Paradigm of black politics - Essay Example

African-American politics, in the history of the United s, has produced an interesting study of what it means to be a part of American politics in general. Nevertheless, commentators quite often find themselves making the mistake of focusing far too much attention on the issue of race, instead of other socio-economic categories like class, gender, and sexual orientation, which have the same potential as backdoors to oppression of Blacks. The Black feminists of the 1970s through to today, women like Angela Davis and Mary Ann Weathers, recognized this situation and helped bring it to light.

Thus, instead of identifying the simple reasons why Blacks are unable to achieve political goals through legitimate means, the Black feminists introduced a new way of thinking not only in terms of race but also in terms of class and gender, which, according to these authors, are inseparable. As a result, it seems that the best paradigm for understanding Black culture within the United States also applies quite well to the study of Black political advancement since the struggles of the 1960s, and reflects the struggle African-American people now face.

The black feminist perspective is an integrated approach that focuses not specifically on gender, or on race, or on class, but on these factors as mutually reinforcing aspects of one problem. This problem is the lack of progress in having Black representatives in government. One key aspect, or insight, from the Black feminist movement coming out the 1970s was that Black Nationalism and institutional racism (from whites) were part of the same gendered problem, both with misogynistic and masculine characteristics (Burns).

Taking efforts to expose and correct this problem, the Black feminists offered a paradigm and a perspective for understanding Black politics at the time and throughout the transitory period. This perspective, which moves beyond the monolithic “Black” used in the rhetoric of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, allowed students of politics to mark gender distinctions when it comes to significant issues, like the specific social welfare policies for African-American women and the drug laws that disproportionately target African-American men (Collins).

Patricia Hill Collins, a Black feminist, is famous for using this perspective to analyze new ideas for black liberation.However, since the influential mainstream feminist movement of the 1970s and 1980s, the Black feminist paradigm might not be so useful for looking at the political situation. Changes in voting demographics, with shifts to younger minority voters, may also indicate a shift in what is happening at the individual level of democratic elections. There is more general acceptance of the idea of being represented by a woman or by a minority within the general American population.

Up until this point, it seems reflections back on the previous state of Black representation in politics can be only helped by an integrated approach to class, race, and gender. But if we apply the paradigm to understand the burgeoning problems facing Blacks in the 21st century, according to Patricia Hill Collins, we will find criticism of gender roles especially in the African-American community. Where masculinity is tied to wealth and femininity is tied to dependence, the potential for harm is great, specifically within the race group where black men are constantly threatened with economic failure and black women are disproportionately faced with single motherhood (Collins).

Blacks today arguably face a diverse range of problems when compared to their predecessors in the 1960s and 1970s, when the African-American community was considered as a monolithic and homogenous group. But with the construction of feminist schools of thought, thinkers are considering integrated approaches to identifying problems and solutions inherent to the Black community. Rather than being represented or spoken for by Black men, Black women are taking more of a specific role in championing the advancement of political issues that pertain specifically to their communities.

In that sense, the study of Black politics does require a shift to a more expansive and detailed look at what is going on within these groups, and the proper paradigm for this study is one that considers the different aspects of Black life, including class, race, and gender. Each of these separate points of consideration brings something to the table for the student. Each provides insight into what is going on at the ground level. The study of Black politics can only be improved by a more complex approach to trying to discover the cause of recent changes, and understanding recent changes provides a greater opportunity to predict these changes before they happen.

Works CitedBurns, Stewart. "Living for the Revolution: Black Feminist Organizations, 1968-1980." Journal of American History 93 (2006): 296-298.Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism. New York: Routledge, 2004.