Contemporary Black Internationalist Feminist Writing
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO In Search of the Fullest Freedom: Contemporary Black Internationalist Feminist Writing A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Literature by Yelena Bailey Committee in charge: Professor John Blanco, Co-Chair Professor Sara Johnson, Co-Chair Professor Dennis Childs Professor Luis Martin-Cabrera Professor Daniel Widener 2016 Copyright Yelena Bailey, 2016 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Yelena Bailey is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Co-Chair ____________________________________________________ Co-Chair University of California, San Diego 2016 iii DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my mother. You taught me how to be a strong black woman. Without your love and support, I would never have gotten here. I would also like to thank my committee members: Professor John Blanco, Professor Sara Johnson, Professor Denis Childs, Professor Luis Martin-Cabrera, and Professor Daniel Widener. I cannot express my gratitude enough for your support and guidance over these past several years. Your mentorship has gone above and beyond what is required. You have had a profound impact on me as a scholar, teacher and, most importantly, as a person. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page ............................................................................................................... iii Dedication ..................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ vi Vita ............................................................................................................................... vii Abstract of the Dissertation ......................................................................................... viii Introduction In Search of Contemporary Black Internationalist Feminism ........................................ 1 Chapter 1 When the State is the Terrorist: The Autobiography and Activism of Assata Shakur ..................................................... 34 Chapter 2 Writing Within the Revolution: Black Internationalist Feminism in the Poetry of Georgina Herrera .......................... 79 Chapter 3 Embodying Black Internationalist Feminism: Grace Nichols’ Long Memoried, Fat Black Woman ................................................... 123 Chapter 4 A Twenty-First Century Alternative to Beyoncé Feminism: Black Internationalist Politics in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah .......... 161 Conclusion The Place of Black Internationalist Feminist Writing Today ..................................... 194 Works Consulted ........................................................................................................ 199 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the University of California, San Diego’s Institute for International, Comparative, and Area Studies (IICAS) for generously funding my field research in Cuba. vi VITA 2009 Bachelor of Arts, Physics & Spanish, Bethel University 2010 Master of Arts, Spanish and Latin American Language & Literature, New York University 2016 Doctor of Philosophy, Literature, University of California, San Diego SELECTED PUBLICATIONS Bailey, Yelena and Sandi Weightman. “Teaching Second Language Texts For Social Justice: Nancy Morejón and the Cuban Revolution.” Journal of Christian Foreign Languages 10 (2009): 43-58. ACADEMIC POSITIONS 2015-2016 Teaching Assistant, UC San Diego Multi-Ethnic Literature Series Fall 2015 Instructor of Record, San Diego City College African American Literature Summer 2015 Lecturer, UC San Diego Summer Bridge Contemporary Issues Course: Race & Educational Inequality 2012-2014 Teaching Assistant, UC San Diego Dimensions of Culture Writing Program SELECTED AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS 2014-2015 Dissertation Fellowship, Department of Literature, UC San Diego 2013-2014 Center For The Humanities Funded Research Group: Black Internationalism, Transnationalism and the African Diaspora, UC San Diego 2013-2014 Research Travel Grant, International Institute of Comparative Studies, UC San Diego 2010-2013 Lilly Graduate Fellowship 2010-2012 San Diego Fellowship, UC San Diego vii ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION In Search of the Fullest Freedom: Contemporary Black Internationalist Feminist Writing by Yelena Bailey Doctor of Philosophy in Literature University of California, San Diego, 2016 Professor John Blanco, Co-Chair Professor Sara Johnson, Co-Chair This dissertation examines the life, work and writing of four radical black feminists throughout the Cold War period and into the twenty-first century. Specifically, I look at the way these women engage the state, how they theorize and practice black nationalism and internationalism, and how writing functions as a form of praxis for all four women. My methodology involves close readings of poetry, autobiography, popular media and novels, as well as analyzing the links between cultural production, historical context, political movements and ideologies. Through viii my analysis I have found that despite the growing dominance of black liberalism, black internationalist feminists have not abandoned their radical politics, but rather they have adapted them in accordance with the changing socio-political context of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. While these changes have meant the decline of overt participation in radical organizations, they have also meant the emergence of new ways of thinking about radical black collectivism and the mediums through which it is practiced today. Chapter one examines Assata Shakur’s representation of Western capitalist state power and racial violence, as well as the way she is labeled as a “domestic terrorist” by the FBI and a misunderstood activist by the liberal media. These attempts to control her narrative reflect a greater fear; that Shakur’s brand of radical black feminism is a threat to Western hegemony today. Chapter two looks at the context of Cuba as an example of what radical black feminist practices look like within the context of a Third World socialist nation-state. Through my analysis of Afro- Cuban poet Georgina Herrera’s work, I argue that this particular black feminist formation prioritizes the needs and experiences of working class black women as central to any and all revolutionary practices. Chapter three examines the poetry of British Guyanese author Grace Nichols. Her focus on the politics of tourism and black women’s bodies emphasizes the need to direct anti-imperialist politics toward the state, while also theorizing new mediums for practicing radical black feminism. Finally, in chapter four I examine Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s work as a counter to liberal black feminism. Instead of encouraging individualism and capitalist materialism, Adichie theorizes the role hair and cyberspace play in fostering a twenty-first century black international community. I argue that the way these writers utilize their work is particularly relevant to the black community today. ix Introduction In Search of Contemporary Black Internationalist Feminism In 1977 the Combahee River Collective declared that “the most profound and potentially most radical politics come directly out of [black women’s] identity” and that “a socialist revolution that is not also a feminist and an antiracist revolution will [not] guarantee [black women’s] liberation” (264-265). This proclamation represents the essence of radical black feminist thought, that a struggle rooted in the experiences of working-class black women will ultimately result in the fullest freedom for the greatest number of people. I started this project in search of the methodologies and practices of this political formation as they relate to our contemporary moment. However, I was also driven by the contradiction I see between the Combahee River Collective’s statement and their rejection of black nationalist and internationalist organizations for being too patriarchal. While I agree with the collective’s call for political organizations that challenge sexism within black liberation movements, as well as racism within women’s liberation movements, I disagree that this necessitates a complete separation from these traditions. As such, I turn to black internationalist feminism as a radical political formation that is simultaneously engaged in black Marxist, nationalist and internationalist practices.1 I begin my project in the 1970s because, as the Combahee River Collective statement demonstrates, this era marks an important turning point for black feminist organization. In addition, this is also a period marked by anti-communism and black political repression. I am interested in framing the story of black internationalist feminism as one that continues forward to today, rather than ends during this Cold War era. I am equally interested in extending studies of this radical black feminist formation beyond the U.S. alone. Although the 1 2 U.S. plays a central role in my project, due to its current position as a Western