Reflected Images of Black Women/Mothers
Lorena Amos
Contents of the Curriculum Unit
Overview
Rationale
Strategies
Objectives
Classroom Activities
Annotated Bibliography/Resources
Standards
Overview
“The way is not the rule of men over women. The way is never women ruling men.” (Armah p.30) This is not a sexist curriculum or does it necessarily promote feminism since “perfection is the complimentary elements of male and female principles”. (T’Shaka p.9) What this curriculum unit for will attempt to do is recapture the respect and reverence for the Black female. She was first and she must be the last. The images that are portrayed in the media and in some literature have forgotten and hidden the highest position of the Queen Mother, Mother Earth, and the Black Madonna. This unit will have students read literature, tour an art exhibit, watch movies, listen to stories, songs and speeches, interpret interviews, surf the internet and to design a creative piece that honors women.
What happened to the image of the Black Madonna- the Black Madonna who is still worshiped all over the world in shrines and vaults that are hidden from obvious view? There are instead images that justify calling Black females derogatory names. Many females use these images as role models. They don’t realize who really created these images in this sexist, racist society. This unit will examine the image of the ancient African female and compare the subsequent current images of the Black female. A working definition of matriarchal society and the Black Madonna must be researched. Students will use the concept of the matriarch to analyze visual and oral images and draw conclusions.
For substance the unit will
explore the different images in the media, literature, songs, speeches and live
interviews of Black females. The purpose of this unit is to inspire African
American twelfth grade world literature and language students to look at
themselves through the Black female and see beauty, honor and the responsibility
to contribute to make the world a better place. As Ella Baker said, “We who
believe in freedom can not rest”, we must liberate the image of the Black
woman.
I
researched about the images and role of the Black female from ancient times to
the present so that students can seriously study themselves to understand the
world and the kind of world they must help shape for the “children of the
great”. (Ptahotep p.32) African American students must study and standardize
images that reflect the ancient foundation of a myth. While teaching my students
the universal foundations of a myth, the foremost aspect was the matriarchal
society. Since I knew that the matriarchal society had its roots in Africa, I
wondered why this mantle was not upheld as a standard for all literature and
media imaging.
Historically, Africa’s grandmothers and mothers gave birth to humanity. The first upright fully developed human was discovered in Africa and said to be the origin of all humankind. She was named Lucy but others call her Amargi, meaning, “return to the mother...” (T’ Shaka p. 48). In her book, dark mother: African origins and godmothers, Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum traces the rituals and stories of her Sicilian grandmothers to the veneration of the “dark mother” and her values of justice with compassion, equality, and transformation. She researched that African migrants at Har Karkom created the oldest sanctuary of our oldest divinity in 40,000 BCE. Mrs. Birnbaum concluded, “Everyone’s genetic, beautiful mother is African and dark.”
Instead of receiving honor for this ancestral
gift, Black womanhood has been devalued by a white dominated mass media that
negatively represents the Black female. Many of the media images of the Black
woman/mother are downright degrading and sexually abusing. In most literature
the Black female has been perceived as tokens, stereotypes, mammies, Jezebels,
Sapphire, the tragic mulatto, the workhorse or conjure woman. (Boyd p.9)
Since we all have mothers, these negative images make it difficult for
the Black female or male to develop a positive self-concept or to use language
as a tool to pass on the traditional and cultural values. The youth accept these
corrupted images as role models to pattern their lives. Black females
particularly and all people generally must believe as Ntozake Shange, “ Where
there is a woman, there is magic”, so that they become “myth makers,
consciously evolving old myths and forging new ones as necessary.” (Nasta p.4)
How are a myth, matriarchal society, literature and
the media related? How much does literature effect and reflect society? How do
the images influence behavior? According
to the introductory pages of World Mythology edited by Donna Rosenberg,
myths relate the universal human condition, directing us inward to answer: Who
am I? Where am I? What is my role in the universe? Where am I going? Myths
motivate the reader to evaluate the content and direction of the past, present,
and future. Myths are serious stories that are symbols of human experience. Each
culture values and preserves these stories because they reflect the worldview or
important beliefs of that culture. The worldview of a myth is through the
matriarchal society.
