I Used To Be Your Sweet Mama By Angela Davis Analysis

Music has the power to motivate, start a war, and even make people fall in love. For years women been caged in to their social roles in society. They have been given a specific place to fill in the home and until this day women still struggle to break these social barriers. In “I Used To Be Your Sweet Mama” published by Angela Davis in 1998 she discusses how blues brought to light topics that were forbidden of discussion in the early 1900’s. She analyses blues lyrics of pioneer women whom expressed their genuine emotions to social issues occurring during the early 20th century. She argues that, due to blues music, woman were able to advocate their own emancipation not only from salary, which was by then abolish, but also from social restrains

Topics around sex were taboo for many people during that period. This expression of themselves eventually liberated them from the confinement of men. In doing so woman were able to break from their previous domestic roles. Sexual freedom was a huge deal, it allowed women to literally free their bodies. The music individualized women and demonstrated how they too had needs, that didn’t necessarily come with the romantic expectations. This not only made women feel like they have full control of their sexuality but also subliminally emphasized to man that women had a word when it comes to their own sex life. In one of Ma Rainey’s poems, that Davis uses to illustrate women’s crave for sexual equality, she says “Papa likes his sherry, mama likes her port. Papa likes to shimmy, mama likes to sport. Papa likes his bourbon, mama likes her gin. Papa likes his outside women, mama like her outside men.” Davis responds by saying, “Ma Rainey was notorious for being able to outshine any man with her amazing sexual voracity.” Songs like these demonstrate to the contemporary women that they are in equal level as men, and that they too are capable of having intercourse outside of marriage. The previous idea that a women’s purity is essential to her character changes and so does the idea of being solely one man’s. Making it easier for women to feel like they can leave their

Davis says, “The former slaves’ economic status had not undergone a radical transformation – they were no less impoverished than they had been during slavery. It was the status of their personal relationships that was revolutionary.” African American men and women were legally emancipated by the late 1800’s; however, their minds were still colonized with thoughts of enslavement. Living conditions weren’t improving by much, at least not in the economic sense, but through the music they were able to personally decolonize their minds, and express their true emotions and desires. Part of this helped create a new black consciousness that influenced women along with men to travel and explore. One of the song analyze by Davis says, “No time to marry, no time to settle down. I’m a young woman and aint done runnin’ around.” This song doesn’t only tell women to not settle at a single place, but also to continue, “runnin’ around” or to continue trying things out, not only with regards to traveling but also trying new men