After reading William's post I decided it was worth it to make my post a response to his interesting post.
I would dispute the assertion that the photo mentioned is an example of one of the first instances of an African - American revolting against their masters. There are many examples I could cite in defense of this: the Haitian Slave Rebellion of 1791 to 1804 being one and the existence of the Underground Railroad in the United States beginning in the 19th century being another. I couldn't say if the image is one of the first images of a black women displaying resistance; as the author mentioned, there are at least two books detailing a great mant photographs of this nature from that era. However, it may be one of the most widely distributed photos of this type and therefore does hold some significance.
I would also disagree with William's statement that black women are subjecting themselves to being second class citizens. They do indeed have the extra challenge of being both female and black in a society that stigmatizes both of these to varying degrees. However, these are challenges found not only among black women, but also all women and all African-Americans. These are not especial challenges found in black women. They are challenges faced by everybody. To say that black women are still the subjects of masters is a gross oversimplification and ignores socio economic factors and morphing cultural norms. These are challenging problems that every black women fights everyday to varying degrees of success and cannot be solved simply by simply asserting themselves and becoming more powerful. Changing the position of African Women involves not only them asserting themselves but also every other citizen challenging themselves and reforming their opinion of this group. It also involves a solution to the socio economic differences and cultural norms previously mentioned.
That being said, I feel Oprah Winfrey is a fine example of a black women who transcended her challenges. Today she is a successful businesswomen who commands the respect of many markets and individuals. As for the McKoy photo I believe it is an example of resistance, albeit a subtle one. We have long since moved on from that being a relevant solution to today's problems, though it is still important to look back to it as an important antecedent to today's struggle.
I agree with a lot of what you are saying, and especially believe that reshaping opinions of other people is more important to change than for a disadvantaged individual to assert oneself. This holds true for many groups that still face challenges today, it is not fair to blame the individual but rather to consider society as a whole that is contributing to these issues.
ReplyDeleteI respect your discussion post to my original post. As well, I would respectfully thank you for disproving some of my comments by displaying examples of other revolts in history. However, I will say that you have proved my point in one way. By referencing someone such as Oprah Winfrey as a symbol of overcoming challenges and being a strong black women you have basically disagreed and agreed with my statement. Referencing Oprah basically shows me that you could not come up with anyone that is not already glorified by the media, a famous black female doctor perhaps. As I have referenced in my post that for every one famous black female there are a thousand which are not even mentioned. So I thank you for your agreement with at least 10% of my original statement. As for the other 90% of disagreement I believe that you are entitled to your opinion and I thank you for your feedback. -William Webster
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