In other cultures as well as in Africa the
people’s right to use the land came through the line of women, although,
according to the people, the land actually belonged to the ancestors. Queen
Mothers and noble women considered, chose, elected, carried, and if necessary,
aborted kings. They supervised and divided military and judicial
responsibilities with the king. The Queen mother was the source of the royal
right to office because she embodied the people’s wisdom. Matriarchal power in
ancient times made decisions concerning national life and foreign policy. That
power defined values and social behavior. In African history the royal women had
the role of leaders of the nation. They ran the civil administration, led
armies, promoted long-distance commerce, conducted diplomatic relations, and
engaged in extensive building projects. Queen (Pharaoh) Hatshepsut, the
Candaces, Queen Nzinga, and Nehanda, Saraounia, Queen Sheba, Fumilayo
Ransome-Kuti, Queen Amina, Nefetari, Queen Tiye, and Yaa Asantewa were some
examples. Through the matrilineal line, the dowry payment to the bride’s
family from the husband’s family affirmed that the wife was central in caring
and nurturing life. The dowry guaranteed that the woman was a valued, treasured,
respected, and essential member of the family, village and nation.
. The son or daughter’s most sacred obligation,
second only to god was to the mother. Respect for the mother was respect for the
nation, since the family was a reflection of the nation. Winnie Mandela has been
called “ Mother of the Nation” and Nyamumbaya of Zimbabwe was called
“Mother Freedom” because of their spirit for the freedom of Southern Africa
(Nasta p.9). Some writers and activists call their homeland “Mother”. The
king’s mother was a calming, wise, and sensitive force who tempered power and
courage. She was compared to an elephant that was said to symbolize great power,
long life, kindness and wisdom. Modern titles of mother symbolism have been Ma
Rainey, The Lady, Mamie Smith, and Big Mama Thornton. Each encouraged freedom
and self-identification. The image of mother has been that of the prophet trying
to impart what’s good and useful. The image should portray the woman as the
upholder of the cosmos law of harmony, truth, justice, balance and right order
as she has been historically revered, according to the scholars.
“The female is so central and essential that she
is sacred.” Oba T. Shaka, in Return to the African Mother Principle of Male
and Female Equality, also says that in the universe the female is the moon,
which is nurturing all life. Her high- minded consciousness sees the past into
the future. Women are maintainers, guardians, and instructors. Through her
motherhood she is life supporting. Women are the carriers of great cultural
vision, passing culture on to the children. The universal mother is the giver of
life and the taker of life. The universal goddesses were the Queen Mothers-
Auset – Isis, Cybele, Ishtar, Venus, Erzulie, Ixchel, Kali, Mother of the
Nation and Mother Earth.
It is said with the nurturing, giving, caring,
compassionate womb develops the power and wisdom to grow and develop.
Jessie Jackson compared images of water to images of a common womb.
Language is considered both a source and womb of creativity. It is a means of
giving birth to new stories, new myths and of telling the stories of a people
who have been silenced. Literacy is an act of freedom. It frees the imagination
of what could be for self, family, community and people. Language expression
should be the repository of culture and creativity.
(Arthur Flowers p.52) The youth must view their reality with models that
project transformation through the “ university of human experience” to be
“mo” better each time. The mother is the first teacher and oral literary
agent. As Malcolm X said, “ When you educate a man you educate an individual.
When you educate a woman you educate a nation”. The youth must educate
everyone by liberating the images of their Black mothers.
What
happened to the images of a people where the laws were so just and balanced that
in ancient times there were no words for jail? What happened to a people who
built pyramids so successfully that they have endured for thousands of years?
