June Book Club Pick: Hood Feminism
Hi everyone,
I am going to get right to it, because we haven't got time to waste anymore. Here it is: we need to educate ourselves on how to be better feminists. Because feminism, all the politics and passion and advocacy and progress and struggle that the word is wrapped up in, has not historically included women of color, and continues to exclude them.
When we think of "feminism," we think of The Wing. We think of the ability to advocate for our own bodies, our reproductive rights, our pay equality. We think of middle- to upper-class white women who want to climb higher. We don't think of hunger. We don't think of gun control. We don't think about equal access to quality education for toddlers in communities of color. We don't think about the many issues poor women, and specifically poor women of color, must deal with on a daily basis, but are in fact feminist issues.
Our June book club pick is Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall. Kendall's collection of essays delves into each issue, from reproductive justice to food insecurity to housing and more, examining where we've gone wrong and how we can begin to make it right. It's hard to read, uncomfortable at times, because of Kendall's bluntness. But its bluntness is what makes it worth reading, and the takeaways are a call to the "feminist" community to take a look in the mirror and wise up. We need to stand up for our fellow human beings and do the work. There is no time to waste.
I hope you'll join us this month as we do the work.
-Emily