When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America

by Paula J. Giddings

“History at its best—clear, intelligent, moving. Paula Giddings has written a book as priceless as its subject”—Toni Morrison

Acclaimed by writers Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou, Paula Giddings’s When and Where I Enter is not only an eloquent testament to the unsung contributions of individual women to our nation, but to the collective activism which elevated the race and women’s movements that define our times. From Ida B. Wells to the first black Presidential candidate, Shirley Chisholm; from the anti-lynching movement to the struggle for suffrage and equal protection under the law; Giddings tells the stories of black women who transcended the dual discrimination of race and gender—and whose legacy inspires our own generation. Forty years after the passing of the Voting Rights Act, when phrases like “affirmative action” and “wrongful imprisonment” are rallying cries, Giddings words resonate now more than ever.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, History, Race, African American, Gender, Social Justice

413 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1984

About the author

Paula Giddings (born 1947 in Yonkers, New York) is a writer and an African-American historian. She is the author of When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America and In Search of Sisterhood. She is a professor of African-American Studies at Smith College and has previously taught at Spelman College, where she was a United Negro Fund Distinguished Scholar and Douglass College at Rutgers University where she held the Laurie Chair in Women's Studies. Giddings has also taught at Princeton University, North Carolina Central University and Duke University. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Giddings grew up in an integrated neighborhood of Yonkers, New York, where she suffered from day-to-day discrimination. Later, she participated in Freedom rides where she first experienced political commitment. In 1975, she travelled to South Africa where she had the opportunity to meet leaders of the Anti-apartheid movement.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Cami · Rating 4 out of 5]

This..taught me alot. Like holy shit, I had never even heard a whisper of 90% of the women mentioned in this book and that is despite the enormous steps they've taken, the heavy sacrifices they made and battles they fought to earn basic human rights. Goddamn, it took me a good while to get through it, but I am very glad that I did.

Black women were truly the backbone, the driving force of progress in the US! Did anything get done without black women doing the organizing or paving the way? Doesn’t seem like it! Endless respect for that. I wish these women were taught in history and social science curriculums. Their contributions are important - arguably more so than a lot of males we hear about. I'm not American but it does baffle me that women who influenced so much of american history are left forgotten and ignored. Not only by historians, but feminists as well.

I'm Danish, so obviously american history wasn't really something that was expanded on - my knowledge of american history is cursory at best, so maybe my ignorance of these women and this part of history would be understandable. Americans not knowing their own history, tho - that's another thing. The whitewashing and the focus on men is infuriating and the way these women were swept under the rug and forgotten by mainstream society is an atrocity and a shame.

[Khemauset Ankh · Rating 5 out of 5]

When and Where I Enter is a very informative book. Another story history doesn't tell in the mainstream. Black women weren't just collectively sitting around twittling their thumbs. We were doing it even while we raised other people's children, picked cotton and cooked dinner-our own and those other people's.

Raise hell Ida B.
Get that train to going Harriet
Go head on Anna Julia Cooper!
Sourjourner, honey chile, yes you is a woman!

We were, we are and we will forever be

You old hominid Eve mother who birthed us all, what did yr man call you? Surley not EVE or Lucy.

Thank you Paula Giddigns for this gold-mine of a book. Thank you for telling me about my historical-self!

Hotep!, Ase! Amen!

[Stacie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything has a historical context. It’s important to understand and recognize that fact. All of the movements we’re seeing today have a historical context. We’ll take the Women’s March for example. There was quite a bit of criticism leveled at the Women’s March because of its approach to intersectional feminism and what that would mean moving forward. Those criticisms were valid and rooted in the history of women’s movements. This book is a comprehensive look at Black women’s participation in liberation movements throughout the history of the United States. It looks not only at their participation in liberation of women but their participation in the liberation of Black people as a whole. It also stresses that for Black women especially, the fight for equally has meant an assault from all sides. From white women not taking into account the issues important to Black women because they didn’t want to focus on race, to Black men not concerning themselves with the uplifting of Black women in the fight and in many instances asking women to give up their independence in order for the man to have dominance.



I thought Giddings did a great job in structuring this book and in providing context for the information provided. The information is provided chronologically, which I found to be extremely helpful. In my opinion it’s important to understand where you’ve been in order to appreciate where you’re going. Diggings decision to provide everything chronologically made sense. Especially when patterns became obvious that regardless of the strides that had been made some of the same biases rear their ugly heads as time passes. This book as a whole does a great job of highlighting the work of Black women throughout history in many different forms and fashion. It takes a comprehensively look at the work that has been done and at the time of its original printing in the 1980s, the work that still needs to be done. If you’re at all interested in the history of Black women and the work they’ve put in towards equality then this book is a great introduction. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

[Naima · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I've ever read. So informative and so inspiring! This book spans from the 18th Century to the 1980s and follows different Black Liberation Movements. I recommend it for all!

[Jocelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole book is compelling and illuminating, but the chapters on the Moynihan Report and the failure of Shirley Chisolm's presidential campaign and the ERA are worth the price of admission alone.

[Charmaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America, is a informational text which gives insight into the lives of African Americans during the 19th and 20th century. Paula Giddings writes about the historical events that shaped the lives of Ida B. Wells and Marry Church Terrell. When and Where I Enter shed light on different experience these women endured that eventually led to monumental changes in African American history. Giddings also writes about the dynamics of the African American household. She mentions several different reasons why African American homes are divided and torn apart by gender roles. While I was reading When and Where I Enter I noticed Paula Giddings use of imagery. When she described the incident of Terrell and Wells friends being hung for no reason I was able to feel the pain and anger through Giddings words. Also Giddings ability to make connections in her writing to issues that took place in the African American community in early 1900s to issues that still take place in today is another element I enjoyed. This is a great mentor text to show to my students to teach them how to make informational text meaningful. A way I would use When and Where I Enter as a minilesson is by having students think of a historical event and write about the event using their own understanding. Students will also be required to make self connections.

“for the Negro was famous then, as now, for spending his money for fine clothes, furniture, jewelry, and pianos and other musical instruments, to say nothing of good things to eat. Music houses had more musical instruments, sold on the installment plan, thrown back on their hands than they could find storage for.”

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very insightful look at the intersection between race and gender, called intersectionality. Anyone looking at studying feminism needs to look at this ground breaking work on intersectionality.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this book from a recent list of must-reads given by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and I'm glad to have been enlightened on the subject. From the title I was expecting more of a philosophical discussion, so I was surprised to encounter basically a straight history of the role of Black women in the struggle for racial and gender equality since the end of the Civil War. A good summary occurs at the beginning of the last chapter:

. . . At the turn of the century, Black women initiated social reform in Black communities when government fell short, and they created the means to educate their own. They went toe to toe with White feminists, defended themselves and the race, and did not hesitate to chastise the men who sought to keep them from doing so. In the process, Black women helped launch and sustain the modern civil rights movement. They also exposed the deep core of feminism, which went to the heart of women's rights: over their souls, their bodies, their families, their labor. And in the course of all that, Black women may be said to have provided the means to free everyone.

The Black woman was able to accomplish so much in those years because she had an unshakable conviction: The progress of neither race nor womanhood could proceed without her. And she understood the relationship between the two.

The information here is vital and impressively researched, though the book itself became tedious at times with the surfeit of names, dates and organizations being difficult to follow. I do still look forward to reading Giddings's later work, Ida: A Sword Among Lions, and I recommend this to any students (professional or otherwise) of the Civil Rights or Feminist movements.

Not Bad Reviews

@pointblaek

[Beverlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definite must read! When & Where I Enter is a comprehensive account of the impact race & gender play in African American women's lives. Some things that are particularly compelling are 1- the act of resistance in slavery. For whatever reason, it is assumed that enslaved people didn't rebel against their forced servitude. Giddings outlines several accounts of black women fighting, by acts that resulted in murder or by suing for freedom in the court. This is why "slaves movies" are important. It's not about feeling angry to see your ancestors treated as less than human. It's about remembrance, knowing that we must not be complacent in our relative comfort.
2- the definition of womanhood. You would think this is an obvious similarity shared by black & white women...no. Giddings explains that as far back as 1865, black women fought to not be forced to labor in the fields & in the home. The cult of true womanhood has never applied to black women & we have essentially always had some degree of feminist behavior. Fast forward to the Moynihan Report & the reason for the destruction of black families is black women are too assertive & do not allow black men to dominate them...wow.
I could go on & on, but I will simply close with this book is as relevant now as it was in 1984. It's difficult to fight a war without knowing what you're fighting & why. Black women are skilled at playing multiple roles simultaneously & I am proud to be a part of the group.

