Maria Stewart, Sojourner Truth, and FRANCES W.
E. HARPER and the contemporary feminist writings
of Barbara Smith, BELL HOOKS, Angela Davis, and
Patricia Hill Collins.
In the preface to Gender Talk, Guy-Sheftall ex-
plains the book’s genesis:
[It] was born while we [Cole and Guy-Sheftall]
were coteaching; engaging in heated discus-
sions outside the classroom about the state of
the race; witnessing and debating a number of
gender-related issues on and off campus—such
as the founding of a new lesbian/bisexual stu-
dent organization at Spelman, and Anita Hill’s
visit to the campus in the aftermath of the
Clarence Thomas Supreme Court hearings.The book explores a number of key issues
surrounding gender politics within the African-
American community: black women’s liberation,
the black church, hip-hop music and videos, and
domestic abuse. In the book’s critique of black
men and women’s gender relationships, many
key questions are asked: Were the achievements
of black women diminished by black men during
the CIVIL RIGHTS and BLACK POWER movements?
Has the black community ignored domestic
abuse? Do hip-hop lyrics demean black women?
Have black men aligned themselves with white
patriarchal ideology?
Guy-Sheftall is the Anna Julia Cooper Profes-
sor of English at Spelman College, a coeditor of
Sage: A Scholarly Journal on Black Women, and a
frequent speaker on women’s studies and feminist
issues.
Beverly A. TateGuy-Shetfall, Beverly 221