Women, Race, & Class by Angela Davis is a work that describes the never-ending cycle of the divisions of Black American women: race, sex, and class, which trap them in positions that mimic slavery.

In Davis’ introduction, she makes the point that Black women are strong because they were born into the legacy of slavery, a system that forced black women into a position of “equal” oppression with domestic and manual labor. On the contrary, there were problems only Black women faced throughout slavery, like sexual violence.

The next part of the book focuses on abolition campaigns, like Seneca Falls in 1848, headed by the powerful white voices of the era. This convention failed to push an anti-racist narrative, which unfortunately embedded the same attitude in the organized fight for women’s rights. This vulnerability in the movement gave Sojourner Truth her platform, in which she asks, “Ain’t I a woman?” to drive home the fact that deserving, honorable women are Black too. Black women are situated in the lowest class of society. Often, this fact is overlooked under the same attitude of the Seneca Falls Movement: that feminists are not obligated to fight against racism.

In describing the white abolitionist attitude, the reader can see that white abolitionists either defended industrial capitalists or didn’t have a sense of class loyalty whatsoever. Angela Davis then adds a Marxist viewpoint to her work, where she uses the quote by Karl Marx, “(L)abor in a white skin can never be free as long as labor in a black skin is branded.” She stresses that white abolitionists often glanced over this view, especially when this point could fuel liberation.

A quarter of a century after slavery, Davis makes the connection that Black women were in conditions no better than slavery. These “economic opportunities” Black women were given still chained them to the divisions of race, sex, and class. The domestic labor forced upon Black women made them subject to further sexual violence and racism in the workplace, a unique form of oppression that their white counterparts would not know. The fact that Black women are subject to their own kind of oppression is overlooked and undermined. Angela Davis pays careful attention to this misconception, making this book a critical read.

Further in this work, the reader sees the conclusion that white women are notorious for erasing Black women from their conversations, conventions, and movements, trapping Black women further into the shackles of white supremacy. This connection further develops the fact that erasing Black skin and Black struggle only demeans the fight against racism, upholding white supremacy. Many activists were silent against racism, underestimated the power of institutional racism, or were misinformed. For example, at the Equal Rights Association’s first meeting, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a pioneer in the suffragette movement, argued that it was far more important for white women to receive the vote before black people.

About the rise of racism in the suffrage movement and how Susan B. Anthony encouraged her members to stay silent on the subject of racism, Davis states that “It was not women’s rights or women’s political equality but, rather, the reigning racial superiority of white people that which to be preserved at all cost.” These unacceptable attitudes towards black liberation made their programs fall short and left black women in inescapable situations similar to capitalism or colonialism, or essentially, eradicated egalitarian values to save face. White women had earned their place in the public sphere at the expense of Black women. This noncommittal stance on Black equality created a reluctant acceptance of racism and was counterproductive to the impact that white women tried to make. Certain activists who created sisterhood between Black and white women are highlighted, especially through education. Plenty of White women stepped up and taught Black women, despite violent hatred and public outrage, and did not let these extreme situations deter them from standing up for their values. However, the white men crafting legislature had the power to do so much more for equality, but failed. Elaborating on the race issue of the suffragette movement and stressing the ignorance of those in the highest place of society — white men — further develops Davis’ argument. This complexity and highlight of authority make this book an insightful read.

Toward the end of the book, Davis continues to stress black women’s strength and commitment to supporting Black liberation. She highlights black women in the club movement, stating that the women involved “were manifestly committed to the struggle of Black Liberation.” Unfortunately, elitism plagued their clubs and caused an obstacle to their goals. Mary Church Terrell, Anna Jones, Ida B. Wells, and Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin were monumental in their endeavors, yet they were betrayed by white women’s “activism” every time. All of these women’s separate goals are monumental, but the refusal of white women to stand in solidarity with their Black counterparts stopped them from further change. White women often pitted these powerful Black activists against each other. While reading, this inspired the question: If you could imagine the wide-scale change of their efforts, what would our society look like? And would it be further progressed than where we are now? Women, Race, & Class is a thought-probing work that forces readers to imagine change beyond one circle. In having this effect, Davis’ work is complex and inspiring at the same time, which was life-changing in putting politics into perspective.

Davis circles back to the fact that working-class women and black women were not accepted in the suffragette movement. In an attempt to expand the suffragette movement, Susan B. Anthony opened it to working-class women. However, she failed to realize that working-class and black women are fundamentally linked due to class exploitation and racial oppression and that capitalism was their common oppressor. Upper-class white women propped up white supremacy because of their racism. They actively fought for women’s rights within the narrow sphere of their immediate interests, further entrenching their roles as irrevocably female, nurturing, motherly, and nothing more.

In conclusion, the standard of white supremacy was counterproductive to the advancement of equality for women, and Davis makes a point that white supremacy was the leading factor that allowed sexism and classism to operate. Angela Davis has a distinct, engaging writing style that is not only inspiring but will change the way you analyze history. Davis’ work and research are reflected today, and this exclusionary practice can be seen in all modern movements. This call to be active in feminism, including every woman, regardless of race, is critical to the movement and social change to advance society as a whole. Overall, Women, Race, & Class is an eye-opening and necessary read. It established connections that not many would think about and offers a necessary analysis of Black women’s oppression through the centuries.