3 Both And
As I searched for Bonnie Johnson, I thought about how Audre Lorde's speech that day, now known by the title The Master's Tools, exists decontextualized from the bigger frame of the conference dynamic. While the speech is generally positioned as a pivot point in the discussion of race in the women's movement, it has come to stand singularly for its moment, a moment flattened out to race and "identity politics," even as the identities in play and the discussion reflected more nuances.
I found myself even more intrigued, therefore, by the paper Johnson and Bristow circulated, an interview they had titled "Both And" and described as reflections on being "black feminists" done with the assistance of a white feminist Carol Ascher. As far as I can trace, their paper, unlike others from this conference, has never been published.
Eventually, Melanie McBride, through interlibrary loan, found me a copy of the proceedings.
Reflecting on white feminism, Johnson and Bristow invoked “Both And” rather than "either or" in regards to working with white feminists, but also in the larger context of their discussion, in regards to separatism from black men. They insist on "and" in a world that keeps pushing "or." As much as they desire "both," everywhere they face "either."
answer ... is often, "We did not know who to ask" to which she responds "how come you haven't educated yourselves about black women?"
I found myself even more intrigued, therefore, by the paper Johnson and Bristow circulated, an interview they had titled "Both And" and described as reflections on being "black feminists" done with the assistance of a white feminist Carol Ascher. As far as I can trace, their paper, unlike others from this conference, has never been published.
Eventually, Melanie McBride, through interlibrary loan, found me a copy of the proceedings.
Reflecting on white feminism, Johnson and Bristow invoked “Both And” rather than "either or" in regards to working with white feminists, but also in the larger context of their discussion, in regards to separatism from black men. They insist on "and" in a world that keeps pushing "or." As much as they desire "both," everywhere they face "either."
As I read, thinking about this dynamic of Sister/Outsiders and insiders from the "academic colony" I kept coming back to the various accounts of how Johnson and Bristow got invited to participate in the conference.
Reading Both And carefully, I see that Carol Ascher's comment that indicates she suggested Johnson.
Through the Combahee River Collective, I also find reference to a letter, now in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture among Cheryl Clarke's papers, that Audre Lorde sent to retreat group members on January 26, 1978, revealing her reservations about the wisdom of participating white dominated insider events.
Reading Both And carefully, I see that Carol Ascher's comment that indicates she suggested Johnson.
I've been holding back for weeks, not wanting to bring in my friendship with Bonnie but then finally i decide you in, say, have a friend, bonnie, she could give paper." and everyone is relieved. know won points because you, will be able come through whatever ask of black friend it's the painful truth, contradiction--did we use that word?--behind this very paper.Ascher seems to contradict Lorde's remarks, and is absent from Benjamin's reflections. Then as I return over and over again to the Conference Program, I suddenly notice, listed on the cover, Gerda Lerner also listed as a consultant. Did she hold back from suggesting Johnson for the reasons Ascher suggests here?
Through the Combahee River Collective, I also find reference to a letter, now in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture among Cheryl Clarke's papers, that Audre Lorde sent to retreat group members on January 26, 1978, revealing her reservations about the wisdom of participating white dominated insider events.
What we would primarily achieve is the education and better understanding on the part of white feminists. I believe that, while certainly a worthwhile and desirable result, this is not the primary focus of our group, nor why we exist in the main. . . . We have so much work to do dealing with . . . the ways in which we ourselves deal race, color, sex, and class destructively between ourselves, that it is this goal which I feel must take priority. And experience has shown me that this is not best done in a predominantly white environmentLorde's frustration at being the "only possible source of names of black feminists " is palpable in the tape-recording of her remarks. Lorde reflected "In academic feminist circles, the
answer ... is often, "We did not know who to ask" to which she responds "how come you haven't educated yourselves about black women?"
The oft-quoted line from The Master's Tools that "survival is not an academic skill," occurs within the context of a sentence that begins "those of us who stand outside the circle" highlighting the outsider/insider dynamic at work at the Conference. I know from Robin Morgan and Kate Millett's papers at Duke that their invitations to speak at the conference arrived after Lorde wrote this letter. I wonder did Lorde refrain from recommending women from the Collective as participants in the Conference?
Discussion of "3 Both And"
stuff that's hard for me
This is all technical:If you come to this page early there is contextual info that might help: who is Bristow? which day? what conference?
I am not clear what to do with the two media objects on the left.
Is this a typo: Reading Both And carefully, I see that Carol Ascher's comment that indicates she suggested Johnson
why is the following quote written so oddly?
Posted on 2 May 2014, 10:09 am by Alex Juhasz | Permalink
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