Clenora Hudson-W eems, PhD Africana W omanism and Barack

Once again, Hudson-Weems, with her keen insight and wisdom, brings clarity to the discussion
of the African American. Presently, her Africana Womanist analysis of Michelle Obama is a
breath of fresh air, particularly in the current arena where the American media has struggled
to understand and categorize the Black woman who would be First Lady. Her analysis of
the gender politics that loomed large in the election of 2008 is required reading for one seeking
an alternative to the dominant feminist perspective that is often divisive—and dismissive of the
continuing role of race and racism in the American body politic. Bravo Clenora!
Pamela D. Reed, PhD, Columnist, The Daily Voice and Affirmative Action Register, and
author of I am Barack Obama, in progress.
Bullies beware: Dr. Clenora Hudson-Weems is a fighter. Whatever your “ism,” she will
knock you flat with wisdom, wit & a human-sense approach to life that demands fairness.
As a seasoned social, cultural & political thinker, she’s wholly unafraid of any worthy fray or
controversy as was Till for her. Yet there is another component to this intellectual warrior’s
makeup, which runs though her writing as it does her life—the notion of the redemptive spirit.
In Clenora’s view, the shelf-life on hatred has expired. It’s time to usher in a new era, built
on the ideals of remorse, atonement, forgiveness & reconciliation. With redemption as our
referee, grace returns, hope endures & life regains its promise--Things worth fighting for.
Barry Morrow, Oscar Award-Winning Co-Writer of Rain Man, and Producer
Clenora Hudson-Weems, PhD
Clenora Hudson-Weems, Professor of English
(UMC), received the PhD (U. of Iowa),
M.A. (Atlanta U.), B. A. (LeMoyne College)
degrees, and a Certificate of French Studies
(L’Université de Dijon, France). She is author
of Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves
(Bedford, 1993); Africana Womanist Literary
Theory (Africa World Press, 2004); two books
in her Emmett Till Trilogy-- Emmett Till: The
Sacrificial Lamb of the Civil Rights Movement
(Bedford, 1994; AuthorHouse, 2006); The
Definitive Emmett Till: Passion and Battle
of a Woman for Truth and Intellectual Justice
(AuthorHouse, 2006); and editor of the third
of the Till Trilogy--Plagiarism—Physical
and Intellectual Lynchings: An Emmett Till
Continuum (AuthorHouse, 2007). She is also
co-author with Wilfred D. Samuels of Toni
Morrison (Prentice-Hall, 1990), and editor
of Contemporary Africana Theory, Thought and
Action: A Guide to Africana Studies (Africa
World Press, 2007). Forthcoming is her
first novel, Soul Mates. She has completed
a movie script, “Unearthing Emmett Till:
Passion for Truth” (Barry Marrow, Oscar
Award-Winning Co-Writer of Rain Man and
Producer). Her current work is on the Plight
of Black Farmers and Land Owners as an
Emmett Till Continuum. She is also featured
weekly discussing her blueprint for positive
relationships, Emmett Till and World Unity
on WBAI FM Radio---”Under the Learning
Tree”--NYC
Africana Womanism and Barack Obama
One of the most illuminating things in this handbook is the explication of Africana Womanism,
named & defined by Clenora, which is a concept designed for all women of African descent.
Actually, it includes all women and by extension, their male counterparts, as solidified in Teri
McDuffey’s “Song of the Human Race” (pp.137-8 in this book)--all human life began in
Africa: “Oh Say Can’t You See/Our roots are from the same big tree./That crosses land and
sea/The one tree of humanity.” A powerful book, culminating in the union of a collective
body, it reflects a phenomenon, via the election of one who is himself the embodiment of that
union, thus, symbolizing the new birth of harmony. We are sisters, mothers, family--the
neighborhood in politics--leading to activism in the application of a Universal Africana
Womanism (see page 175) for the ultimate development of the community, human soul &
spirit.
Zabby, WUSB.FM -- Stony Brook University Radio (“A Woman’s Perspective on
Politics”) and Public/Government. Access Television, New York
This book, advocating unity as a panacea
for all societal ills, expounds on an authentic
paradigm for all African Diaspora women,
using Africana Womanism as a grid on which
to erect their private and public personae.
Done within the context of our cultural,
historical matrix, the current controversial
debates surround the historic presidential
election. Beginning with a clear definition
of the term, advocating the prioritization of
race, class and gender as a workable strategy
for ensuring total parity in a racist, classist and
sexist world, the book ends with a collective
struggle with men and women of all races,
in a fashion which the Africana womanist
has represented in her co-partnership with
her male counterpart, a necessity for human
survival of all people, since our destinies are,
indeed, interconnected in a complex sociopolitical manner.
Africana Womanism & Race &
Gender in the Presidential Candidacy of
Barack Obama is the story of authenticity,
human survival, economic security and racial
healing for all America. Culminating in
a political edge on the subject, it logically
and convincingly moves from the proper
naming and defining of the Africana woman
in Part One, including identifying the 18
descriptors for the true Africana woman and
her co-partner, to commentaries in Part Two
on the biggest obstacle for Black people-racism. The book exposes how racism
insidiously impacts upon personal and public
relationships, such as the vicious assault on
Black womanhood, misogyny, in the media
by Don Imus. It continues with the race
monster visibly “rearing its ugly head” in the
current historical moment, as it unfolds in the
ascendance of a Black man, Senator Barack
Obama, to nominee for the Democratic
Party for the President of the United States
of America, surprisingly winning, to many,
over Hillary Clinton, a white woman. Clearly
the aspiration of the American people is the
assurance of a better life for all, ensuring
unity and financial security, no matter the
race or gender of the selected head of state.