African American Women and Feminists of the 1920's

The blues emerged as a distinct African-American musical form in the early twentieth century. It typically employed a twelve-bar framework and three-lined stanzas; its roots are based in early African-American songs, such as field hollers and work songs, and generally have a melancholy mood. The blues can be divided into many sub-genres, including Classical, Country, and Urban. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the careers of two of Classical blues most influential and legendary singers: Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith.

The word feminism is defined as referring to political, cultural, and economic movements seeking greater rights and participation in society for women and girls. This word goes hand in hand with the feminist movement, which is aimed at equal rights for women. The feminist movement has had three distinct waves. The first wave took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and granted women the right to vote and practice birth control. The second wave achieved legal equality for women and began in the 1960’s and continued into the 90’s . The third wave of the feminist movement strove for social reform and began in the mid-90’s and some say it is still continuing today, or perhaps it died out

The Progressive Movement of 1901 to 1917 began as a result of the abuse and suffrage African American endures at the hand of those in power. The period of the progressive era many reformers believed the difficultly people encountered such as racism, violence, poverty, health care was as a result of the lack of education that was available. As America became more industrialize women reacted to the turmoil that it brings with by connecting together to form organization both at the local and national level. Women step up to the place and played major roles in order to bring changes to the general welfare and improve social integrity.

In the earlier year’s women suffered a lot when it came down to their own voice. In the eyes of society, women were considered useless and would generally be taken for granted based on their sexual appeal. For year’s women lacked the right to vote and were paid considerably less than men for the same work. As time progressed women were on the rise against society to make themselves heard. Despite all the consequences, there are a few women notable for their contributions to the society we cherish today. Julia Harding is one woman in particular who opened The Century Club to create an organized center for work strictly for women. Julia was able to surpass the idealism men brought upon them and is just one of many women. There were various roles of Women in Pittsburgh History such as the social setting of The Century Club, the occupation of Molly Yard and the movement created by Daisy Lampkin’s that changed the acceptance of women.

When we think of the word “slavery” we often imagine an African-American in shackles getting moved from a region to another, but, is that the only slavery we can think of? What about the time in 1890’s when married women were not allowed to receive wages that they earned or even inherit property? Marrying back then may as well be handing your identity in hands of your husband. It was an expectation, an obligation. Women didn’t just become the wife, they became salve to their husbands, a property. The role of Women has changed significantly through the years, not only are not women well respected, they have their own unique identity which they have created for themselves.

According to dictionary.com, feminism is the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men. Throughout history and even in present time, women have been subject to unequal treatment by their male counterparts. For example, in the biblical story of Adam and Eve, Eve is born from Adam’s rib, showing that Adam is the dominant figure in the narrative. Even today, there exists in certain professions a gender pay gap. Similarly, the way in which women are depicted in Beloved by Toni Morrison and the short story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Stetson indicates that women are able to thrive independently and take on masculine roles, while men are able to experience feminine attributes.

Feminism was coined in the early 20th century. It is a women’s movement with the focus of gender relationships. There has been many different waves of feminism in the United States throughout history. Liberal, Radical, Marxist and Cultural Feminism are just a few examples. Within the different waves of feminism, there has also been racial inequality.

Feminism is the advocacy of the rights of women based on the theory of equality of the sexes (Oxford English Dictionary). It is built on the principle that women have innate worth, inalienable rights, and valuable ideas and talents to contribute to society. Feminists fight for equality in every dimension of society, for both equal rights with men and equal respect.

She accounts for the likes of Ma Rainey who had songs along the likes of “ Oh Papa Blues”, “ Titanic Man Blues”, and “ Black Eye Blues” that challenged male cheating with female strength and fury (Carby 17). Granted, Chapman would argue such songs would pale to the positioning of female musicians in the race-sex marketplace with the likes of Ethel Waters (Chapman 80). Yet again, this should discount any of what Bessie Smith is fighting for within the song itself. The reasoning being is that for music of hers to be liberating, it is to first be liberating in a personal level. The limitations that are there for blues music in the grand sense are apparent as Chapman notes with the objectification of black women’s bodies.

The classic blues in the early 1920’s such as music created by Bessie Smith gave African American female singers a voice by the ability to discuss their personal lives through song. Her emotionally charged lyrics and her delivery gave the deep blue mood that is associated with blues music. This can be compared to the rise of hip hop which presented a picture of

The conclusions that were drawn from the study of how the class biased study of Black Women’s literature left a gap in knowledge about Black Women’s sexual liberation in the 1920s and 1930s was that the woman blues singer served as a collective representation of social and sexual conflict. The songs created by women blues vocalists stood up against the ordinary perspectives of what a lady's part and place should be. It allowed black women to express their sexual desires for the same sex. Women soul music remade poetry, expression, works of fiction, and abstract craftsmanship inside of African American society by permitting black women scholars to free themselves from the repression of the women activist’s hypothesis and feel confident to express

Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish and achieve political, economic, personal, and social equality of sexes. This includes seeking to establish educational and professional opportunities for women that are equal to those for men. The lens in which I am focusing on is feminism. Feminism is a broad topic with many topics beneath the main topic.

This article deals with the first women in the history of blues. It talks about how men were the first people to sing the blues, but women were the first to record and sell blues music. Women like Gertrude ("Ma") Rainey and Mamie Smith are known as the mother's of blues music. They are known as such because of the fact that they helped expose the blues to thousands upon thousands of people who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to here such songs. The article then goes on to discuss Bessie Smith and how she revolutionized Blues music. She sold over 750,000 copies of her first record. She was crowned `Empress of Blues.'

The first definition of the word came in 1841. At that time it was defined as “The qualities of females” by Merriam-Webster. The word feminism has Latin roots of women and female. The current definition of the word is “The theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes” as well as “Organized activities on behalf of women’s rights and interests.” Even though many people have looked up the word in the past year, some still don’t understand the full meaning of the

Feminism has been defined as the advocacy of social equality for men and women, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism.