Centering Ourselves

In this book the editors suggest an approach to the study of black women as communicators that centers the knowledge and wisdom conveyed through the 19th and 20th centuries both in the public rhetoric of notable black women and in ordinary women's everyday conversations. The goal is to present what is not found in other communication books and Joomals - an angle of vision on black women's rhetoric and everyday talk that both takes account of the material circumstances and ideological contexts of black women's communication and honors black women's interpretations of discourse. Although the authors employ a variety of contemporary communication concepts and theories, all make the traditions of African American feminist and womanist thought central to their analyses. In Part I a framework for liberatory research is proposed. Each author in Part II endeavors to provide concrete, socially useful description and critique of African American women's discourse. Three of the major themes that interweave in these chapters are multiple consciousness, the value of sisterhood and community, and the culture of resistance.