What happened to the sacredness of the universal mother, the ancient Earth
Mother that millions of people around the world make still pilgrimages for
healing, transformation, and inspiration? African people lost their traditional
and historical moorings. (Walker p.35) The world has been fed a historically
negative diet of Africa for hundreds of years. (T. Shaka). The world has been
taught to worship negative false images. Birnbaum documented the persecution of
the “dark others” in Europe. The justification of slavery perpetuated the
negative identity of African people. There was a conscious effort to destroy the
ancient matriarchal worship of Africa. Colonialism deprived the African woman of
the land. African women are now depicted as mules, carrying out backbreaking
tasks from dawn until dark. Black woman were actually forced to become breeding
machines; therefore, they were portrayed as loose, stupid, docile, obese, dark,
broad bosom, and handkerchief- headed Aunt Jemima. (de Weever p.31) The social
structure actually perpetuated lies about Black women. Black women were measured
according to western cultural and historical standards. They were forced to
conform or they were dehumanized. The word “woman” infers white woman. Black
women were even labeled by Moynihan as the cause of Black ills, although they
dominated nothing.
Now the images of the Black woman must fight just
to be human. They are at the bottom. To paraphrase Spike Lee, “ The people
have been bamboozled!” They embrace the materialistic despiritualized paradigm
where welfare, male dominance (not balance), the media, greed, lust,
enslavement- addiction, cost systems, conflict, and supremacy are the
socialization forces. (T’Shaka p.142) Now there is a battle to control the
minds of the youth. The memories of the “dark mother” that have been
submerged must emerge through the eyes and ears of the new mythmakers.
Strategies
We all come from mothers.
The act of literacy must be transformative- displacement of what is already
communicated and bringing forth what is not yet imagined. The lessons will
feature language expression that will mirror and affirm the identity and
tradition of mothers to name themselves and the students will speak for them.
Literary selections including stories, poems, memoirs, dramas, essays, novels, quotes, herstories and songs will be communicated, compared, analyzed and interpreted. Other media creations will be viewed or heard. An integration of communication skills and technology will develop growth in spoken, written and visual language. Students will be expected to read, reflect and discuss independently and in groups. Students will utilize the writing and reading process, view critically, interview responsibly, advertise effectively, debate persuasively, and research. Students will ask questions and seek answers, using the standard of the matriarchal society. A culminating activity will assess the students’ understanding and application of the image of the matriarch.
Objectives:
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Understand that one of the elements of ancient myths was the matriarchal society.
2. Describe the matriarchal society.
3. Describe the role of the universal Mother
4. Compare the image of the ancient Black woman with the image portrayed in the different forms of communication
5. Read literature and view other media to answer the question, “What is the image of the Black woman/mother?”
6. Use persuasive language in a debate and advertisement
7. Search and gather information using primary and secondary sources
8. Analyze and connect previous knowledge with acquired knowledge
9. Work, discuss and create cooperatively
10. Design a multimedia project portraying the Black woman/mother that makes connections, shows relationships and includes references to passages from literature, film, art, and music.
11. Design standards for rubric and evaluations
12. Evaluate a form of communication using a standardized rubric
13. Reflect and assess what has been learned and the learning strategies that were used
Classroom Activities
Display on a poster: “The
writer cannot be excused from the task of reeducation and re-generation that
must be done. The writer should march in front. The writer is the sensitive
point of the community” (Achebe)
Lesson One
Students will read World Mythology, pp. xvii and xviii and research the matriarchal society to be able to describe the matriarchal society. Students may use any other related resource,
Activity One
Write on the board: “What is the Matriarchal Society?” Divide the class in groups of three. Each student should have the responsibility of being the reader, recorder or reporter. Twenty minutes should be allotted to read the section. Each group should discuss the content and rewrite the key points to teach the rest of the class with text and visuals on a poster board.
Activity Two
The reporter from each
group will orally and visually teach the group’s interpretation of the
matriarchal society to the rest of the class.
Activity Three
From the information that was gathered by each group, have the whole class generate a list of characteristics of the matriarchal society and the role of the woman to be used as criteria to analyze images written, spoken or visualized.
Activity Four
Homework: Have students write an introduction to the class on the role of the Woman and the images that are presented everywhere.
Lesson Two
Students will view the video The Real Eve. On the board write: Why is the matriarch so important? What is the meaning of the image? Write key words and events. What needs to be further researched?
Activity One
As students watch the video have them answer the questions on the board and make a timeline, tracing the migrations.
Activity Two
Have students react to information on the video and add more characteristics of the matriarchal society and the role of a woman.
Activity Three
Homework: Find out from your family who is your earliest female ancestor? Trace the lineage from her to you. Describe her.
