Africana Womanism - Examples in Literature

Examples in Literature

Five Africana Womanist novels: Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hudson-Weems states that the character Janie is a protagonists to name and define herself. Also, a protagonist of family-centeredness (pp. 81–82); Mariama Ba, a renowned Senegalese writer, So Long a Letter, Ba's attack on polygamous society that subjugates women, and her interests in the rights of Africana women are reflected in her novel. According to Hudson-Weems "the novel does not justify categorizing it as a feminist novel, which the author dedicates the book 'To all women and men of good will,' thereby demonstrating her natural inclination to include men as a very important part of women's lives" (Hudson-Weems, pp. 93–94); Paule Marshall, a prominent African-Caribbean writer, Praisesong for the Widow, which the character "Reena" bears the historical nuances of so-called shortcomings of the Africana woman in relationship with her male companion. Pauline, the narrator, advocates a solution to the deteriorating relationship between the Africana man and woman (Hudson-Weems, p. 105); Toni Morrison, Beloved. Hudson-Weems asserts that "From Morrison first novel, The Bluest Eye, to Sula, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, and finally to her fifth novel, Beloved, the author develops the roles of the male and the female in this collective struggle" (p. 119); and Terry McMillan, Disappearing Acts. Hudson-Weems explains that the character Zora Banks is self-naming and self-defining, family-centered and compatible, flexible with her roles and ambitions, demanding of respect and strong, reverent of elders and authentic, and last but not least, nurturing and mothering (pp. 133–134).

Africana Womanist literature also consists of Africana family dynamics, Africana women and men—their interrelationship, and experiences within their communities, and religion. For instance: Russell J. Rickford (2003) Betty Shabazz: Surviving Malcolm X: A Journey of Strength from Wife to Widow to Heroine; Ilyasah Shabazz (2002), Growing Up X: A Memoir by the Daughter of Malcolm X; Sonsyrea Tate (1997) Growing Up in the Nation of Islam; Yvonne S. Thornton, M.D. (1995), The Ditchdigger's Daughters: A Black Family's Astonishing Success Story; Alex Haley (1976) Roots: The Saga of an American Family; Coretta Scott King (1969), My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition to Regina Jennings (2001), Africana Womanism in The Black Panther Party: A Personal Story, published in the Western Journal of Black Studies. Jennings describes her experiences as a young woman who joined the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California, using the theory of Africana Womanism.