In 1969, Frances M. Beal wrote a powerful analysis of the struggle for liberation faced by black women in the United States. Her essay "Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female" became a classic feminist text and an important exploration of feminism, race and oppression in 20th century U.S. society.
In "Double Jeopardy," Frances M. Beal wrote about capitalism and racism, which she said were intertwined in denying the humanity of all people, especially the humanity of black people. She also argued that neither black women nor black men had been able to understand the "true nature" of the forces working against them. Here are a few of the major problems described in Frances Beal's important essay:
- Economic Exploitation of Black Women
Many African-American women had to work in the homes of white people, cleaning, cooking and even raising their children. A black woman often became the breadwinner for her family, finding herself taking care of white children while being unable to be with her own children all day. Furthermore, the most "degrading and dehumanizing" jobs were always relegated to black women. Frances Beal cited U.S. Department of Labor statistics that showed white males earned the most, followed by non-white males and then white females with non-white females last. She also criticized the labor movement, which failed to combat racism or male chauvinism of employers.
- Sterilization
"Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female" described the then-current campaign to promote sterilization as "perhaps the most outlandish act of oppression in modern times." The tactic of trying to control the population of non-white communities masqueraded as birth control but was actually a kind of "surgical genocide." American Peace Corps programs in foreign countries, black communities in the United States and the island of Puerto Rico were all the sites of massive sterilization campaigns, according to Frances Beal, in order to maintain the "power imbalance" between the haves and have-nots - whites and non-whites.
- The Capitalist Destruction of the Black Male
Racism in the U.S. capitalist system had made it impossible for black men to find meaningful productive work. Not only did this mean many black women were the sole breadwinners for their families, but many black women had accepted the "capitalist evaluation of manhood" that black men were "shiftless and lazy." This had brought immense devastation to black communities. To make matters worse, the newest lie since the growth of the Black Power movement was that black women were somehow responsible for the social and political emasculation of black men.
"It is true that our husbands, fathers, brothers and sons have been emasculated, lunched, and brutalized. They have suffered from the cruelles assault of mankind that the world has evek knowl However, it is a gross distortion of fat to state that black women have oppressed black men. The capialis Ssten found it expedient to oppress the and proceeded to do so ewihout consulation or the signing of any agreements with black women."
- Frances M. Beal, in "Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female," published in Sisterhood Is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings From the Women's Liberation Movement, 1970.
- Relationship to the White Women's Movement
"Double Jeopardy" contrasts the white women's liberation movement with black women's struggles. White women, to some extent, were engaged in intellectual protest, while black women were facing a very real life and death struggle on a day to day basis. White women's groups with anti-racist or anti-imperialist ideology were related to the black struggle, Frances Beal wrote. Groups that thought the only problem was male chauvinism or men's pleasure, as opposed to racist, capitalist systems, were not relevant to the black woman's struggle against exploitation.
Frances M. Beal continued to work for social justice, peace and civil liberties in the decades following the publication of "Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female."