Lesson Three
Read creation myths to justify the role of a woman in the birth of a people.
Activity One
Have students read the creation stories from World Mythology pp. 170-177, 6-12, and 390-392. Students should read the stories in groups and retell the story to the class by role-playing. Have students find where the stories were created on the globe (Egypt, Greece, India). Students should select and define words that are unclear.
Activity Two
Students should discuss the commonalities of the role of the woman/mother of each myth and add any more characteristics of the woman/mother.
Lesson Four
Students will go on a Web Quest of the sites of the Black Madonna.
Activity One
Have students visit:
http://home.amigo.net/ma3/
www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/articles/articlesa/ethiopia
www.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/blackmdn.html
www.plotinus.com/black_virgins.htm
Activity Two
Students should select images to copy onto PowerPoint. Students should paraphrase what is important to give a virtual tour of the shrines of Black Madonna, explaining where each shrine is located, the significance of each shrine, and the relationship of the historical goddess..
Activity Three
Students will present their PowerPoint creation and evaluate the virtual tour for:
Distinct Visuals
The purpose of the Shrines
Location of each Shrine
An important fact about the Shrine
Activity Four
Students should compare the similarities and differences and add to the matriarchal list of criterion characteristics.
Activity Five
Students will write their own creation story, using the matriarchal characteristics.
Lesson Five
Write on the board: What happened to the image of the Black Woman/ Mother? Students will listen, read and compare “Ego Tripping” by Nikki Giovanni and “Aint I A Woman?” by Sojourner Truth.
Activity One
Have students just listen and write down images of the Black woman/ mother. Have students draw a Venn diagram to compare the two for similarities and differences.
Activity Two
Students should visit the library to research Queen Nzingha, Yaa Asantewaa, colonial taxes on land in Nigeria, South African pass laws, slave narratives, and African, Caribbean, and African-American anthologies. Have students read narratives by and about Black women.
Activity Three
As students discuss the narratives bring out the women’s stories. Have students generate a list of contradictions to the ancient role of the Black Woman/ Mother. Use such questions to generate discussion: What happened to the Black woman/mother? What events led to the disruption of her traditional role? How was her role described in the narrative?
Activity Four
Arrange a field trip to an African or African-American art gallery or have students look at a series of art images of Black women so they may determine how the images in fine art reflect the Black woman/mother. Have students critique the art by noting the frame, camera angles, point of view, background, setting, time, color, texture and design and description of the image. Have students answer the questions: What is happening? What information tells the role of the woman/mother?
Activity Five
From their notes have
students choose one of the art forms to write a narrative, story or poem with a
title that interprets the art.
Activity Six
Have students create a poem beginning “I Am …”(The inference is that we all are part of our mothers.)
Lesson Six
Write on the board: What are the stories of our women/mothers? Students will interview elders, black women/ mothers and interpret their stories on to quilts or storyboards.
Activity One
Have students listen to “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes. Ask students to write a narrative or a love poem, praising the memory of their mother, grandmother, a female in the room, or significant female.
Activity Two
Help students to generate questions to ask elder women at the community senior center. Example: What was your role as a woman/ mother?
What are some of your earliest memories?
How were Black women/ mothers portrayed in books and the media?
How have the images of Black women/mothers changed?
What advice would you give young people from the lessons you have learned?
Activity Three
Students will prepare to visit the senior center equipped with appropriate listening skills, ten questions, and the responsibilities of being the interviewer, recorder or cameraperson.
Activity Four
Students will print pictures from the digital camera onto a piece of cloth and write their elder women/ mothers stories.
Activity Five
Students will work with a community quilter to interpret the stories onto mixed media for quilts.
Lesson Seven
Students will evaluate media messages of the image of the Black woman/mother.
Write on the board: What is the image of the Black woman/Mother now? Students will link the past with the present to project into the future.
Activity One
Students should bring in a collage of images, sounds and written text that reflect the image of the Black women in their culture now. Have students read women’s narratives of Black women today in anthologies and magazine articles of well-profiled women. Have students map the cause and effect of the image of Black women/mothers now.
Activity Two
Have students watch “The Making of ‘Bamboozled’” by Spike Lee to answer the question.
