Black Women in American Society: A Resource Development Perspective

Abstract

There are alarming parallels between black women's position in American society and their place in social science research and literature. Black women have gone largely ignored by scholars who speculate upon or investigate ways to prevent psychological disorder. And black women are largely ignored by policy analysts who assess the impact of high rates of unemployment on society. They are largely overlooked by researchers who evaluate the impact of unemployment on its victims, as well. The unemployment of women in general, but most especially, the unemployment of black women, has not been considered a social problem. Two political and curricular efforts that might have been great sources of support for black women have not always come through. The Civil Rights movement and its academic counterpart, Black Studies, have focused largely on the problems and concerns of black men. The Women's Liberation Movement and its counterpart in the academy, Women's Studies, have been for and about white women. An informal survey of a half dozen psychology of women textbooks, for example, revealed a ceiling of three pages devoted to black women.