The Personal is Political

Patricia Collins thoroughly delineates the the knowledge consciousness and the politics of empowerment as it relates to black feminist thought. The epistemologies, as she explains, must be examined closely by a variety of black feminists to prioritize our specific needs, concerns, and oppressions as they are experienced by individuals differently. Research for our own struggles must be accessible and valid to the everyday woman as they are indeed unique and different from that of the Eurocentric masculinist standpoint. Without the accessibility to women outside of the scholastic category, the battle cannot be won and remains undefined. Traditionally, our issues have been "identified" and analyzed for us which is problematic for so many reasons. As agents of knowledge, truth must meet personal beliefs in an attempt to understand and transform our conditions. Collins describes the types of epistemologies of feminist thought and how they are personally demonstrated in the different arenas of life. For example, Zora Neale Hurston, Billie Holiday, and Bessie Smith were mentioned as they are three women who held their own philosophies as it related to their personal lives and expressed such theories and trials (without separating from the common people) through their works without assimilation. Often times, feminism and more basic black representation is lost in the public eye to gain academic credentials and therefore unable to use the Afrocentric feminist epistemology that is more relative to the "groups" in the women's movement. Collins does however point out that some epistemologies can have paralleling values between other members that are oppressed as well. The personal being political is stressed throughout the entire text that scholars introducing or validating their theories must be personal advocates for all of their material. This reminds me of the chapter in Gender Talk where both Jonnetta B. Cole and Beverly Guy-Sheftall reveal their personal testimonies and interactions that have framed their beliefs. As both authors assert their philosophies and identify the injustices perpetuated by those institutionalized by patriarchal gender politics, they thoroughly show how the personal affects their own epistemologies and scholarly research much like Collins' standpoint on how black feminist thought should be defined.