The Black Woman: An Anthology by Toni Cade Bambara

The Black Woman: An Anthology Reviews

• 
  Sincerae

  I found this book of all places at Walmart. Published in 1970, The Black Woman is an anthology of poetry, short stories, but mainly essays that are still relevant today, all written by African-American women. The material in this book was published in various magazines and journals during the late 1960s.
  
  Reading this book I saw how so little has really changed in the mindset of Americans both black and white. The essays which are the majority talk about the conflict between black men and women but expressed that there should be unity and love between the sexes so they could both navigate and finally triumph over America's racial system. There is no "I don't need a man" attitude here or "I'm a strong black woman" repeated over and over which are the phrases so repetitious with many young African-American women. White middle class feminism is not seen as a model for black women. The black woman had her own issues and needed her own blue printed for uniting and reconciling with her man to become a loved and equal partner. These essays and stories of personal experiences also talk about the nature and history of racism in the American mindset, comparisons and contrasts of Dr. King and Malcolm X, The Civil Rights Movement and Black Nationalism, our African heritage, black parenting, colorism or black self-hatred over hair texture and skin shade, the phenomenon of the black man and the white woman and the true meaning of it, the American school system, the urban black and bourgeois black, American imperialism, and there is a letter of a black woman written to her sisters over in Vietnam suffering in that war, along with much more all ending in an essay about the movie The Battle of Algiers and how if blacks were not so isolated geographically, fragmented, and had more a profound religious faith like the Muslims of Algeria had we might would be able to free ourselves from the tyranny of racism.
  
  The essays, articles, and blog posts I often see on the same subjects now over 40 years later point out and complain of the same problems expressed in this anthology, but a number of the writers in The Black Woman provided solutions.
  
  This is a beautifully written and intellectual volume on so many levels. At the heart of this book there is a great optimism that black people in America would survive and break their mental and physical bonds.
  
  Since I also write, reading The Black Woman made me feel proud that once we had black women writers who didn't focus on celebrity and the banal in their writings like many do now, but we once had so much potential. I feel much profound sadness because we somehow lost and turned our backs on our own possibilities. What might have been...
• 
  Victor

  I was 16 years and had just arrived from Puerto Rico, when my uncle had a visitor. A very charismatic young black woman, who was living with an artist painter. Her name was Joanne Clark. My uncle introduced me and was proud to tell me that Joan had just published a chapter on motherhood in a compilation about Black Women. The woman on the cover of the book had a large smooth afro and so did Joanne Clark. The afro look was at the edge of everything. It was Hip, cool, radical, of self realization and freedom. The chapter on motherhood in this book, was one of the first reading I did in the english language upon arriving from Puerto Rico. I remember that I had to use a dictionary, and I read slow.
  
  This book gave me a cultural panorama not only of black women, but of the sisterhood of women in general or in a Universal way; the only way I knew at that tender age.
  
  Meeting the author was paramount in the development of my own artistic ways. I was lost and without advise about the future, all I knew was that I loved Art, sculpture and painting in particularly.
  A few years passed and I was frustrated in some computer class, trying to make a career to make a living, when I ran into the author again. With one big supportive smile, she told me that I was on the wrong track and that I had to return to painting. I did and forty years after that is what i still do. I am proud of this book, needless to say....
• 
  Shakeia

  I picked up this book at the right time. With all that is happening in the world, Black women need affirmation. This book is still relevant today. It's so brilliant, even the preface hit hard. I can see myself re-reading and referencing some of these essays in the future.
• 
  Beverlee

  The Black Woman: An Anthology is a worthy read. This collection is loosely organized around themes that have a profound impact on Black women such as socioeconomic standing, the many relationships that are a part of life (sisterhood, black/white, man/woman, government, media, religion). I think this concept is admirable, but it didn't make reading enjoyable throughout the text. There is a small section near the beginning that is fiction writing (poetry & short stories) and then the anthology moves to essays. Being this is an anthology, my issue isn't the mix of fiction and nonfiction, but that it was difficult (at least for me) to determine how the individual pieces fit together. Cade Bambara wrote in the introduction that the Black Woman is "a college graduate. A drop out (italics). A student. A wife(italics). A divorcee. A mother (italics). A lover. A child of the ghetto (italics). A product of the bourgeoisie. A professional writer (italics). A person who never dreamed of publication. A solitary individual (italics). A member of the Movement. A gentle humanist (italics). A violent revolutionary. She is angry and tender, loving and hating. She is all these things-and more. And she is represented in a collection that for the first time truly lets her bare her soul and speak her mind (italics)." This offers some clarification, but some pieces included in the anthology just didn't work for me, particularly in the last two essays. I think if the anthology is revised, it should be clearly organized around a specific idea with an introduction to each section that offers some explanation to what inspired the words written (if possible).
  My favorite works contained in the anthology: Reena by Paule Marshall, Tell Martha Not to Moan by Shirley Williams, Dear Black Man by Fran Sanders, The Kitchen Crisis by Verta Mae Smart-Grosvenor, I Fell Off the Roof One Day ( A View of the Black University) by Nikki Giovanni and Looking Back by Helen Cade Brehon.
• 
  Bunga Ramadani

  "The new world that we are attempting to create must destroy oppression of any type." (Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female by Frances Beale)
  
  It's hard to not fall in love with this anthology. Even when it was published around the 1970s, it is still relevant and captures the realities in our society nowadays - remembering the movement of Black Lives Matter.
  
