The 19th-century suffrage struggle privileged black men over all women

Evidence

For the first time ever in American history, black women like Mary Church Terrell, Sojourner Truth, Anna Cooper, Amanda Berry Smith and others broke through the long years of silence and began to articulate and record their experiences. In particular they emphasized the “female” aspect of their being which caused their lot to be different from that of the black male, a fact that was made evident when white men supported giving black men the vote while leaving all women disenfranchised. Horace Greeley and Wendell Phillips called it “the Negro’s hour” but in actuality what was spoken of as black suffrage was black male suffrage. — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 27

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Nineteenth century black male leaders demanded subordinate roles from their wives; Nineteenth-century black women endured double enslavement by race and sex; Suffrage politics trapped black women between racist feminists and sexist black men (+4 more)

Related

• Women’s failed bid to be included in the black suffrage amendment forged American feminisms (similarity 0.89)
• Nineteenth century black male leaders demanded subordinate roles from their wives (similarity 0.85)
• Nineteenth century black women were the most sexist-oppressed female group in America (similarity 0.83)
• Black men asserted dominance over women to compensate for losing to white men (similarity 0.83)
• Sojourner Truth argued sexist oppression threatened black women as much as racial oppression (similarity 0.83)
• Black male leaders demanded subordination from their wives in private life. (similarity 0.82)
• Racism was routine within the women’s rights movement against black reformers (similarity 0.82)
• Black male leaders granted women rights while keeping men superior authorities. (similarity 0.82)
• Enslaved black men held higher status than black women under slavery (similarity 0.81)
• Nineteenth century black women suffered most from sexism yet lacked collective power (similarity 0.81)
• Nineteenth-century black women endured double enslavement by race and sex (similarity 0.81)
• Black women faced a double bind between racist white feminists and patriarchal black leaders (similarity 0.80)
• White suffragists opposed black male suffrage out of racial hierarchy concerns. (similarity 0.80)
• Understanding black women’s status requires analyzing race and sex together (similarity 0.80)
• Black men claimed sole victimhood and manhood rights while ignoring black women’s oppression. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Suffrage politics trapped black women between racist feminists and sexist black men #expands (0.80)
• Nineteenth century black male leaders demanded subordinate roles from their wives #corroborates (0.60)
• Racism was routine within the women’s rights movement against black reformers #corroborates (0.60) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 376
• Nineteenth-century black women endured double enslavement by race and sex #qualifies (0.50)
• Black women themselves pressured men into the breadwinner role #corroborates (0.50)
• Black women experienced sexist oppression distinct from racism #qualifies (0.50) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 47