Women, Race and Class - Book Review

So I picked up this book based on a recommendation from a blog that I frequent. I am trying to become more educated about the plight of my race and sex. Angela Davis is a fantastic author who backs up all of her points with cited historical evidence. I was surprised to find out a lot of the facts she presented about the women's rights movement and the place of black men and women in that movement. She also talked about the "myth of the black rapist" and the concept of being a housewife and how those things played into American History. For someone who attended an expensive institution, I was alarmed that we hadn't learned about any of these critical parts of American History that were so relevant to daily life and social issues of the modern era. We spent too much time discussing Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson and not enough time discussing the legacy of the Civil War era and how that affects everything about our lives today
. I don't expect American History classes to really focus on the plight of black women, but at least I expected the class would pay some attention to what white women had to put up with and how feminism was related to the Civil War era. This book helped me gain the education about American History that was essentially robbed from me. I suggest that everyone pick it up and read it immediately, even if you are a white male who feels these issues do not apply to you. Educating yourself about the marginalized sectors of society is the first step to recognizing your privilege and eventually acting on this realization for the betterment of society. Even I recognized a certain degree of my privilege from reading this book; since I am biracial I cannot truly understand the full extent of marginalization that 100% black women face. Everyone has a social responsibility to become educated about these issues and even I haven't really completed this responsibility.