As March comes to an end, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate Women’s History Month and I thought what better way than to interview one of the coolest women I know…my mom. As a fourth generation black feminist, I have been blessed to grow up in a community of amazing scholarship and activism. While most people can easily list the ways in which their mother has contributed to shaping who they are, I am fortunate to also be able to discuss how my mother and her colleagues have shaped the perception of black women in the world. In 1982 scholars Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell Scott, and Barbara Smith published a ground breaking anthology, All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women’s Studies. “That was an intervention into the marginalization of Black women,” said Stanlie James, Professor of African and African American and Women and Gender Studies at Arizona State University.
The title came about as the result of black women being systematically ignored and excluded from both Women’s Studies and Black Studies. “Merely to use the term, ‘Black women’s studies” is an act charged with political significance. At the very least, the combine of these words to name a discipline means taking the stance that Black women exist-and exist positively- a stance that is in direct opposition to most of what passes for culture and thought on the North American continent.” wrote co-editors Global T. Hull and Barbara Smith in the 1982 edition. The anthology was a success. It became what is called an “evergreen”, meaning that the press continued to print it because people continued to buy it. After a few decades it became clear that the field had greatly expanded and that it was time for an updated version. The Feminist Press invited Nellie McKay, co-editor of the Norton Anthology of African America Literature to begin the daunting process of re-envisioning this project. She invited my mother, Stanlie James to join her in co-editing the new anthology.
Unfortunately, McKay passed away before it could be completed, leaving behind a spectacular career of scholarship and very explicit instructions to Stanlie to have their friends and colleagues Beverly Guy-Sheftall, and Frances Smith Foster collaborate with her to finish the project. It took several years, but in 2009 Still Brave. The Evolution of Black Women’s Studies, was published. “What we did first was to survey the field, and what we found out was that the field had absolutely blossomed in the interim period. We were thinking of doing a regular anthology, but once we saw what was written and the fact that Black Women’s Studies had permeated so many fields, we had to pick a selection,” James explained. The anthology includes works from accomplished and established scholars including bell hooks, Alice Walker, the Combahee River Collective, Audre Lorde, Paula Giddings, Patricia Hill Collins, and young upcoming scholars such as Nikol G. Alexander-Floyd and Evelyn M. Simien and many more.The collection is not meant to be a best of the best, but rather a broad representation of the field, a space for people to engage in the field of Black Women’s Studies. “It’s a way to pay homage to a book that was almost paradigmatic in the field and it was also a way to say this is what we've accomplished and to think about what we need to do in the future,” recounted James. That future lies in globalization. “Black Women’s Studies is globalized. The future is to acknowledge that it is not just an Afro-American thing. It is diasporic. At the same time it speaks to all women of color,” stated James. Black Women’s Studies, beyond helping to propel black women from the margin towards the center of history and scholarship, has also been influential for creating space for the stories of others. “We have provided a role model for Native American Women’s Studies, Chicana Women’s Studies, and Asian American Women’s Studies. All of that developed after Black Women’s Studies. Now they have gone their own way and used their cultures to shape their scholarships,” stated James.
Some will call it a cannon, a milestone, or a legacy, but to me, Still Brave is a gift and a challenge, the gift of knowing where I come from and the challenge of defining what lies next in my future. Thanks Mom.
Reagan Jackson is a writer, artist, YA fiction aficionado, afro-punk, international educator, and community organizer based in Seattle, WA. You can find her most Tuesdays at the Seattle Poetry Slam or maybe just being nerdy at her favorite bookstores.
