men saw black feminists as abandoning the cause of racial progress. Among the issues that black women wanted particular attention on were around discrimination and an expansion of the welfare state or around issues of “matriarchy”. With black women as often the sole provider for the household, they had a more vested interest in gaining access to government supported programs that could ensure better outcomes for their children, more so than white women. The division along such issues caused black women to create their own feminist movement so that they could address the issues that black women faced not only as being black, but also as being a woman. In 1973, the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO) was founded for black women to address the complexities of being black and a woman. This organization was the first of many formal women of color feminist organizations created to organize around dual identity issues.
Works Cited
Donnally, Jennifer. "The Rise of Male Breadwinner Conservatism"
Helene, Charlery. “Le patriarcat ou le féminisme noir”. Revue française d’études américaines 4/ 2007 (no. 114), p. 77-87.
http://www.the-art-minute.com/on-behalf-of-aunt-jemima/
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/feminist_art_base/gallery/BetyeSaar.php?i=324
Black Past