Writing the Black Revolutionary Diva: Women's Subjectivity and the Decolonizing Text

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Women’s Subjectivity and the Decolonizing Text Writing the Black Revolutionary Diva B r o w n � Cover illustration: Karin Turner, “ἀ e Juggler (Conflagration).”©2001 by Karin Turner Bl a cks i n th e D ia s po r a Darlene Clark H ine, John McCluskey, Jr., and David Barry Gaspar, founding editors Tracy Sharpley-Whiting, H erman L . Bennett, Kim D. Butler, Judith A . Byfield, and L eslie A . Schwalm, editors Kimberly Nichele Brown � � � � � � � � � � � � � � indiana INDIANA University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis www.iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796 Literary Criticism & Theory . African American . Women’s Studies Writing the Black Revolutionary Diva Photo by YBC Photography & Design Kimberly N ichele Brown examines how A frican A merican women since the 1970s have found ways to move beyond the “double consciousness” of the colonized text to develop a healthy subjectivity that attempts to disassociate black subjectivity from its connection to white culture. Brown traces the emergence of this new consciousness from its roots in the Black A esthetic Movement through important milestones such as the anthology ἀ e Black Woman and Essence magazine to the writings of A ngela Davis, Toni Cade Bambara, and Jayne Cortez. Kimberl y N ichele Br o wn is A ssociate Professor of English and Director of the A fricana Studies Program at Texas A &M University. “ἀ e revolutionary divas in these works represent a response to the ‘black woman as victim’ argument that informs so much discussion of black women’s subjectivity. [ἀ ese] women writers emerge from the black folk experience not just as its representatives, but as an embodiment of its potential.” Alice A. Deck, University of Illinois “Kimberly Brown’s sweeping critical attention to the crucial, body-political texts of academically unappreciated marvels such as Jayne Cortez and Toni Cade Bambara could not be more welcome. ἀi s uncowed return to the thematics of decolonization is vital— what Black Studies and Black worlds need now more than ever with the world at large.” Greg Thomas, author of ἀ e Sexual Demon of Colonial Power and Hip-Hop Revolution in the Flesh “Displays a richness and depth seldom seen in literary criticism these days.” Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, Indiana University Bloomington pr el ud e i wri ti ng the black revolutionary diva ii pr el ud e B l a c k s i n t h e D i a s p o r a Found ing Ed it ors: Darlene Clark Hine, John McCluskey, Jr., and David Barry Gaspar Ser ies Ed it or: Tracy Sharpley-Whiting Adviso r y Boar d: Herman L. Bennett, Kim D. Butler, Judith A. Byἀeld, and Leslie A. Schwalm pr el ud e iii i n d i a n a u n i v e r s i t y p r e s s Bloomington and Indianapolis w o m e n ’ s s u b j e c t i v i t y a n d t h e d e c o l o n i z i n g t e x t Writing the Black Revolutionary Diva Kimberly Nichele Brown iv pr el ud e This book is a publication of Indian a Univers it y Pr ess 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA www.iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-8 55-7931 Orders by e-mail iuporder@indiana.edu© 2010 by Kimberly Nichele Brown All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. ∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANS I Z39.481992 . Manufactured in the United States of America Librar y o f Congr ess Cat al ogingin -Publica tio n Dat a Brown, Kimberly Nichele. Writing the black revolutionary diva : women’s subjectivity and the decolonizing text / Kimberly Nichele Brown.    p. cm. — (Blacks in the diaspora) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN978-0-253-3 5525-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN978-0-253-222 46-6...