Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, And Black Women In America (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
In Sister Citizen, Melissa Harris-Perry juxtaposes analyses of three Black Woman stereotypes -- Jezebel, Mammy and Sapphire -- with selections from some of my absolute favorite works of literature. It opened with a selection from Their Eyes Were Watching God, a breakthrough novel by Zora Neale Hurston, of which I have a first edition. Then a poem from a book about the intersecting impacts of race, class, gender and sexual orientation, A Bridge Called My Back. I can credit this book with dramatically changing my perceptions of life. The poem by Kate Rushin has a searing line "Sick of being the sole Black friend to 34 individual white people" How typical of Colorado! Then an analysis of the interplay between Sug Avery and the characters in the other book that had a great influence on me - "The Color Purple". Next lyrics by Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell a member of one of the most influential musical groups for me -- Sweet Honey in the Rock. Last one is a poem written for Barack Obama's inauguration. I feel like she stole my journal and selected all the works that had a phenomenal impact on me. Amazing!! The end of the book got kinda wonky and academic as she proved her premises with actual research studies she did. But that's #nerdland. And I am a confirmed nerd. Especially when it comes to great minds like MHP. Well worth the read ! Harris-Perry's book is a tough one, simply because the language in it is truly not for all audiences. It's certainly not lewd, just convoluted at times. However, I'm thankful that I understood what Harris-Perry said. It's just a shame that I can't share this book with everyone. It's a true education. One of my favorite parts of her book is the subject of the fictive kinship. I've been discussing that concept for months and I'm grateful that she introduced a journalism undergrad like me to a valuable piece of knowledge. It's the kind of book you skip around a few chapters with because it operates like a semi-textbook, versus a plain narrative text, which I also liked about the style of Harris-Perry's book. If you're a woman of color, this book is like preaching to the choir, but with a different note. It's on a scholarly and raw level that keeps you volleying between the two. You'll see how the fictive kinship as a woman/person of color plays a huge role in truly understanding this book.
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