Our Lives: Canada's First Black Women's Newspaper

Last updated
Our Lives: Canada's First Black Women's Newspaper
Founder(s)
PublisherBlack Women's Collective
Founded1986
Political alignment Black feminist, left
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publication1989
Headquarters Toronto, Canada
Free online archives Rise Up! Feminist Archive

Our Lives: Canada's First Black Women's Newspaper was the first newspaper in Canada written by and about Black women. [1] Founded in 1986 by the Black Women's Collective, Our Lives sought to represent the lives, achievements, and struggles of Black women in Canada. [2]

Contents

Background

The Black press and anti-Black racism in print

Black activism in print in Canada began with anti-enslavement publications such as The Provincial Freeman that sought to counter the anti-Black racism prevalent in the Canadian press. [3] Our Lives cultivated this history by “create[ing] a free space, a place where [they] can talk as sisters”, and analyze their experiences with institutional racism, gendered racism, and anti-Black violence. [4] This dedication to Black women representation was part of a broader movement in the 1980s that centered "Black women's experiences, writings, and cultural production...to validate the lives of these women...and ...make them visible to the wider public". [5]

Racial uplift and Black consciousness

Our Lives was situated in a period of heightened racial unrest that produced actions like the Sir George Williams and Yonge Street uprisings. [6] They spoke, and contributed, to this moment by celebrating Black womanhood and by honouring Black women revolutionaries such as Marie Joseph Angelique, Harriet Tubman, and Anne Cools. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesbian feminism</span> Feminist movement

Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and critical perspective that encourages women to focus their efforts, attentions, relationships, and activities towards their fellow women rather than men, and often advocates lesbianism as the logical result of feminism. Lesbian feminism was most influential in the 1970s and early 1980s, primarily in North America and Western Europe, but began in the late 1960s and arose out of dissatisfaction with the New Left, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, sexism within the gay liberation movement, and homophobia within popular women's movements at the time. Many of the supporters of Lesbianism were actually women involved in gay liberation who were tired of the sexism and centering of gay men within the community and lesbian women in the mainstream women's movement who were tired of the homophobia involved in it.

Feminist legal theory, also known as feminist jurisprudence, is based on the belief that the law has been fundamental in women's historical subordination. Feminist jurisprudence the philosophy of law is based on the political, economic, and social inequality of the sexes and feminist legal theory is the encompassment of law and theory connected.The project of feminist legal theory is twofold. First, feminist jurisprudence seeks to explain ways in which the law played a role in women's former subordinate status. Feminist legal theory was directly created to recognize and combat the legal system built primarily by the and for male intentions, often forgetting important components and experiences women and marginalized communities face. The law perpetuates a male valued system at the expense of female values. Through making sure all people have access to participate in legal systems as professionals to combating cases in constitutional and discriminatory law, feminist legal theory is utilized for it all.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craftivism</span> Form of activism centered on practices of craft

Craftivism is a form of activism, typically incorporating elements of anti-capitalism, environmentalism, solidarity, or third-wave feminism, that is centered on practices of craft - or what has traditionally been referred to as "domestic arts". Craftivism includes, but is not limited to, various forms of needlework including yarn-bombing or cross-stitch. Craftivism is a social process of collective empowerment, action, expression and negotiation. In craftivism, engaging in the social and critical discourse around the work is central to its production and dissemination. Practitioners are known as craftivists. The word 'craftivism' is a portmanteau of the words craft and activism.

Womanist theology is a methodological approach to theology which centers the experience and perspectives of Black women, particularly African-American women. The first generation of womanist theologians and ethicists began writing in the mid to late 1980s, and the field has since expanded significantly. The term has its roots in Alice Walker's writings on womanism. "Womanist theology" was first used in an article in 1987 by Delores S. Williams. Within Christian theological discourse, Womanist theology emerged as a corrective to early feminist theology written by white feminists that did not address the impact of race on women's lives, or take into account the realities faced by Black women within the United States. Similarly, womanist theologians highlighted the ways in which Black theology, written predominantly by male theologians, failed to consider the perspectives and insights of Black women. Scholars who espouse womanist theology are not monolithic nor do they adopt each aspect of Walker's definition. Rather, these scholars often find kinship in their anti-sexist, antiracist and anti-classist commitments to feminist and liberation theologies.

Pro-feminism refers to support of the cause of feminism without implying that the supporter is a member of the feminist movement. The term is most often used in reference to men who actively support feminism and its efforts to bring about the political, economic, cultural, personal, and social equality of women with men. A number of pro-feminist men are involved in political activism, most often in the areas of gender equality, women's rights, and ending violence against women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intersectionality</span> Theory of discrimination

Intersectionality is a sociological analytical framework for understanding how groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these factors include gender, caste, sex, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, religion, disability, height, age, weight and physical appearance. These intersecting and overlapping social identities may be both empowering and oppressing. However, little good-quality quantitative research has been done to support or undermine the practical uses of intersectionality.

