Black History Month #1--Lucy Parsons

[bana05]

Lucy Parsons: Woman Of Will

For almost 70 years, Lucy Parsons fought for the rights of the poor and disenfranchised in the face of an increasingly oppressive industrial economic system. Lucy's radical activism challenged the racist and sexist sentiment in a time when even radical Americans believed that a woman's place was in the home.

Comments

[yalegirl03]

She is such a fascinating person. I first heard of her from the show History Detectives on PBS. I admit that one of the things that I find so intriguing is that her husband was a former Confederate soldier. Maybe it is the writer in me, but I wonder how they came to fall in love and how they became activists, especially her husband. I did not know that she was black until your post. The History Detective show never mentioned that.

[bana05]

The History Detective show never mentioned that.

Color me unsurprised.

I've been playing around with a story about a black woman and a confederate soldier and this is helpful--except my black woman won't deny she's black; in fact, she'll be undeniably black. But yeah, I haven't quite figured out their journey yet. If they want their story told, though, they'll tell me. :)

[senecasaurus]

you know, i've never seen any proof that Lucy, herself, ever denied her Blackness. Nor that she could have by all accounts--- especially by simply saying she was 'Mexican' like that was some sort of 'get-out-of-racism free' card in the late 19th/early 20th century US. I've only seen it alleged by those who see the politics of identity & ethnicity as an 'either/or' game-- like the wikipedia article author who thinks that her going by THE NAME HER PARENTS GAVE HER makes her ashamed of being Black-- because we all know Afrolatinas are a myth and EVERYONE born in Texas is/has always been 'American'.

Gary Nash wrote about this flattening of her story in his article (The Hidden History of Mestizo America in Sex, Love, Race: crossing boundaries in North American History by Martha Hodes). It's a brief mention but it speaks directly to what chaffes at me about how/where Lucia emerges in history.

[bana05]

especially by simply saying she was 'Mexican' like that was some sort of 'get-out-of-racism free' card in the late 19th/early 20th century US. I've only seen it alleged by those who see the politics of identity & ethnicity as an 'either/or' game-- like the wikipedia article author who thinks that her going by THE NAME HER PARENTS GAVE HER makes her ashamed of being Black-- because we all know Afrolatinas are a myth and EVERYONE born in Texas is/has always been 'American'.

That's actually less a knock on Mrs. Parsons and more on in my novel, she'll be undeniably black. Granted, I think, especially if she were a slave, she would be considered black, identified as black. But I agree that this false dichotomy between being Latin and being Black unnecessarily muddies things. The terms aren't, actually, mutually exclusive. And if more people studied the history of the West, they would realize they were actually very inclusive and not as separate as believed.

[egretplume]

Thanks for this fascinating post!

[bana05]

you're welcome!

[recumbentgoat]

i only learned she was black a couple of years ago myself and never knew what had happened to her wrt her husband. would you mind posting this in blackhistory? Or if i linked to it here?

[bana05]

Sure! Go forth. :)