An End To The Neglect Of The Negro Woman Analysis

Black women have been at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder in the America since their forced indoctrination into and subjugation under an American capitalist society. They experience the intersection of racism and sexism, which places them in a uniquely oppressed position. In their respective feminist articles, Claudia Jones makes the assumption that racism and sexism will cease to exist if we shift to a communist economic structure that will allow black women prosper as leaders, while Pauli Murray makes the assumption that black women can thrive in the current capitalistic economic structure if they are willing to shift their focus from black empowerment to women’s liberation and align with white women. Claudia Jones’ approach is more

Since black women were so integral to the black familial structure, the bourgeoisie targeted black women so that they would experience the most intense oppression. With experiencing the combination of sexism and racism, Jones described how black women make less than half the pay of white women, who already make less than white men. The bourgeoisie class used this to push black women into the feminized, caring sector of jobs, such as housekeeping, cooking, and child-care services. Another facet that keeps black women constrained to the caring sector is the “white chauvinist stereotype” of where a black woman’s place should be, which has been consistently upheld by the media. (p.111) Black women are also systemically prevented from progressing in both the industrious and domestic job sectors, as minimum wage legislation did not cover a vast majority of black women workers. Chauvinism has allowed for white women progressives, especially, to maintain their societally superior status over black women, and has inhibited equality between the two groups. Jones essentially argues that both white women and black men have fallen into the trap of oppressing black women, rather than rallying up with them and going after their common oppressor—“the white ruling class”.

For example, Murray states that black women “are made to feel disloyal to racial interests if they insist upon women’s rights. Moreover, to the extent that racial polarization often accompanies the thrust for black power, black women find it increasingly difficult to make common cause with white women.” (p. 192) She later states that “the possibility of productive interchange between black and white women is greatly facilitated by the absence of power relationships, which separate black and white males as antagonists.” (p. 197) Murray is operating under the assumptions that black women yearn to connect with white women, have access to do so, and that white women will be loyal to their gender more so than their race. She mentions how black men perpetuate misogyny over black women, but does not mention how white women perpetuate racism against black women. There have been plenty of societal examples that separate white women as antagonists, and Jones discusses