7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Incisive, August 25, 2002
This review is from: Deals with the Devil (Hardcover)
This collection of essays from Pearl Cleage, Black nationalist, feminist (actually a womanist) and artist gives her views on sexism, domestic abuse and racism. These essays were written in the early 90's and delve into controversies as diverse as the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Miles Davis' brutality to women, the flap over Luther Campbell's raunchy lyrics and the fuss over Spike Lee's films. Lee came under fire from scared White folks who feared (unnecesarily)that "Do the Right Thing," would incite violence and angry Black activists who worried that "X" would be a disservice to Malcolm's legacy. Cleage gives her own take on these events and many others that I won't attempt to list here. She lets no one off the hook and challenges us all to think critically instead following the herd.
I was a little put off by the first few essays in this collection because the author comes off as overwrought in the discussions about sexism, but the more I read with an objective eye I began to get upset myself. If it is true as she says that five women are murdered each day by men who claim to love them -- then why aren't more people discussing this? Domestic abuse certainly affects Black women across all socieconomic strata, yet you rarely hear Black leaders discussing it. Where is the outrage and condemnation? Where are Jesse, Johnnie, Al and all the other perennial frontmen for issues of race and racism? I am ashamed to admit that I never really gave much thought to sexism and domestic abuse, and this book was a real eye-opener.
"Mad at Miles," asks why so many people continued to support an artist who admitted to being abusive to his wife and was rumored to have beaten other women also. According to Cleage, fans were willing to turn a blind eye to Davis' mean streak even after he revealed in book that a frightened Cicely Tyson once called the police on him after he slapped the taste out of her mouth. And the incident isn't relayed with any sense of remorse. Still, folks continue to buy his work reasoning that she either asked for it, or protesting that his private life was off-limits. Cleage asks whether the same support would be afforded to a White artist who admitted to beating Black men who got on his nerves. Very interesting. While Cleage is Mad at Miles, she is supportive (if uncomfortably) of Luther Campbell's right to make his profane "music" and even allowed her teenage daughter to buy his CD.
Although Cleage takes issue with Black men who supported Clarence Thomas publicly while voicing their misgivings privately just for the sake of supporting the brother, she is also critical of Anita Hill for having taken so long to come forward about the harrassment she endured at his hands. This delay lead Cleage to question whether Hill is really the "Shero" she was made out to be after the hearings concluded. The way Cleage sees it, Hill's failure to report the harrassment violated the laws she was supposed to be uphold, and she only came forward during the hearings because she was compelled to do so, which was not quite as honorable as it would have been had she come forward on her own. Or even better, if she had reported Uncle Thomas way back when he first got out of line.
Passionate and informed, Cleage has firm opinions on everything, and while I might not always agree with her position, I do admire her zeal. And just because you don't agree with someone that doesn't preclude you from learning something from her. This book will make you rethink some things about your own thought process and values, and for that I am grateful. After all, it is challenge that leads to growth.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Survival Manual for the Black Woman's Psyche, April 19, 2001
This review is from: Deals with the Devil (Hardcover)
In this collection of essays, Pearl Cleage seems to speak my thoughts -- all of the things that I think about but am afraid to say for fear of being labeled as a traitor to my race. And she says these things in an easily readible down to earth tone. Cleage takes a brave stand - calling out the inequities that come from being a member of an oppressed sex within an oppressed race. This book is one of several that essentially changed my life, letting me know that the notion that gender struggles must take a backseat to racial struggles is not only misguided but dangerous.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THOUGHT PROVOKING, February 1, 1998
By A Customer
Cleage is an unsung master of the essay. She writes about issues that affect African Americans that are on eveybody's lips but also about things that do not come up as often. I would certainly recommend this book to any man or woman who wants to thinks critically about gender and how it plays itself out in the African American community. Cleage writes about people you know and celebrates them when they are beautiful as tell it like it is when they are wrong. "Deals With the Devil" is an excellent choice for book clubs because it lends itself easily to discussion and debate. In short, READ this book, then pass it on.
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