Activity Three
Have students review a movie, television or radio program, music video, magazine, newspaper, music recording, commercial, ad, and any other observation of the Black woman/mother today. Have students electronically draw a chart to include the following information: What information did each depict about life and the culture? What was the purpose of the media – to entertain – to persuade – to inform? What was negative or positive? How did it attract attention? Who was the intended audience? What was interesting? What language was used to liven the point?
Activity Four
Have students write a persuasive essay to answer the question: What should be the imagery of the Black woman/mother? Students should state their opinion and list the arguments. They should organize the essay by matching the facts with concrete details. Students will present the essay effectively in a class debate. The class will develop the rubric to judge the effectiveness and images of the positions.
Activity Five
Have students write and visually produce an advertisement that characterizes the Black woman/mother. Included in the advertisement should be: the purpose – to entertain – to persuade – to inform, an attention getter, appealing features, sense of the intended audience, stimulating and manipulative language, distinctive fonts, emphasis on the list of criteria of the characteristics of the Black woman/mother. The form may be an event, a letter, an ad, a commercial, or an article. Students will need to use the Microsoft Publisher on the computer.
Lesson Eight
Write on the board: “Mother is the Metaphor for Literature.” How is language like a mother?
Activity One
Have students listen and respond to “Dear Mama” by 2Pac and Woman Poem by Nikki Giovanni.
Activity Two
Culminating Activity
a) Students will research an historical book about a particular Black woman or Black women/mothers in general.
b) Students will read a novel centered on the Black woman.
Activity Three
As students read they should seek the answers to the questions:
What standards are used to judge the images of Black women/mothers?
What images does the writer present to the reader of the Black woman/mother?
How do the setting, dialogue, culture, history, and conflict influence the images?
What figurative language is used and what is the interpretation of the figurative language?
What is the central theme of the story?
How does the image compare with the list of characteristics of the Black woman/mother?
Activity Four
1. Students will use the writing process and choose a creative presentation to the class.
2. Students should plan with the concepts that need to be revealed, the ideas needed to develop the concepts and the tasks and steps needed to produce the project.
3. Using the criteria, students will write a page, explaining how their project represents the Black woman/mother.
a) Select passages to write a script and create into a digital movie, using visual and auditory images. Let the setting, dialogue, music, lighting, and camera angle create the mood and depict the theme of the image of the Black woman/mother.
b) Write an epic poem.
c) Create a board game chronicling the role of the woman/mother.
d) Design a greeting card, t-shirt or tattoo that reflects the role of the woman/mother.
e) Write out a book of recipes for the role of woman/mother.
f) Create a dance or compose a song that interprets the role of the woman/mother.
g) Collect pictures from scanning, the digital camera, and images on the web. Put text with the pictures that explain the role of the woman/mother. Create a powerfully creative PowerPoint.
h) Produce an advertisement or commercial, featuring the Black woman/mother for the radio, television, or printed media.
i) Create a storyboard with cartoon characters.
Activity Five
Students will present their projects to the class. The following criteria is suggested:
a) The facts or parts of the novel or nonfiction material must be included.
b) The characteristics of the matriarch must be compared.
c) An integration of the past, present and future images of the Black women must be projected.
d) The imagery must clearly reflect a perspective for the positive image of the Black woman/mother.
e) Multimedia resources were used.
f) References to the passages from literature, film, art, music, and text were included.
g) Relationships and connections to the presenter, the audience, the classroom lessons, and the material presented were evident.
h) The theme of the presentation is obvious.
i) The theme is supported with powerful language expression.
j) The presenter shows control of the language and language conventions.
Activity Six
Students will evaluate their learning and the skills they acquired while completing the project.
1.
Journal
Writing/Learning Logs
A. Put the following quotations around the room at the beginning of the unit.
B. Have students choose one to respond to everyday.
1. “ Pay heed to the word of your Mother as though it were the word of a god.” Anonymous- 3000 BC Mesopotamia
2. “The most sure, but at the same time, the most difficult, expedient way to mend the morals of the people, is a perfect system of education.” Catherine the Great, Russia 1767
3. “Remember the dignity of your womanhood. Do not appeal, do not beg, and do not grovel. Take courage; join hands; stand beside us, fight with us.” Christabel Pankhurst, Suffragette, Britain, 1880
4. “Although they are only breathe, words which I command are immortal.” Sappho, Greece, C. 610-640 B.C.
