La Parole aux Négresses

La Parole aux négresses, published in 1978, is the founding work of French-speaking black feminism. In it, Senegalese anthropologist Awa Thiam brings to light the experiences, ills and struggles of black women, through their own words. For her, feminism must take into account the “triple oppression” of black women (gender, class, race) and their specific problems, such as genital mutilation, illiteracy, early pregnancy, polygamy, forced marriage and the influence of religion. Awa Thiam was the first feminist to formulate, a few years before bell hooks, the question of black women’s position in the feminist movement.