[LitGirlLiv · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned leaps and bounds about Black women's contributions to enfranchisement and general racial and gender equality from reading this book, but I stress this text is WORK. It took me two months to consume. Paula Giddings is an impressive historian and this text is RICH with information so much so that I'm tempted to classify it as history more so than literature: the number of activists and organizations named is overwhelming, narrations rather than arguments seem to shape each chapter, and there are so many small details. Honestly, it's just a dense read. The last chapter does a lot of work in summing up the text and advancing a clear argument. (I really appreciated that.) But what I learned from this book, I wouldn't have learned anywhere else.

Lastly, Paula Giddings, my soror, is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and paid our early sorors, including Mary Church Terrell, Ida B. Wells, Mary McCleod Bethune, Margaret Murray Washington, Dorothy Height, Sadie T.M. Alexander, and Shirley Chislom, so much respect. Of course numerous women of other sororities are also featured: Anna Julia Cooper, Constance Baker Motley, Zora Neale Hurston etc. These inclusions further enriched my reading experience and made the work all the more worthwhile.

For a better reading experience, I would suggest picking up this book with the full intention to chip away at it over time.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paula Giddings’ book, When and Where I Enter, has been accepted and praised by several organizations, Black intellectuals, and feminists. The Women's Review of Books calls Giddings’ work “the best interpretation of black women and race and sex that we have."

In chapter six, “‘To Be a Woman, Sublime’: The Ideas of the National Black Women’s Club Movement (to 1917),” Giddings shares with us the history of the Black women’s movement and their views on a number of issues. Giddings also introduces us to several Black women who were actively involved in this movement.

In chapter seven, “The Quest for Woman Suffrage (Before World War I),” Giddings highlights the significant differences between the White and Black quest for woman suffrage. In addition, Giddings draws our attention to racial tensions and strategies, critical suffrage activists, and details the major events of the Black woman suffrage movement.

[Marjorie.harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a technological age where we are inundated with self-help, self-analysis and self-assessment products, it is so much more helpful to read a perspective that shows African-American women where we fit outside of ourselves. That is, in the greater part of society - based on the sacrifices made by powerful women of color years before our existence. Professor Giddings is on the mark. Do you have any questions about your place at the voting booth... your university... in your profession? This book answers it all for you...

[Carla "Kar" Schmidt Holloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic, should be required reading in high schools. And this topic would be a valuable part of any college education. (Although discussion of the oppression faced and accomplishments made by lgbtqia+/disabled/etc black women is glaringly absent.) I shouldn't be just learning these things in my late twenties. It's time US society woke up and acknowledged the most monumental changes in its history weren't made by white men.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my book club. It was outstanding to put together so many pieces of our history and our impact in America. I remember reading this book when it first came out many years ago - but experience and the current tensions in this country, make me understand and thirst for more accurate histories like this one.

[Rooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really like a 4.5 due to the limitations of being written in 1984, but still.

[Thekeyofdana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

[MJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD. If you care about feminism at all, read this immediately.

[Stan Lanier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is history worth knowing.

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giddings hits the nail on the head all the way through this essential woke-ology text. I would like to see something like this more globally, a history of Black Women’s activism throughout Africa and the diaspora.
On the one hand, it’s wonderful news to discover that time and again Black Women activists have recognized that no one is free until all of us free. While others seek expediency, or are willing to sacrifice the poor, or the darker-skinned, or non-male, Black Women routinely take a maximal approach. “Race” or “Sex”... porque no los dos?
The beginning chapters — slavery, reconstruction, lynchings, on through women’s suffrage — read as exciting history, a familiar story told from a for me unfamiliar perspective. But as we get closer to Giddings own lifetime the quiet, calm rage reaches a boil. After all the amazing work, the heroic struggles, the victories, to be betrayed by white feminists and black nationalists, to catch hell from all sides and to be told that it is precisely your strengths, your victories that make you a “matriarch,” a problem, the Problem... arrgghh!
In the end, a conclusion that quotes Sojourner Truth that Black Women can turn the world right-side up, rings true. The rest of us should just get out of the way and let them get on with it.
I love when a book points me at further reading, and although the selected bibliography here is of course sources from the 1970s and earlier (the book came out in 1982), there are so many amazing personalities, struggles and campaigns covered in such few pages that an appetite for more can’t help but assert itself. At the same time, certain other doors close, and I am thankful for the impetus to weed some male authors from my to read list. Bye bye, Paula Giddings destroyed you!

