Black women Quote by Audre Lorde
““And where the words of women are crying to be heard, we must each of us recognize our responsibility to seek those words out, to read them and share them and examine them in their pertinence to our lives. That we not hide behind the mockeries of separations that have been imposed upon us and which so often we accept as our own: for instance "I can't possibly teach Black women's writing- their experience is so different from mine," yet how many years have you spent teaching Plato and Shakespeare and Proust? Or another: "She's a white woman and what could she possibly have to say to me?" Or, "she's a lesbian, what would my husband say, or my chairman?" Or again, "This woman writes of her sons and I have no children." And all the other endless ways in which we rob ourselves of ourselves and each other.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Uses of the Erotic” (or similar feminist writing), 1984
The author urges active seeking and sharing of women’s voices, challenging excuses that exclude them from discourse.
In simple terms: Listen to and amplify women’s perspectives.
Key Takeaway
Actively seek and uplift women’s words.
Themes
feminism
inclusion
voice
Mood
determined
hopeful
Type
activist
educational
When to use this quote
- academic curricula
- media coverage
- community meetings
- policy making
Key Concepts
intersectionality
responsibility
dialogue
Questions to Reflect On
- What barriers prevent you from hearing women’s stories?
- How can you create spaces for diverse voices?
A Different Perspective
Changing entrenched biases is difficult and may meet resistance.
![“It wasn't [Barack] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being wheeled by her son waving a big American flag, and then seeing a guy with his baby in his arms saying, "I didn't want her to miss tonight! I wanted to be able to tell her!" And…” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/806/bill-ayers-1848_able_it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the_20409.jpg)