5. “Now that you have touched the woman, you have struck a rock, you have dislodged a boulder, and you will be crushed.” South African’s Women’s Freedom Song, August 1956
6. “Because man and woman are the complement of one another, we need women’s thought in national affairs, to make a safe and stable government….” Elizabeth Cady Stanton, USA, 1869.
7. “When you educate a man, you educate an individual. When you educate a woman, you educate a nation.” Malcolm X, USA, 1962
8. “The Mother is gold.” Liberian proverb
9. “The man is the head, but the woman is the neck that guides him.” West African proverb
10. “The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people.” Ashanti proverb
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/art-act-09.html
Reflection and Evaluation
“I am because you are; because we
are; therefore I am.” The class will develop each rubric needed based on the
objectives but must follow the Language Model:
· A relationship, awareness and connection to the audience
· Concrete images
· Powerful images
· Alive and moving vocabulary
· Poetic with linguistic tools- metaphors, similes, alliteration, onomatopoeia
· Stylistically, creatively, dynamically, inventively, spontaneously, powerful
· Rhythmic pattern
· Substantial, functional
· Related concepts unified into a whole
· Indirect, inferential signifying
· An art form that is an action not a thing
· A call to audience to respond
· Emphasis on content and message that moves and unifies audience
· Persuasively artistic
· Original
· Narration determines word choice and sentence structure.
· Expressive of world views and analysis
· Brings order, harmony and peace
· Supporting details and examples
· Logical development and arrangement
· Evidence of language rules and usage
Bibliography and
Resources
Teacher Bibliography
Amadiume, Ifi, African Matriarchal Foundations, London: Karnak House, 1987.
This is a study of the history and description of the matriarchal societies in Africa and particularly in the Igbo culture.
Andrews, William L., Smith, Frances, Harris, Trudier, The Oxford Concise Companion to African American Literature, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Armah, Ayi, Two Thousand Seasons, London: Heinemann Educational Books, Inc., 1973.
This book traces the history of Africa and its disruptions, as a woman prophet keeps warning the people to practice “the way.”
- The Healers, London: Heinemann Educational Books, Inc., 1978.
This book gives the youth instructions that they are the healers.
Aubin, John J., Wisdom of African Mythology, Pinellas Park, Florida: Top of the Mountain Publishing, 1994.
Ayoade, Olayinka, Spirited Women, London: Black Ankh Publications, 1996.
This is a book that gives tribute to African women around the world.
Bannerman, Yedu J., Ghanaian Proverbs, Tema, Ghana: Hacquason Press
Birnbaum, Lucia Chiavola, dark mother: African origins and godmothers, San Jose: iUniverse, 2002.
Boyd, Julia, In the Company of My Sisters, New York: Penguin Group, 1993.
Bushy Margaret ed., Daughters of Africa, New York: Pantheon Books, 1992.
This book gives history and literature of Black women from ancient Egypt until the present.
Cade, Joni, ed. The Black Woman, New York: Signet Mentor Book, 1970.
Black women’s stories, poems and essays by Black women.
Damali, Nia, Hilliard, Asa G., Williams, Larry, eds., The Teachings of Ptahotep, Nia Damali, 1987.
Daniels, Harvey, Literature Circles, York, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers; 1994
This
is a resource for setting up discussion groups to read literature.
Echewa, Obinkaram T., I Saw the Sky Catch Fire, New York: Penguin Group, 1992,
In the oral tradition a great grandmother in Nigeria tells of the solidarity of three generations of women.
Fleming Robert, The Wisdom of the Elders, New York: One World, 1996.
This book is a list of words and proverbs from the elders.
Gale, Steven H., West African Folktales, Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Publishing Group; 1995
The book includes some helpful lessons with the folktales.
Gidding Paula, When and Where I Enter, William Morrow & Co., New York, 1984.
This book is an in-depth study of the
struggles and contributions of African-American women.
