Teaching To Transgress

by bell hooks

Talking with groups of women about whether they thought feminist movement has had a transformative impact on relations between white and black women, I heard radically different responses. Most white women felt there had been a change, that they were more aware of race and racism, more willing to assume accountability and engage in antiracist work. Black women and women of color were adamant that little had changed, that despite recent white female focus on race, racist domination is still a factor in personal encounters. They felt that the majority of white women still assert power even as they address issues of race. As one black woman put it, “It burns me up to be treated like shit by white women who are busy getting their academic recognition, promotions, more money, et cetera, doing ‘great’ work on the topic of race.” Some black women I spoke with suggested that it was fear that their resources would be appropriated by white women that led them to avoid participating in feminist movement.