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Gloria Anzaldúa
Gloria Anzaldúa
Gloria Anzaldúa was a Chicana queer feminist. Anzaldúa grew up in Texas with a large Chicano population around her. She began working in the fields where she struggled with chronic pain. Anzaldúa recognized that minority communities in Texas faced many injustices and barriers including language and finances. In 1972, Anzaldúa earned her master's degree in English and Education from the University of Texas at Arlington. Anzaldúa joined the "Feminist Writers Guild" where she experienced racism and classism. Anzaldúa began recognizing how her identities as a Chicana, lesbian, and lower class affected the way she was treated in the writing industry. One of Anzaldúa's most popular books is Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, published in 1987. It was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Library Journal and it became a temporarily banned book from 2012-2017. In 1991, she was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Award in Fiction and Sappho Award of Distinction (1992). Anzaldúa passed away in 2004 due to complications with diabetes. In her honor, there have been many awards named after her including the Gloria E. Anzaldúa Award and Gloria E. Anzaldúa Poetry Prize. In 2007, the Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldúa was created to carry on Anzaldúa's passion for literature and providing a safe space for scholars of all backgrounds.
bell hooks
bell hooks
bell hooks was a writer, feminist, and critic. hooks grew up in segregated Kentucky where she struggled with economic and racial hardships. hooks turned to writing as an outlet to express herself, however her family discouraged this as women, especially Black women, weren't encouraged to write. At 19 years old, bell hooks wrote her first book, titled Ain't I a Women: Black Women and Feminism. In 1973, she earned her bachelor's degree in English from Stanford University. In 1978 she professionally published her first book, a poetry book called And there we wept. Ain't I a Women: Black Women and Feminism and one of hooks's most popular works Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center became pivotal to the intersectionality of feminism. hooks found that feminism shouldn't be centered around privileged women, but also the women who face multiple forms of oppression. hooks established the "Sisters of the Yam," an organization that supported and celebrated Black women. She won various awards including the Best Poetry Award (2013) and the American Book Award (1991). In 2018, hooks was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of fame. hooks had a great impact on feminist theory and literature which brought up conversations centered around intersectionality.
Mabel Ping Hua Lee
Mabel Ping Hua Lee
Mabel Ping Hua Lee was born in Guangzho, China and immigrated to the United States at 5 years old. At 16 years old, Lee participated in the New York City suffrage parade (1912). During the feminist movement, Lee recognized her white counterparts didn't include women of color in their conversations. In 1914, she published The Meaning of Woman Suffrage and delivered a lecture to urge Chinese women to educate themselves as a form of empowerment. In 1921, Lee became the first woman in the U.S. at Columbia University to earn a doctorate in economics. Lee also fought for her citizenship and voting rights as a Chinese American and encouraged others in her communities to do the same. In 1924, Lee founded the "Chinese Christian Society" that was a resource for immigrant families to receive healthcare and English classes. Lee's impact on feminism and intersectionality inspired women of color to speak out against discrimination within the feminist movement.
Anna Julia Cooper
Anna Julia Cooper
Anna Julia Cooper was born into enslavement until she was 9 years old. Cooper had her mind set on educating herself, so she attended the Saint Augustine Normal and Collegiate Institute in North Carolina. She found herself struggling as many courses were only allowed for male students. To combat this, Cooper advocated for herself and was able to take courses such as Greek and Latin and National Museum of African American History and Culture. Cooper then went to study at Oberlin College in 1881, where she also had to push herself into male-only class courses. She graduated Oberlin with her bachelor's and master's in mathematics. Cooper also earned her doctorate at Paris’ Sorbonne University at 65 years old. This accomplishment made Cooper become the fourth Black woman in the U.S. to earn a PhD. During her time, Cooper wrote and advocated for education and activism. She published a book titled Voice from the South: By a Black Woman in the South (1892) that focused on empowering Black women through education. Cooper co-founded a number of organizations and committees including the Colored Women’s League and became the first woman member in the American Negro Academy. In addition, she recognized the multiple barriers she faced based on her race and gender identity. Cooper's legacy still lives on today to empower others through education.
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