Black feminism, also known as Afro-feminism chiefly outside the United States, is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism. Black feminism also acknowledges the additional marginalization faced by black women due to their social identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicana feminism</span> Sociopolitical movement

Chicana feminism is a sociopolitical movement, theory, and praxis that scrutinizes the historical, cultural, spiritual, educational, and economic intersections impacting Chicanas and the Chicana/o community in the United States. Chicana feminism empowers women to challenge institutionalized social norms and regards anyone a feminist who fights for the end of women's oppression in the community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African feminism</span> Type of feminism

African feminism includes theories and movements which specifically address the experiences and needs of continental African women. From a western perspective, these theories and movements fall under the umbrella label of Feminism, but it is important to note that many branches of African "feminism" actually resist this categorization. African women have been engaged in gender struggle since long before the existence of the western-inspired label "African feminism," and this history is often neglected. Despite this caveat, this page will use the term feminism with regard to African theories and movements in order to fit into a relevant network of existing Wikipedia pages on global feminism. Because Africa is not a monolith, no single feminist theory or movement reflects the entire range of experiences African women have. African feminist theories are sometimes aligned, in dialogue, or in conflict with Black Feminism or African womanism. This page covers general principles of African feminism, several distinct theories, and a few examples of feminist movements and theories in various African countries.

<i>Azalea: A Magazine by Third World Lesbians</i>

Azalea: A Magazine by Third World Lesbians was a quarterly periodical for Black, Asian, Latina, and Native American lesbians published between 1977 and 1983 by the Salsa Soul Sisters, Third World Wimmin Inc Collective. The Collective also published the Salsa Soul Sisters/Third World Women's Gay-zette.

The Combahee River Collective (CRC) was a Black feminist lesbian socialist organization active in Boston, Massachusetts from 1974 to 1980. The Collective argued that both the white feminist movement and the Civil Rights Movement were not addressing their particular needs as Black women and more specifically as Black lesbians. Racism was present in the mainstream feminist movement, while Delaney and Manditch-Prottas argue that much of the Civil Rights Movement had a sexist and homophobic reputation.

Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, also known as the Voice of Women or VOW, is a Canadian anti-nuclear pacifist organization that was formed in 1960. The organization was created in response to an article in which Lotta Dempsey, a journalist for the Toronto Star, called out for action against the threat of nuclear war and asked women to work together for peace. After the article was published, a group of women contacted Dempsey and formed a women's organization called the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace. The organization's work has spanned multiple decades and is Canada's oldest feminist peace group.

Eve Zaremba is a Canadian mystery writer. She was active in the Women’s Liberation Movement in the seventies and eighties. She has published several novels focusing on Helen Keremos, a private detective who has been described the first lesbian character in literary history to be the main character in an ongoing series of mystery novels.

Indigenous feminism is an intersectional theory and practice of feminism that focuses on decolonization, Indigenous sovereignty, and human rights for Indigenous women and their families. The focus is to empower Indigenous women in the context of Indigenous cultural values and priorities, rather than mainstream, white, patriarchal ones. In this cultural perspective, it can be compared to womanism in the African-American communities.

Multiracial feminist theory is promoted by women of color (WOC), including Black, Latina, Asian, Native American, and anti-racist white women. In 1996, Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill wrote “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism," a piece emphasizing intersectionality and the application of intersectional analysis within feminist discourse.

Anne Bishop is a Canadian lesbian activist, educator, grassroots organizer and LGBT rights advocate.

Syrus Marcus Ware is a Canadian artist, activist and scholar. He lives and works in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is an assistant professor in the school of the arts at McMaster University. He has worked since 2014 as faculty and as a designer for The Banff Centre. Ware is the inaugural artist-in-residence for Daniels Spectrum, a cultural centre in Toronto, and a founding member of Black Lives Matter Toronto. For 13 years, he was the coordinator of the Art Gallery of Ontario's youth program. During that time Ware oversaw the creation of the Free After Three program and the expansion of the youth program into a multi pronged offering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ADEFRA</span> German political organization for Black women

Generation ADEFRA – Schwarze Frauen in Deutschland is a Berlin-based German cultural and political organization for Black women and other women of color. Founded in 1986, it is considered the first grassroots activist group for Afro-German women.

Pat Schulz was an influential Canadian feminist, revolutionary socialist, organizer and writer. She was the subject of the National Film Board of Canada documentary Worth Every Minute, directed by Catherine Macleod and Lorraine Segato. Toronto's Pat Schulz Child Care Centre is named in her honour.

The Canadian Women's Movement Archives (CWMA) is an archival collection documenting the second women's liberation movement in Canada. The collection includes archival documents in various media dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. The collection has been housed at the University of Ottawa Library's Archives and Special Collections since 1992.

References

  1. "Our Lives: Canada's First Black Women's Newspaper – Rise Up! Feminist Digital Archive". riseupfeministarchive.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  2. Lobo, Rachel (2019). "Archive as Prefigurative Space: Our Lives and Black Feminism in Canada". Archivaria. 87: 68–86. ProQuest   2518871875 via ProQuest.
  3. Silverman, Jason; Bellavance, Marcel; Rudin, Ronald (1984-12-01). ""'We Shall Be Heard!"; The Development of the Fugitive Slave Press in Canada". Canadian Historical Review. 65 (4): 54–63. doi:10.3138/chr-065-notes via Project Muse.
  4. 1 2 "Our Lives – Vol. 2, Issue 1 – March/April 1987 – Rise Up! Feminist Digital Archive". riseupfeministarchive.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  5. Wallace, Belinda Deneen (December 2020). "Our Lives: Scribal Activism, Intimacy, and Black Lesbian Visibility in 1980s Canada". Journal of Canadian Studies. 54 (2–3): 334–359. doi:10.3138/jcs-2019-0035. S2CID   234545699.
  6. Brand, Dionne (1998). "Notes for Looking Thru Race". Bread out of Stone. Toronto: Vintage Canada.[ page needed ]