Women, Race, & Class [Paperback]

Angela Y. Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 12, 1983

A powerful study of the women's movement in the U.S. from abolitionist days to the present that demonstrates how it has always been hampered by the racist and classist biases of its leaders.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Longtime activist, author and political figure Angela Davis brings us this expose of the women's movement in the context of the fight for civil rights and working class issues. She uncovers a side of the fight for suffrage many of us have not heard: the intimate tie between the anti-slavery campaign and the struggle for women's suffrage. She shows how the racist and classist bias of some in the women's movement have divided its own membership. Davis' message is clear: If we ever want equality, we're gonna have to fight for it together.

Review

"As useful an exposition of the current dilemmas of the women's movement as one could hope for."--Los Angeles Times Book Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage Books ed edition (February 12, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394713516
• ISBN-13: 978-0394713519
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Women's Studies > Feminist Theory

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating look at the women's movement, December 5, 2002

By 

F. Mercer "bibliophile" (Phoenix, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Women, Race, & Class (Paperback)

This book, or at least excerpts from it, should be a must read for everyone. Davis presents a side of the suffragette movement, the first wave of feminism, that many people will never be aware of--the conflict between women's rights and African American rights, and the underlying racism of the movement spearheaded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Davis then effectively juxtaposes the first wave of feminism with the second wave of feminism in the 1960-70's to show the correlation between the two movements.

In both cases, the fight for African American rights took prescedence over the rights of women. While during the first wave of feminism, black women were ignored by the suffragettes, during the second wave of feminism, black women were faced with the choice of going forward in a women's movement that, once again, didn't really include them, or supporting the rights of African Americans as a race. A difficult choice. Davis clearly elucidates the failings of the both waves of feminism to include ALL women and shows how necessary it is for women, regardless of race, to work together.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prof. Davis clarifies the history of all three struggles., March 16, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Women, Race, & Class (Paperback)

Professor Davis provides a history of the Black, Women's and workers' movements in the US and documents the many points of common contact. She painstakingly supplies an abundance of historical evidence that demonstrates the fact that women, working people or people of color can only succeed in the attainment of their own liberation by working in conjuction with the efforts of the others. She also reminds us that the majority of women are workers and that the majority of people of color are workers, and points out that the outcome of the struggle these groups face will impact directly upon the future condition of all working people

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read for acedemic as well as personal growth., October 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Women, Race, & Class (Paperback)

If you are interested in an indepth analysis of the history of many of our current social movements this is the book for you. Angela Davis is brillient to be sure, but this book portrays her intelligence in understanding (and ability to convey) the conplex issues America must disern concerning gender, class and race. She also is able to articulate beautifully how these three issues intertwine. The book is worth the read for personal as well as acedemic growth.