Going Against the Grain

The relationship between African American women and the black community is embraced throughout the first few pages of “Going against the Grain.” Women were the backboned in their families and households. Black women became a crucial part of the community despite the struggle of being recognized they have faced. As African Americans were fighting for equal rights for all races, African American women were fighting for equal rights for all genders. Exploitation for America arose when Thomas Jefferson contradicts his “all men are equal” statement by saying blacks should have rights, but not any that are equal to whites. But the real issue was that "all men are equal" left out women, despite everything women have done for their community.  

Women were used as producers, only being treated with respect if they were needed. These women found a way to prevail against all odds. “Each movement toward literacy was a signal that these women were going very much against the grain of prevailing cultural beliefs, practices, and expectations” (114).  

Reading how women were treated inspired me to be everything that they expected me not to be. I think here at Spelman, or at any all female college, we learn how to be respectable and dignified intellects with a mind of our own while maintaining our “pretty girl rock.” J