A Bridge Called My Back

Morgana’s preface to A Bridge Called My Back is personal to me as just this year I have defined myself as a woman of color. I am a diverse mix of African-American, French, and Hispanic descent. Most of my ancestry came to American as non-speaking English. My upbringing shared a large, colorful mixture of environment and cultural practice that I am blessed to experience. Thus, I have an open mind to accept all races and ethnicities. However, after reading the preface, I was unaware the context and meaning of woman of color compared to US women and abroad. Women over color in the preface (introduction) A Bridge Called My Back means so much more than I ever imagined.

The woman of color is contrary to the privileged white feminist movement. The United States concept of color began as “Japanese, Filipino, American, Chicana/Latina, Native American, and African American cultures” (Morgana XVI). However, the United States concept of color extended to include “Asia throughout global south indigenous North America” (Morgana XVI). The United States women of color are coming to the last twentieth century to “represent social conscious of identity, race, class,
and gender to female identities and liberation” (Morgana XIX). The United States class-based equal society distribution of wealth and resources. Therefore, women of color and working-class women are unrepresented. Women of all classes acknowledge unfair government treatment. Therefore women of color expand worldwide to Asia and Africa which cannot be ignored. Although women of color are unique to certain subgroups, A Bridge called my Back is more about the empowered earlier movements that laid the framework for the feminist color movement.
The women of color women's movement are like the women's movement. However, the women of color movement is a liberation movement for men of color as well. “Women of color served as a gateway and knowledge builders or silent oppression” (Morgana XXI). Above all the message of the thirty-five-year-old document is to act of a living testimony of women of color. Thus, the story awakens an archive of cross culture, color, and class to share a story with the nation. Furthermore, the literature is intended to progress through all generations to help others grow cognitively around the world to inspire empowerment, enlightenment, and
change. What I find interesting about the feminist and feminist women of color movement is it includes the liberation of men as well. I am perplexed on the issue, however. I resolve if women desired equal rights to men a redefinition of male autonomy is required. From my perspective, all gender playing fields required a level foundation. Therefore, removing experiences from the past of social bias, pop culture, and societal norms. Consequently, to do so requires a collectivist ideology. A collectivist view is comparable to the way the native American culture used all their talents collectively to strengthen and build their community. Collectivism is often found in third world countries as well. If the United States embraced, this concept, I believe it may bridge the gap to Unite all women and men and extending a worldview perspectives.

Works Cited:
Clark, Ken. HI/PHL 6803. Baker University, 2017. Web 7 June. 2017.
Moraga. Cherrie. Preface. Catching Fire Preface to the fourth Edition. Moraga, Cherrie and
Anzaldua, Gloria. New York Press, Albany: Suny Press, 2015. xv-xlvii, Print. < https://books.google.com/books?id=0j2fBgAAQBAJ&pg=PR15&dq=a+bridge+called+my+back&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q=a%20bridge%20called%20my%20back&f=false>.