“Black feminists often talk about their feelings of
craziness before becoming conscious of the concepts of
sexual politics, patriarchal rule, and most importantly,
feminism, the political analysis and practice that we
women use to struggle against our oppression. The fact
that racial politics and indeed racism are pervasive
factors in our lives did not allow us, and still does not
allow most Black women, to look more deeply into our
own experiences and, from that sharing and growing
consciousness, to build a politics that will change our
lives and inevitably end our oppression.”
-Combahee River Collective Statement