A slew of harmful stereotypes continues to follow Black women. The second edition of this bestseller debunks vicious misconceptions rooted in long-standing racism and shows that Black women are still alright.
When African women arrived on American shores, the three-headed hydra-servile Mammy, angry Sapphire, and lascivious Jezebel-followed close behind. These stereotypes persist to this day through newspaper headlines, Sunday sermons, social media memes, cable punditry, government policies, and hit song lyrics. Emancipation may have happened more than 150 years ago, but America still won't let a sister be free from this coven of caricatures.
In this bestseller, Tamara Winfrey-Harris delves into marriage, motherhood, health, sexuality, beauty, and more, taking sharp aim at pervasive stereotypes about Black women. The new edition includes an updated foreword, revitalized statistics, and a new chapter on current Black women in leadership and power who are expected to save and mother America while laboring to get other people elected-like Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, and other industry leaders in media and the corporate world. Harris also brings in more real-world examples from meda, covering issues like blackfishing and digital blackface (which help white women rise to fame) and media fascination with black women's sexuality (as with Cardi B or Megan Thee Stallion).
Winfrey-Harris exposes anti-Black-woman propaganda and shows how real Black women are pushing back against racist, distorted cartoon versions of themselves. She counters warped prejudices with the straight-up truth about being a Black woman in America.