black-feminist-though-by-patricia-hill-collins

PrefacetoFirstEditionWhen I was five years old, I was chosento play Spring in my preschool pageant. Sitting on my throne, I proudlypresided over a court of children portraying birds, flowers, and the other, “lesser”seasons. Being surrounded by children like myself—the daughters and sons oflaborers, domestic workers, secretaries, and factory workers—affirmed who Iwas. When my turn came to speak, I delivered my few lines masterfully, withgreat enthusiasm and energy. I loved my part because I was Spring, the season ofnew life and hope. All of the grown-ups told me how vital my part was and congratulatedme on how well I had done.Their words and hugs made me feel thatI was important and that what I thought, and felt, and accomplished mattered.As my world expanded, I learned that not everyone agreed with them.Beginning in adolescence, I was increasingly the “first,” or “one of the few,” orthe “only” African-American and/or woman and/or working-class person in myschools, communities, and work settings. I saw nothing wrong with being whoI was, but apparently many others did. My world grew larger, but I felt I wasgrowing smaller. I tried to disappear into myself in order to deflect the painful,daily assaults designed to teach me that being an African-American, workingclasswoman made me lesser than those who were not. And as I felt smaller, Ibecame quieter and eventually was virtually silenced.This book reflects one stage in my ongoing struggle to regain my voice. Overthe years I have tried to replace the external definitions of my life forwarded bydominant groups with my own self-defined viewpoint. But while my personalodyssey forms the catalyst for this volume, I now know that my experiences arefar from unique. Like African-American women, many others who occupy societallydenigrated categories have been similarly silenced. So the voice that I nowseek is both individual and collective, personal and political, one reflecting theintersection of my unique biography with the larger meaning of my historicaltimes.I share this part of the context that stimulated this book because that contextinfluenced my choices concerning the volume itself. First, I was committed tomaking this book intellectually rigorous, well researched, and accessible to more