Granquist,
Raol, African Voices, London: Dangaroo Press, 1999.
African writers, including Chinua Achebe, are interviewed about their
opinions of the direction of African fiction.
Gyekye,
Kwame, African Cultural Values, Philadelphia, PA: Sankofa Publishing;
1996.
This is a study of common African cultures, beliefs, practices, and
rituals.
Harris,
Trudier, From Mommies to Militants, Philadelphia: Temple University
Press, 1982.
This is a series of essays on the image of the Black woman/mothers.
Hart George, Isis and the Black Madonna Shrines. A dictionary of Egyptian gods and goddesses, London: Roulledge and Kegan Paul, Inc., 1986.
Hooks Bell, Sisters of the Yam, Boston, MA: South End Press, 1993.
-Aint I A Woman, Gloria Watkins, 1987.
Both books concentrate on the author’s views on the struggle of Black women in this society for self-affirmation.
Lorde Audre, The Black Union, WW Norton Inc., New York, 1978.
This book of poetry focuses on the image of the Black woman/mother.
Nasta, Susheila, ed., Motherlands Black Women’s Writing from Africa, the Caribbean and South Asia, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University, 1992.
This is an anthology of women of color who have suffered the effects of slavery and colonialism.
National Education Technology, International Society for Technology in Education, 2000.
This is a resource for including technology in lessons.
Noble Jeanne, Beautiful Also Are the Souls of My Black Sisters, Englewood Cliff, NJ Prentice Hall Inc., 1982.
This is an anthology and the history of the Black Woman.
.
Rosenberg Donna, World Mythology, Chicago: Passport Books, 1989.
An anthology of the world’s great myths, and epics.
Shaka Oba T., Return to the African Mother Principle of Male and Female Equality Vol.I Oakland, California: Pan African Publishers and Distributors, 1995.
This wonderful book traces the history of African women from the first woman to the last.
Shallon Florence, Contemporary African Literature and the Politics of Gender, London: Rouledge, 1994.
Student Reading List
Abarry, Abu S., Asante, Molefi Kete, eds., African Intellectual Heritage, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996.
This is a collection of African speeches, feats, opinions, and movements from ancient history to the present.
African American Literature, New York: Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich, 1992.
This is a primary source of written text for students.
Armah, Ayi, Two Thousand Seasons, London: Heinemann Educational Books, Inc., 1973.
This book traces the history of Africa and its disruptions, as a woman prophet keeps warning the people to practice “the way.”
- The Healers, London: Heinemann Educational Books, Inc., 1978.
This book gives the youth instructions that they are the healers.
Bolden, Tonya, The Book of African American Woman, Holbrook Massachusetts: Adams Media Corp., 1996
Bushy Margaret ed., Daughters of Africa, New York: Pantheon Books, 1992.
This book gives history and literature of Black women from ancient Egypt until the present.
Butler, Octavia, Parable of the Sower, New York: Aspect, 1999.
As the country is falling apart because of the environment and economics, a teenage African American female has prepared to gather and sow those who survive.
- Wild Seed, New York: Warner Books, 1998.
A woman who has lived forever must defend her own survival against a man who collects and manipulates talents.
Cade, Toni, The Black Woman, New York: Mentor Books, 1970.
This is an anthology of writings by and about Black women.
Dangarembga, Tsitsi, Nervous Conditions, Seattle, Washington: Seal Press, 1989.
Because her brother dies, a young female gets a chance for education. This is a story of the comparison of two females coming of age in Zimbabwean town under colonial rule.
Duster, Alfreda M.,ed., Crusade for Justice, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970.
This is an autobiography of Ida B. Wells, who fought against lynching and also went around advising young African-American ladies.
Huston, Zora Neal, Their Eyes Were Watching God, New York: J. B. Lippincott, Inc., 1937.
This is the story of a Black woman’s identity and relationships with men.
Mair, Lucille Mathurin, The Rebel Woman, Kingston, Jamaica: Institute of Jamaica Publications Limited, 1975.
This book traces the status of the African women during rebellions against slavery.
Marshall, Paule, Reena and Other Stories, New York: Feminist Press, 1983.
This is a series of short stories written by the author.
