The white American man makes the white American woman maybe not superfluous but just a little kind of decoration. Not really important to turning around the wheels of the state. Well the black American woman has never been able to feel that way. No black American man at any time in our history in the United States has been able to feel that he didn't need that black woman right against him, shoulder to shoulder- in that cotton field, on the auction block, in the ghetto, wherever.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Black women have historically been essential partners to Black men, unlike white women who were often sidelined.
- In plain terms
- Black women were always needed by Black men, not just decorative.
- What can you take from it?
- Black women have been vital partners in struggle and survival.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do race and gender intersect in labor?
- Whose labor is valued?
Another view
It generalizes individual experiences within broad racial and gender groups.
More from Maya Angelou
The sadness of the women's movement is that they don't allow the necessity of love. See, I don't personally trust any revolution where love is not allowed.
Permalink to quote #77 There is a very fine line between loving life and being greedy for it.
Permalink to quote #79 The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination, as are intelligence and necessity when unblunted by formal education.
Permalink to quote #76
Related quotes
The African is my brother - but he is my younger brother by several centuries.
Albert SchweitzerAlbert Schweitzer quote #4 All history attests that man has subjected woman to his will, used her as a means to promote his selfish gratification, to minister to his sensual pleasures, t…
Sarah GrimkeSarah Grimke quote #4 I'm an artist; art has no color and no sex.
Whoopi GoldbergWhoopi Goldberg quote #5