13 Introduction

(In this video, Megan the Stallion incorporates the importance of Black Women within her SNL performance of her hit song Savage.)

Kimberlé Crenshaw created the #SayHerName campaign to shine light on police brutality against black women because it was a rare citing although it happens frequently. In fact, many women such as Breonna Taylor were killed by police officers but some of their stories were not told. Any women in today’s society are already looked over and silenced, in addition, women of color are also not seen because of their race and ethnicity. These actions cause women of color to change who they are so society can give them recognition. More specifically, Black women in America are truly looked over and are not expected to do as much as a Caucasian woman is expected. These stereotypical beliefs endorse society to treat Black women as unimportant and nonexistent.

In the Vanishing Half, Bennett breathes life into the characters she created to represent different ways that Black Women have lived through society and how it affects their society. “She could tell the truth, she thought, but there was no single truth anymore. She’d lived a life split between two women – each real, each a lie.” (Bennett) Society plays such an important role in everyday lives, from what we see on television to the continuing debates on abortion. As much as individuals will say they are who they are because of their family or luck, to an extent society plays a quiet role on the individual. For example, the lack of representation of people of color on television in the 1940s added to the effect of people of color not being seen. Or in the Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett, we see character Stella, constantly fighting within herself on her own self-worth as a black woman. The relationship between the individual and society can either be good or bad. In this paper I will explore how colorism, code switching, and the overall treatment of Black women affects their identities. Furthermore, I will explore the way Black women can combat these issues using the concept of Black feminism.