  What I love most about this book is how it gives strong perspectives on black feminism, along with a myriad of the political and historical backgrounds of the movement to end racial oppression.
  
  This is the kind of book that offers us neverending questions by the time we finished reading each chapter. I have to admit that it's not an easy read, even I need to revisit some chapters before I open the new one.
  
  It's been a while since the last time I read literature on feminism, and reading this affable work gives me both joy and tears! If you're interested in the intersection of the black movement and feminism, this book can be a good place to start with.
• 
  Patti

  I was looking for the exact assortment of this anthology when I perused my subscription service. I wanted to read Toni Morrison, Nikki Giovanni, and Alice Walker, and they were featured here along with many others. This was also perfect because I didn't have to commit to one book.
  
  Frances Beale's essay on Double Jeopardy- To Be Black and Female, highlighted that a major differentiation for black women is in the liberation movement. The white women's liberation movement is basically middle class, as very few of these women suffer extreme economic exploitation. "If white groups don't realize that, they are in fact fighting capitalism and racism, we do not have common bonds".
  
  This collection of poems, stories, essays, and conversations is a powerful look into the preoccupations of the contemporary black woman in this country. I also liked that student work was featured alongside professional writers. My other favorite entries were "To Whom Will She Cry Rape?" by Abbey Lincoln, "The Black Woman as a Woman", "Is the Black Male Castrated?", and "The Kitchen Crisis." I highly recommend this collection.
• 
  kripsoo

  the voices comes from northern writers, southern writers simply beautiful and strong and passionate awesome and Even though many new books on women in the Civil Rights and Black Power movements are now available, Cade's anthology is an excellent collection of contemporary documents covering issues such as the sexism of welfare, the role of women in the Revolution and the rights Although some of the materials may seem "dated" to younger readers, these are authentic "back in the day" voices of Black women who were in the middle of the feminist and Black Power movement
• 
  Tracy

  The more things change the more they stay the same. It was interesting reading this in today's political and social climate. There is much to be examined between The Black Liberation Movement and today's Black Lives Matter, especially through the lens of Black women. A must read for historians and sociologists.
• 
  Angie

  Major Field Prep: 67/133
  This landmark anthology of black women's writing and black feminist writing published in 1970 was in reaction to the abundance of anthologies of black radical thought and literature that largely excluded women writers and female perspectives, particularly Baraka and Neal's Black Fire. This text catalyzes and foretells of the rise of black women writers in the next two decades. It includes fiction, poetry, literary analysis, political critique, and critical essays, many aimed at the characteristics of the Black Power movement. In it, Bambara articulates the concerns and interrogations of a fledgling Black feminism: "And the question for us arises: how relevant are the truths, the experiences, the findings of white women to Black women? Are women after all simply women? I don’t know that our priorities are the same, that our concerns and methods are the same, or even similar enough so that we can afford to depend on this new field of experts (white, female)” (Bambara 4).
• 
  K.S.C.

  The more things change, the more they stay the same... relevant even today, and interesting to read and note how our language has evolved. There are essays on intersectionality and fragile masculinity before these terms were coined. Bambara' pieces and the essay by Grace Lee Boggs were, for me, the strongest contributions.
  
  An excellent book for anyone in the business of getting woke.
• 
  jewelthinks

  I'm so glad I discovered this book. It's truly a womanist literary work. I love the discussions of the roles of black women, black men and the black family. I spent this past year reading works like this that center the needs of black women.
  
  I plan to re-read many of these essays.
• 
  Jherane Patmore

  This is good but about halfway through I just couldn't relate to this very first-world book. I'm sure it'll appeal to many and the collection of authors are super impressive but it just doesn't speak to me.
• 
  S.

  My spirit guide. The end. Black women, race, class, feminism, revolution, love, sex, education, poetry, essays, stories. Life. Everything.
• 
  Jameelah Shukri

  Love this book
• 
  Stephanie

  4.5. Time truly does repeat itself. This 50+ year old text is as relevant today as it was in 1970. It includes works from those who become leaders in black feminist thought.
• 
  Christina

  Published in 1970, this collection of work is centered around the black woman and all that touches her (i.e., family, the black man, race, religion, sexuality, socioeconomic standing, government, media, sisterhood, white women, white men, civil rights, and education). Many of the writings, if not all, were written in the 60s, and discussed the black revolution/black power movement, and the role women played during this time while civil rights were actively being pursued, fought for, died for, and lived for. Although written almost 50 years ago today, the words/stories/essays are still very much relevant today, if not more. Today, America is reliving its ugly past, and to read these collected works during a time of utter pure upheaval and fight for the right to be alive as a Black person is so very relevant!
  
