Black Women's Rights

Carole Boyce Davies, an endowed professor of Africana Studies and Literatures in English at Cornell University, is a leading scholar of African Diaspora, Black feminist theories and literatures, and Black women's writings internationally.

Boyce Davies focuses on the long-standing feminist concept "half the world," first developed by Claudia Jones, which contends that women, as half the world's population, should control half its resources and political power. The author applies this notion as the framework for her exploration of Black women's use of legal, political, social, and creative domains to gain rights and power, particularly in Africa, although she also touches on the US, the Caribbean, and Latin America… This is an important addition to the scholarship on the political power of Black women. Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through graduate students.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: “I am a Woman’s Rights.” Power and Parity PoliticsChapter 1: Assuming the Right to Leadership: Black Women and Political PowerChapter 2: Feminist Literary Leadership in African Women’s WritingChapter 3: Alternative President: Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela’s Challenge Chapter 4: “Yes. We Want the Power!” “Writing African Women’s Political Leadership with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Wangari MaathaiChapter 5: Black Women Lead the Desire for a Transformed United States: The Pivotal Role of Shirley Chisholm. Chapter 6: Advancing Global Leadership Paradigms from the Caribbean Chapter 7: Marielle Franco and Black Left Feminist Leadership in Brazil Appendix: Conversations with Black Women on Political LeadershipBibliographyIndexAbout the Author