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paula J. Giddings is Professor in Afro-American Studies at Smith College. Her research interest are African American issues, feminism, and historical research. Giddings is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

This powerful historical narrative is based on years of research and draws from speeches, diaries, letters, and other original documents from African American women. Giddings offers this testimonial to trace the influences of African American women on racism, sexism, and classism throughout American history. Definitive definitions of feminism, racism, sexism, classism, and political injustices on African American women are discussed. This is a complete history of activists that blazed a trail of heroic precedents to initiate social and political reform.
Numerous African American female leaders are profiled. Those leaders include: Ida B. Wells, Mary McLeod Bethune, Fannie Lou Hamer, Anna Julia Cooper, Dorothy Height, and Mary Church Terrell. In addition to chronicling the history of African American women, Giddings discusses organizations that promote equality for women. Giddings provides inferences to the importance of sisterhood, cultural identity, and the need for African American women to participate in small groups that promote self-esteem, equal rights for women, and sharing history of the women’s movement.

Giddings says that African American women need the same power that prompted Anna Julia Cooper in 1892 to tell a group, "Only the black woman can say 'when and where I enter, in the quiet, undisputed dignity of my womanhood, without violence and without suing or special patronage, then and there the whole . . . race enters with me'" (p. 13).

[Arielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2017 Reading Challenge - A book recommended by an author you love (Patricia Hill-Collins)

I've read excerpts of this book for research purposes in the past. This was the first time I'd read it from front to back. Giddings is not only a thorough historian, she is a phenomenal writer, making this a engrossing read. The history covered begins with the abolitionist movement, quickly leading into the suffragette movement and goes up through the early eighties. Giddings lays out how patterns of movements for Black equality were used as stepping stones for White feminist actions and how Black women were the bridge to true equality. Giddings breaks down how White feminists fail to recognize this, time and again, resulting in the alienation of the very women (women of color) who facilitate broader change that benefits all women. Simultaneously, she examines the political activity of Black women who know racial equality is paramount for advancement, and how many of these race centered movements they helped build, ultimately fell short on women's issues. This is a book well worth reading.

[Markeshia Ricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've started and stopped this book a number of times since I bought it in 2014. This year, for Women's History Month, I determined to read it. And it is so good and so relevant for this historic moment of tension where the fight against systemic anti-black racism and for women's rights is back on the agenda. This book rightly ties the work and the roles that black women have always played to where they have always been -- at the center of it all. Black women are the links that hold the chains of both movements together because they labor under the double yoke of being black and female in a country that respects neither. This book was published in 1984 and so the last chapter is a short survey of what lies ahead in the 1980s. And my goodness if what she foretold of that decade doesn't read like what is happening in 2018, I don't know what does. This is a must read as relevant today as it was then.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time when I entered Spelman College and I have never been the same. To say that this book helped define my view of race, class and sex in America is an understatement. I had to purchase a new copy because my original copy from 1987 was falling apart.

Paula Giddings is brilliant. Her research and presentation allows you to understand the subject matter while drawing your own conclusions. She verbalizes the Black woman experience in a way that is still relavent in the 21st century. I recommend this book but have learned that there are some inconsistencies in this book and would caution anyone to accept what is written without doing their own research.

[Marcelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty comprehensive book that chronicles the history of black women from the time of anti-lynching campaigns to the 80's. The writing is very readable, but there are quite a few historical excerpts, dates, etc. so it's not exactly easy reading. Still, I thought the book was well worth the read and it gives ink to many black women/movements that do not get much recognition elsewhere, and elaborates on the division within "black" movements and "women's movements" and how black women have always been important, and yet never fully embraced in either catagory.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved When and Where I Enter. I've had this book for a while and I'm glad I finally picked it back up. Giddings gives an extensive history on black women in America starting from slavery until the 1980's. I learned some names and historical events that I wasn't aware of before. Great read.

[Jenny Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book in the 1980s. And from time to time, I refer back to it. It is still one of the best written histories on the social and political impact made by black women in the civil rights and feminist movements.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly helpful discussion of African-American women throughout American history and how their history interacts with that of white women. This helped me understand the overarching historical narrative much more than I had before.

[Cydney]

Re-reading one of my favorite sociopolitical accounts of African American Women's contributions to American history from a feminist perspective. I've got my eye on Sister Citizen, but wanted to warm up with this one first.

[Clarissa Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eloquent arguments about gender dynamics and feminism. Gidding's has a voice that isn't trite which is why I enjoyed this book so much. Also enjoyed her other works on black body politics. Highly recommend.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a long break from this, I finally decided to finish it, and I'm glad I did, as it was rather informative. The bit on Booker T. Washington was interesting, as you don't hear much negative commentary on him in general history notes.