  Some of my favorite works were:
  • Reena – Paule Marshall (1962)
  • Is the Black Male Castrated – Jean Carey and Patrice Peery (1969)
  • Black Pride? Some Contradictions – Ann Cook (1969)
  • A Historical and Critical Essay for Black Women in the Cities, June 1969 – Pat Robinson
  • The Black Revolution in America – Grace Lee Bogs (1968)
  • Dear Black Man – Fran Sanders
  • Motherhood – Joanna Clark
  • I fell off the roof one day (A view of the black university) – Nikki Giovanni (1969)
  
  However, halfway through this book I hit a wall and was bogged down by the heaviness of some of the essays. I wasn’t really sure how some of them fit into the construct of the overall premise of the book. I had to read and re-read many of the works to get a better understanding from what the authors were saying, and I lost connection with the works towards the end, specifically the last 2 essays. I wish there was either some afterword explaining the selection and/or why these specific works were chosen or the works were grouped in the book according to what was going to be discuss. Even though this book took me an inordinately long time to read it, I still highly recommend this collection of work to be read, especially in today’s time with the current racial tension we have between people of color and white people. This book is rated a 4 based on relevancy and the meaningful essays collected by our highly intellectual black women who have carefully explained the Black Woman in all manner of details and how she relates to our current world.
• 
  Luna

  Excellent anthology. Highly recommend folks to read. Many of the essays, written in the late 60s, are still relevant.
  
  It's also my first time reading Toni Cade Bambara, and I love the rhythm to her writing. I think it's excellent, tough, and explicit. It's almost like watching a 1920s detective movie dialogue scene -- it's rapid, comes at you quickly and before you can fully react, you've digested more than you'll ever be able to comprehend. It'll leave you chewing for days.
  
  I loved the intergenerational share of stories. None of the essays sought to help you better humanize Black women either -- they didn't ask for empathy, didn't ask for you to understand. They wrote as they were. There wasn't a "here let me help you understand" piece in here, which I appreciated and I think we need more pieces like this out there in the world -- more unapologetic pieces about being and existing.
  
  Folks should definitely read. As a non-Black nonbinary person of color, I learned so much. You want to be a good "ally" or "accomplice"? Read this anthology.
• 
  Cayla Sparkman

  This anthology was originally published in 1970, and then republished again in 2005. Focused on The Black Woman as suggested by the title, this book is a collection of poetry, plays, and essays. It is amazing that even though this was published 50 years ago, the content and topics are still relevant. As I was reading I had to continually remind myself that this was written decades ago and not just in the last decade. That’s how relevant and unfortunately, how the some things have remained or gone unchanged. As someone who studied African American Lit in college, I was introduced to several Black women writers who deserved the same acknowledgment as Langston Hughes and Nora Zeale Hurston. Lastly, this book challenged my preconceived notions about older books and having nothing to really gain. I gained several new perspectives, nuggets of knowledge, and ideas from these enthralling writers.
• 
  John Vanderslice

  This is a classic anthology and a brilliant book. Very wide-ranging, encapsulating various perspectives and frustrations that African-American women were experiencing in the late 1960s. It includes a great number of essays, on subjects ranging from education to romance to theatre to the history of Black Revolution to real (vs. instant) cooking to job inequities to beauty to the future of the Movement, and a lot more; but it also includes poetry and short fiction. All of this written, of course, by African-American women. It's an anthology like few that I've ever encountered. So glad I came upon a reference to it in another volume. While some of the concerns and topics seem local to the 1960s, the vast majority are still, unfortunately, concerns and topics today. Sad to see how in so many ways things are just not going forward.
• 
  Joelle

  *I've now got an incredible list of more WoC authors to read*
  
  These essays are written between 1968 - 72, and therefore they have a unique, and timeless voice. I need to know what WoC are experiencing if I ever hope to be able to unite with them in love and knowledge and strength. And that is only possible by hearing their voices. As I read these essays, and thinking back to my reading of "The 1619 Project," so much of what they advocated and hoped and dreamed and fought for is still such a long ways away. Their voices spoke then, and they are speaking now; we would be fools if we chose to ignore them.
• 
  Ashley Teagle

  An excellent anthology. I am interested in reading about both the womanist movement and Black Panthers and this book does not disappoint.
  
  Is this book radical? I would say so. I found myself agreeing and disagreeing at various points. But overall I think this book made me feel like a group of fearless black women looked at sexism and racism eye to eye. I admired their groundbreaking writing for making me proud to be black and female and powerful.
• 
  Abigail R

  Many topics were covered in this book. So many stunning points made. I still need time to process some passages, and possibly re-read them. Definitely not meant to be read in one sitting, but thoughtfully and over time instead. Also a great introduction to the work and thoughts of many black female writers. A good list of people to look up and read more of.
• 
  Brotha Man

  Wild how relevant a lot of what is discussed throughout this anthology is today. Until Black Women are leading the revolution, I doubt shit really gonna go anywhere.
• 
  Naomi

  Very interesting book. Great anthology of our experiences as Black women back in the 70s. A bit too radical for me to relate to, but I can appreciate their experiences.
• 
  Miah D

  BRILLIANT collection. Can't wait to read again. Makes me proud to be a Black woman.
• 
  Michelle

  4.25 ⭐️