Their experiences led Black women to develop qualities that did not conform to the 19th-century ideology of womanhood and therefore establish new standards of womanhood for themselves. Chapter 1 focuses on Black women’s lives and cruel mistreatment under slavery it considers enslaved women as targets of sexual abuse and outlines how they experienced equality in oppression, equality in their social relations with Black men, and equality in resisting slavery. Women, Race and Class begins with an overview of the status of Black and white women in the United States pre-Civil War. She wishes to show readers that we need to learn from past mistakes, demonstrating the potential for solidarity and the need to consider factors that go beyond one’s own interests. She seeks not only to bring light to the lives and contributions of Black women and working-class women, but also to highlight how the women’s rights movement marginalized these women, particularly during the fight for suffrage.

She divides her chronological analysis into four primary time periods: (1) slavery & pre-Civil War (2) Civil War & post-War Reconstruction era (3) end of the 19th century and the turn of the century and (4) overarching historical overviews with references to modern-day movements. Through her historical analysis, Davis analyzes the intersection of three topics, as reflected in the book’s title: sex, race, and class.

Additionally, this study guide contains sensitive and potentially triggering content when discussing portions of the book that concern rape and violence, including the cruel conditions of slavery. Readers should keep the publication year in mind, as certain data and circumstances that Davis references or relies on might have significantly changed since the time of its original publishing. This study guide refers to the paperback February 1983 First Vintage Books Edition of the book. The 1970s witnessed the continuation of several equality movements from the 1960s, such as the women’s rights, civil rights, and gay rights movements, along with continuing protests against a never-ending war in Vietnam.

Davis connects history to her own era on several occasions, using lessons learned from history to strategize solutions for the future. It is a chronological telling of the history of the women’s rights movement from the era of slavery to the time of publication (1981), especially as it relates the experiences of Black and working-class women in the United States. Women, Race and Class is a nonfiction book and historical study by author, feminist studies professor, and lifelong activist Angela Y.

Women race & class by angela y davis