Ezra's Bookshelf

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around

by Alethia Jones and Virginia Eubanks, with Barbara Smith  · 356 pages · ~6.5 hrs

HistoryRace & IdentityGender & Feminism

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Barbara Smith has stood at the intersection of every major liberation movement of the past half-century, and this documentary collection traces her remarkable trajectory from Civil Rights activist to pioneering Black feminist theorist. Editors Alethia Jones and Virginia Eubanks assemble speeches, essays, interviews, and organizational documents that reveal how Smith helped forge connections between struggles against racism, sexism, homophobia, and economic exploitation. Smith cofounded the Combahee River Collective, whose 1977 statement articulated the concept of interlocking oppressions that would later be termed intersectionality. She established Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, the first publisher dedicated to writing by women of color in the United States. Throughout her career, she insisted that movements must address the needs of those most marginalized, the Black lesbians and poor women whose concerns mainstream feminism and Civil Rights organizations often overlooked. The collection includes Smith's reflections on growing up in Cleveland, her involvement in the student movements of the 1960s, her work organizing in Albany, New York, and her ongoing engagement with contemporary struggles. Contextual essays by the editors situate each document within broader historical developments. Readers interested in the intellectual history of identity politics, the evolution of feminist thought, or the practical challenges of coalition-building across difference will find this volume an invaluable primary source and a portrait of principled activism sustained over decades.

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