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158
Baraka’s “nickel hearts” are now “nickel bags” and where Baraka wanted
“poems that kill,” Giovanni wants her readers to do the killing. Further,
she underscores the violent history of black people in the United States
with the phrase “my children of battle” although it is not clear whether the
battle to which she refers is the battle of whites against blacks (racism) or
the battle being waged against white supremacy by black people. Nor
does she indicate a timeframe for the battle, suggesting that it is ongoing
and therefore will pass to the next generation. Finally, while Giovanni
uses the term “children,” the title clearly states that she addresses this
poem to “black boys.” So, one might ask: what is the role of black girls?
Are they to write poems to inspire the boys? Are they to wait, like the
speaker in Sanchez’s “to all brothers,” for the black boys to grow into men
and claim them as their partners? Also, who are the “old ones” at the end
of the poem? Giovanni (if she is the speaker) places herself within this
group so it must be made up of both women and men. If this is true, why
are females excluded from the young generation of revolutionaries? Her
poem specifically links revolutionary action (and violence) to masculinity.
Although Giovanni is herself positioned within the liberation struggle, the
paradigm of male-centered leadership and activism still operates in this
poem. There is simply no room in her poem for a self-identified mixed-race
person. Mixed-race must be subsumed under the banner of “black”
in order for the mixed-race person to be involved in the action of the
Object Description
| Title | "As shelters against the cold": women writers of the Black Arts and Chicano movements, 1965-1978 |
| Author | Ryder, Ulli Kira |
| Author email | uryder@usc.edu; uryder@gmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | American Studies & Ethnicity |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-27 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Restricted until 27 October 2010. |
| Date published | 2010-10-27 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | McKenna, Teresa |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Sanchez, George J. Johnson, Dana |
| Abstract | This dissertation examines the work of women writers in the Black Arts and Chicano movements during the years 1965-1978. I argue that understanding the intersectional nature of the women's experiences is crucial for understanding their literary output. Further, I argue that Chicanas and African American women of this era challenged homogenous notions of community and racial identity and that we can trace the development of the Third World feminism and multiculturalism that came to the fore in the 1980s to this earlier period. Thus, this study also impacts the way we conceptualize identity formation and the creation of the literary canon. Investigating the ways in which these women integrated nationalist and feminist rhetoric and activism in their work is crucial for a full understanding of this critical period in U.S. history. At stake is an understanding of how Chicana and African American women in the United States have formed identities and communities; struggled for liberation and equality; and become part of the U.S. literary canon. |
| Keyword | Black Power; Black Arts movement; Chicano movement; civil rights; racial identity formation; womanism; borderlands theory; feminism; Third World feminism; nationalism; intersectionality |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 1965/1978 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1698 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Ryder, Ulli Kira |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Ryder-2415 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume40/etd-Ryder-2415.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 163 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 158 Baraka’s “nickel hearts” are now “nickel bags” and where Baraka wanted “poems that kill,” Giovanni wants her readers to do the killing. Further, she underscores the violent history of black people in the United States with the phrase “my children of battle” although it is not clear whether the battle to which she refers is the battle of whites against blacks (racism) or the battle being waged against white supremacy by black people. Nor does she indicate a timeframe for the battle, suggesting that it is ongoing and therefore will pass to the next generation. Finally, while Giovanni uses the term “children,” the title clearly states that she addresses this poem to “black boys.” So, one might ask: what is the role of black girls? Are they to write poems to inspire the boys? Are they to wait, like the speaker in Sanchez’s “to all brothers,” for the black boys to grow into men and claim them as their partners? Also, who are the “old ones” at the end of the poem? Giovanni (if she is the speaker) places herself within this group so it must be made up of both women and men. If this is true, why are females excluded from the young generation of revolutionaries? Her poem specifically links revolutionary action (and violence) to masculinity. Although Giovanni is herself positioned within the liberation struggle, the paradigm of male-centered leadership and activism still operates in this poem. There is simply no room in her poem for a self-identified mixed-race person. Mixed-race must be subsumed under the banner of “black” in order for the mixed-race person to be involved in the action of the |
