Women And Black Men

Women And Black Men Biography

As a Black woman coming of age and living in the Deep South during

the civil rights movement, I had a deep concern for how Black people were

perceived and judged, especially by people who knew nothing about us. My

experiences during that time period fostered my fascination with writing autobiography. Historically, Black Americans have commonly employed the genre

of autobiography to tell their stories (Harris, 2003). It was originally a means

of appealing to White society for acceptance as human beings.

I find that writing autobiography gives me the opportunity not only to

explore my history from a personal perspective, relative to the political happenings of the times, local happenings, Black community events, academic

experiences, and other occurrences that somehow impinge on my life, but also

to revisit those times from a “removed” perspective. I am able to visit my life

as an “other.” I also examine my autobiographical writings in light of the many

ways I identify myself. The impact of these facts also affects how I respond to

my life events today, not only in my personal interactions but also in my interactions as an educator, with my colleagues, and with my students. Certainly

each teacher’s identity and understanding thereof also impact his or her interactions with his or her colleagues and their students, depending on the backgrounds and the identities of those colleagues and students.

Autobiography can also be a means to share one’s history and culture

with others. The production of autobiography opens avenues for individuals to

examine how the things their parents taught them, their formal education, and

Women And Black Men