Benjamin Fasching-Gray's Reviews > Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment

I especially like when Collins uses non-academic statements from black women talking about their own direct experiences to illustrate her points. I found myself quoting some of that in my day to day conversations with people.

There were a couple of moments where I was like, "Is it weird to be a white dude reading this?" But I think, even though there are sadly very few black women in my environment right now, that it is all somehow extremely relevant. Collins makes the point a few times that Black Feminism isn't just about combining antiracism with antisexism or just about the struggles of African(-American) women but it's about a broader social justice for everyone. Certainly anyone who is working for justice in any way would benefit from this book, and really anyone who doesn't want to be working for injustice...

When I read a book as dense as this, I don't try to get everything and 'unpack' everything. I figure, it'll make sense if I read further or one day I will read another book, or have some other kind of experience and then it'll make more sense. This edition has a glossary but I never checked it. Some reviewers talk about how academic it is, or note that it is a textbook, and there is the story in here of one of Collins' students who asked her to write a version of the book "for teenagers." I didn't think it was all that heavy. I think it all made sense to me. There are probably some things that will make more sense later, and I probably have forgotten more than I remember, but it's in there somewhere, like seeds beneath the snow to use a lovely cliche.