Sisters of the yam : black women and self-recovery

263 Pages·2015·0.82 MB·English

by  hooks

Sisters of the Yam
In Sisters of the Yam, bell hooks reflects on the ways in which
the emotional health of black women has been and continues
to be impacted by sexism and racism. Desiring to create a
context where black females could both work on their
individual efforts for self-actualization while remaining
connected to a larger world of collective struggle, hooks
articulates the link between self-recovery and political
resistance. Both an expression of the joy of self-healing and
the need to be ever vigilant in the struggle for equality, Sisters
of the Yam continues to speak to the experience of black
womanhood.
A cultural critic, an intellectual, and a feminist writer, bell
hooks is best known for classic books including Ain’t I a
Woman, Bone Black, All About Love, Rock My Soul,
Belonging, We Real Cool, Where We Stand, Teaching to
Transgress, Teaching Community, Outlaw Culture, and Reel
to Real. hooks is Distinguished Professor in Residence in
Appalachian Studies at Berea College, and resides in her
home state of Kentucky.
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Sisters of the Yam
Black Women and Self-Recovery
bell hooks
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First published 2015
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an
informa business
© 2015 Gloria Watkins
The right of Gloria Watkins to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77
and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First and second editions published
by South End Press 1994, 2005
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
hooks, bell, 1952–
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Sisters of the yam : black women and self-recovery / bell
hooks. — 3rd edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. African American women—Mental health. 2. Self-esteem
in women.
3. Self-actualization (Psychology) 4. Oppression
(Psychology) I. Title.
RC451.5.N4H66 2015
155.8’496073—dc23
2014023035
ISBN: 978-1-138-82167-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-82168-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-74316-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Garamond MT Std
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
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Celebrating the life and work of Toni Cade Bambara whose
visionary insight, revolutionary spirit, and passionate
commitment to struggle guides and sustains.
“Just so’s you’re sure, sweetheart, and ready to be healed,
cause wholeness is no trifling matter. A lot of weight when
you are well.”
—Toni Cade Bambara, The Salt Eaters
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Contents
preface to the new edition: reflections of light
introduction
healing darkness
1.seeking after truth
2.tongues of fire
learning critical affirmation
3.work makes life sweet
4.knowing peace
an end to stress
5.growing away from addiction
6.dreaming ourselves dark and deep
black beauty
7.facing and feeling loss
8.moved by passion
eros and responsibility
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9.living to love
10.sweet communion
11.the joy of reconciliation
12.touching the earth
13.walking in the spirit
selected bibliography
an interview with bell hooks
index
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Preface to the New Edition:
Reflections of Light
When I wrote Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism
more than forty years ago, the chapter that most spoke to me
was “Continued Devaluation of Black Womanhood.”
Concluding that chapter, I wrote:
Widespread efforts to continue devaluation of black
womanhood make it extremely difficult and oftentimes
impossible for the black female to develop a positive
self-concept. For we are daily bombarded by negative images.
Indeed, one strong oppressive force has been this negative
stereotype and our acceptance of it as a viable role model
upon which we can pattern our lives.
Since I first wrote these words, the white-dominated mass
media have changed little in the way in which they represent
black women. We have changed. In the last thirty years black
women have collectively challenged both the racism and
sexism that not only shape how we are seen but determine
how everyone interacts with us. We have resisted continued
devaluation by countering the dominant stereotypes about us
that prevail in white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy by
decolonizing our minds. Here decolonization refers to
breaking with the ways our reality is defined and shaped by
the dominant culture and asserting our understanding of that
reality, of our own experience.
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