Sister Citizen: Shame, Sterotypes, and Black Women in America

An in-depth sociological and philosophical view on the experience of African American women in the US is presented in Melissa Harris-Perry’s Sister Citizen.  Harris-Perry is best known for her work as a political commentator on MSNBC and as a scholar, author, and teacher at Tulane University.  Harris-Perry examines how the African American woman has been viewed and why we have the connotation that many have, which is based on centuries of stereotyping.  She draws many of her examples from texts, which are RA Favorite books, such as Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God,  Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, and Ntozake Shange’s play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. She goes deeply into the culture of “shame” that exists among African-American women and how it has developed over time.  She notes that:

By studying the lives of black women, we gain important insight into how citizens yearn for and work toward recognition.

Besides looking at the historical perspective based on characters in books, Harris-Perry introduces real life issues from the Duke lacrosse rape case to Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill and the Tawana Brawley case.  She draws upon these real-life situations to re-enforce her claims.  She ends with her thoughts on how many don’t understand the importance of Michelle Obama when her husband was elected President and that we don’t know how important she is to the black woman as a role model, and yet the media and others laugh at her for focusing on being a good mother and wife, rather than being seen as a leader and role model for black women.

There is so much perspective gaining for me in this book.  As someone who is always trying to understand the challenges and struggles of a group people, I appreciate and learned a great deal from this book.  I strongly encourage all to open your minds and think through the hypothesis and links Harris-Perry makes throughout the book.  She is a very smart and well-read author.  Add this one to your list as you think about why the world is so disagreeable and why we need to empower and give strength to those who have never been given a voice.