McKissack, Patricia, Nzingha, Warrior Queen of Matamba, New York: Scholastic Inc., 2000.
This is the story of Queen Nzingha, who fought and fooled the Portuguese against enslaving her people in Angola.
Morrison, Toni, The Bluest Eye, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970.
This novel exemplifies the self-degradation from the mother to the daughter.
- Sula, New York: Alfred A. Knolpf, 1973
What will a mother’s love do?
- Song of Solomon, New York: Alfred A. Knolpf, 1977
Compare the mothers in the story. How do the setting and the environment affect their behavior?
Muli Wa Kituku, Vincent, East African Folktales, Little Rock, Ark.: August House Publishers, Inc., 1997.
Stories from East Africa have the characteristics of the matriarchal society.
Painter, Nell Irvin, Sojourner Truth, A Life, A Symbol, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
This is a biography of Sojourner Truth.
Rosenberg Donna, World Mythology, Chicago: Passport Books, 1989.
An anthology of the world’s great myths, and epics that gives the meaning and characteristics of a myth. This book is also a primary textbook.
Rubel, David, Fannie Lou Hamer From Sharecropping to Politics, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Silver Burdett Press, 1990.
This is a biography of the life and struggle of Fannie Lou Hamer, the civil rights activist.
Shange, Ntozake, Sassafrass Cypress & Indigo, New York: St Martin’s Press, 1982.
This coming-of- age female defines womanhood for herself.
-For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf, New York: Scribner, 1975.
This is a drama of women telling from childhood to womanhood what it means to be a Black woman.
Souljah, Sister, No Disrespect, New York: Vintage Books, 1994.
This book includes essays of personal feelings, revelations and analysis about life being poor, Black, and female.
Toomer, Jean, Cane, New York: Boni & Liveright, Inc., 1923.
This is a series of reflections of the Black woman from a man’s point of view.
Van Sertima, Ivan, ed., Black Women In Antiquity, New Brunswick: Journal of African Civilizations Ltd, Inc., 1984.
This is a series of essays of the influence of the ancient African woman on most aspects of culture and society.
Walker, Alice, In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens, Orlando, Florida, Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich, 1983.
This is a book of essays about literature, the author’s life and reflections of women/mothers.
Washington, Mary Helen, Memory of Kin, New York: Doubleday, 1991.
This is an anthology by many authors about members of the family.
Online Sources:
http://iupjpournals.org/ral/ral29-1.html
Students may use this site to research the images of Black women/mothers.
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/art-act-09.html
This site gives stories of Queens Amina of Nigeria and Queen Nzinga of Angola along with some quotes from women all over the world.
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/toc-01-.html
Students may read about Queen Hatshepsut, women’s rights in ancient Egypt, and Queen Amina of Nigeria and do the activities.
darkmother.net
This web site gives the author’s inspiration for writing the book and there is a section to e-mail her with comments and read the newsletter.
Audiotapes, Cd’s, and videotapes:
The Making of Bamboozled by Spike Lee, videocassette. Roadshow Entertainment, 2001. 130 min.
This movie gives an overview and the purpose of making the movie, Bamboozled showing the negative stereotypes of African-Americans in the past, and how African-Americans are embracing those same stereotypical images.
Me Against the World 2Pac, “Dear Mama”, audiotape. Interscope Records, 1995. 4 min.
The song, “Dear Mama”, gives a description of what’s happening with Black women/mothers today and how they are affecting their children. Students also will relate to 2Pac.
Our Souls Have Grown Deep Like the Rivers, audiotape. Word Beat, 2000. 120 min.
This is a two-volume set of original recordings of African-American writers.
The Real Eve, videocassette, Discovery Communications Inc., 2002. 120 min.
This video shows research that the first woman was from Africa.
The Truth is on its Way, poems by Nikki Giovanni, Collectibles Records, 1993. 4 min.
Tools and Resources:
Video camera
Digital camera
Scanner
CD burner
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Presentations
Microsoft Publisher
Paint
Photo Imaging
Web Designer
Photo Imaging
Paint
Appendix I-Content
Standards
Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Arts and Humanities Content Standards
Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Communications Content Standards
Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Citizenship Content Standards