Black Women Empowernment: The Responses

Thanks to all those that added their comments to the last post on questions of BWE.

With this post, I want to sumarise some of the points raised.

On 'should black women fight back/organize?'
2 Dinstict camps exist on this one. Some black women feel that black women should focus on individual liberation, and some because they feel that the given conditions (particularly a lack of will in the black female collective to seprate out and pursue their interests), that not very much will come out of any attempts to organize ourselves against black female image attacks and ridicule. The other group felt that something should be tried. On one of the last comments, the commentor linked such an effort to the fight for the sanity and preservation of young black girls that are coming after us and depending on their Big sisters to do something to change the 'atmosphere' surrounding being black and female.

A lot can be done on an individual level and each black woman needs to put in place her personal strategy towards getting her goals and life targets met (eg socializing in wider circles, not feeding into sterotypical black female behaviour, match making services etc).

Coherent and Clearer BWE work 
Many black women are willing to put time and money towards the BWE work, however a clear structure and organization of the work needs to happen so that the different roles can be identified and each faction can run with what they are supposed to do and carry out. I think that the lack of clarity and structure within BWE work might be fuelling a lot of the non commitment and fence sitting. If would-be participants know what they are expected to do and what is needed, presented in clear and concise terms, including estimation of the time committment required (eg write one email to ABC, drop five links at the A and B and C media websites etc) they are more likely to jump in.

I think the above point is key because it might require the fomation of a 'steering group', to set some kind of work plan and some tactical priorities. Clearly the task to structure the work of BWE in this strategically effective way is an all involving one that can take many months to emerge.


On methods

• Guerilla Warfare style methods
• Disseminating meme's that will catch on and capture public thought even spread among the comatose black female collective and wake them to their situation and the work
• websites
• Secret groups
• Virals/Cartoons/Youtube etc
• Defence Leagues
• Allies

Fundamental problem
There isnt a critical mass of black women buying into their own emancipation and signing up to terms of a better and more fulfilled life for themselves, to give a greater momentum to BWE. This is either because they have not come across the BWE work and other ideas about living beyond race-womanhood etc or in some cases black women have totally bonded with or fully identified with the norms of their oppression.

For BWE work to become a felt part of the larger thinking of bw, more effort needs to be made to spread the message particularly with on-the-ground presence in such areas as book clubs (setting up around reading and discussing the BWE philosophy), black female forums, church groups etc (some do exists eg; 'Free your mind' lectures). Black women need to be encouraged to take up this vital arm of the work, in whatever small way they can (eg suggesting to their book clubs books and reading from BWE, setting up forums and groups eg in Universities and colleges etc). A strategy for this aspect of the work is necessary as this is a sensitive area and has a risk attached.

Observation
A number of piooneer BWE are growing tired and would want to see and feel the young ones get into gear with this message and fight, particularly as the young ones have an understanding of more modern technology, and ways of reaching far and wide. They also are still linked into certain networks and websites that the older ones are unaware of and maybe have disconnected from (some young ones visit sites like Gossip etc that some older ones would not feel comfortable with or would just feel is a waste of their time) because that is their age and that is what they do and find relevant and ineteresting. The jaded feelings of the older need to be counterbalanced by the youthfull optimism and zeal of the yonger ones, but not simply using blog formats and websites but finding new and innovative methods.

The piooners of BWE however owe the up-coming BWE leaders a more coherent structure along with some sense of direction and strategy (including definition of terms and aims of the work indeed a clearer vision for BWE work).


To be Continued.....






 
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