The Impact of Gender and Intersectional Identity in Slave Communities

Study the Masters by Lucille Clifton

like my aunt timmie.

it was her iron,

or one like hers,

that smoothed the sheets

the master poet slept on.

home or hotel, what matters is

he lay himself down on her handiwork

and dreamed. she dreamed too, words;

some cherokee, some masai and some

huge and particular as hope.

if you had heard her

chanting as she ironed

you would understand form and line

and discipline and order and

america.   

-  Callaloo 22.1 (1999) 54

Greetings, Class. 

In this course, we are exploring the ways gender and intersectional identity may have impacted the experiences of enslaved people.  This poem by Lucille Clifton may help us to unpack some of the complexities associated with gender in slave communities.  

from http://clclt.com/charlotte/not-just-black-history-america-i-am/Content?oid=2774133

Consider how gender (male or female) and intersectional identity (Black/African and female) impacted the individual experiences of people in enslaved communities.  You may include examples from the The African American Odyssey or another form of previous knowledge.  Feel free to include links and additional resources as examples. 

Yours truly, 

Dr. Hill