Category: Black Power Movement

Synopsis: The history of postwar Oakland is often reduced to a tale of inevitable urban decline or black political radicalism—interpretations that parallel national narratives but neglect many of the unique complexities of Oakland. Robert Self expands beyond this conventional view by demonstrating how the political culture and urban space of Oakland were strategically impacted by a spectrum of historical actors. American Babylon specifically describes the rise of urban black power politics and white homeowner conservatism from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the enactment of Proposition 13 in 1978. These two political movements grew out of the same racial inequalities that manifested in debates over the distribution of metropolitan benefits in the 1940s and 1950s and metropolitan costs in the 1960s and 1970s. American Babylon refutes the urban-suburban binary and complicates the decline of Oakland from a prospective “industrial garden” to an “exploited colony” strangled by the “white noose” of suburbanization. Just as the greatness of Babylon was blemished by corruption, so also the idyllic vision of Oakland was poisoned by spatial processes that favored capital over liberalism.

Oakland’s postwar leaders initially attempted to develop an “industrial garden” in which industrial development would complement suburban residentials. Boosters attracted both white and black laborers to the city to reap the benefits of New Deal liberalism. Oakland suburban property-owners, in turn, attempted to entice businesses by lowering taxes, enforcing racial restrictions, and transferring the costs of development to the city. Federal lending policies, local zoning laws, and private protective associations intentionally displaced working-class communities, limited progressive policies, and disenfranchised African American labor in the name of urban renewal. The construction of the Bay Area Rapid Transit System, port facilities, and interstate highways further exacerbated the urban crisis. According to Self, segregation was not the result of a reactive “white flight” but it was deliberately inscribed into the Oakland landscape. Many African Americans were relegated to impoverished civic spaces, who responded by cultivating their own political culture. Self provides a nuanced account of black power politics that acknowledges a diversity of advocates and distances black power activism from the Southern Civil Rights Movement. The black power movement was “a creative outgrowth of earlier efforts, not a radical and failed break from them” (Self 218). The failure of the War on Poverty to address structural barriers such as employment discrimination caused many African Americans to abandon the “industrial garden” vision and recharacterize Oakland as an “urban plantation.” African Americans finally took control of City Hall when Lionel Wilson became the first black mayor of Oakland in 1977 but the city was on the brink of a fiscal crisis. Corporations increasingly resisted or struggled to share the burden of taxes. As a result, although suburban homeowners were one of the most heavily government-subsidized groups, white property-owners initiated a tax revolt that resulted in the passage of Proposition 13—the nation’s first property tax limitation measure. Property, as the ultimate embodiment of capital, was synonymous with power and its possession thus justified denying African Americans freedom. Although a tragedy, American Babylon moves beyond the trope of the black ghetto by illustrating how African American communities were shaped by and responded to white conservativism.

The twelve pieces that I will talk about is all connected to the reading and videos that we have done for the weekly assignment. It will describe how each of the stories intersect the pieces that I have chosen which is basically the similarity of them. Some of the pieces could be from the online article that I have chosen to work with it. The weekly assignment that we have done so far is: feminism, union workers, Afrocentricity, black power, slavery, from plantation to ghetto, national association of colored women, reconstruction after math, 2nd reconstruction and the great depression. Some of the pieces that I will talk about which interact with these topics is ‘ain’t I women’, ‘A black nationalist manifesto’, and ‘the selling of slaves’. More of them will be included to describe the story. I would also talk about how the history have changed from before until now and how these stories have changed it.

One of the pieces that I chose ‘ain’t I a woman’ is similarly to black feminism. Black feminism is something that makes changes or make a challenge to change the society. Black feminism is also an activist who had challenged such inferiority. They have confidence and strengthening in the writing and in public careers. Where ain’t I woman is a speech that delivered extemporaneously. They both have their own position in relation to the experience of being women and can’t be grasped in terms of being black. Ain’t I a Woman also known as anti-slavery speaker. Her speech was delivered at the Women’s Convention and didn’t originally have a title. Where black feminism is something that raised a issues with practical appropriate for other women. Black women and ain’t I women both have experience with sexism, racism and how they had struggled both individually and to overcome almost overwhelming obstacles. Ain’t I a Woman represents to move black women beyond silence and to mainstream of feminist discourse which white women have tended to monopolize over the past decade. It was an argument that ignores black feminism to uninterested in feminist concerns. But black feminism has a good unique vision which develops strong bond of women. They have developed survival skills that will be useful in today’s world at large. They have a special view of reality that come from being enclosures. Their moment has made things improve and they realized to begin those views as a form of power.

Now I will talk about the Black power and one of the pieces that I think interact which is a black nation manifesto. Black power was a revolutionary that happened ages ago. It emphasized racial pride, economic and politics. Black power is a name for different associated ideologies aim at achieving and political slogan. Black power is something that replaced the nonviolent movement which was powerful. They made an organization to puts frustration of the black population and police brutality, then by that time, many people joined the movement of black power to arm themselves and prepare for the struggle for freedom. Where black nation manifesto has the similarities, which was launched in 1967. In their organization, it was claimed that they had recruited enough member in London during the impact in Britain. Where black power got a foothold in Britain. Black power and the black nation manifesto they formed in team together and they worked with the U.S black panther party in 1967. Together they protested outside the U.S embassy in support of the U.S black panther funder, who was on trial for murder in New Haven, Connecticut. They also made a slogan together, which was ‘you can kill a revolutionary but not a revolution’. Which was powerful enough to make a movement and make a change in people.

The national association of colored women and whenever the colored man’s is elevated, I think they are alike each other in different ways. Their motto is strong enough to empower something. The national colored women have the motto ‘lifting as we climb’ which demonstrate an ignorant and suspicious is their aim and interest are identical with those of all good aspiring women. Where colored man motto was ‘I will sink or swim with my race.’ Which moderate that he will fight for his rights. They both made a positive change in the society and made a change in the African American community by improving the lives of impoverished African American. They both fought their right, which was like violence and race. This is also interacting with Idea B and Julia Anna where they fight against black, poor school and the failure of black people to fight for their rights. Despite all the danger they encourage the black residents. Everything has changed from how it was before, it’s all because they each have fought for their rights.

Everything connects with each piece and different point of view. Also, I want talk about the pieces that interact with slavery. Slavery abolition and ‘the selling of slave’, they are similar to each story. In both stories, black and white wages a biracial assault against slavery. Abolitionists focus attention on slavery and made it difficult to ignore. They highlighted that had threatened to destroy the unity of the nation. Slavery has existed, in one form through recorded human history. They have been sold and traded to different countries, it was a harsh moment where there wasn’t any sympathy toward them. They have been affected with many kinds of diseases, but no one was willing to save them. In the 19th century, many abolitionists united to form numerous antislavery societies. These groups sent petitions with thousands of signatures to congress, conference and gave innumerable speeches for their cause. Some individual abolitionist sometimes advocated violent means for bringing slavery to an end. Sometime white and black worked together to save slavery, while many other white abolitionists focus only on slavery, black Americans tended to couple anti-slavery activities with demand for racial equality and justice. They tired their best to overcome this slavery and in today’s life nothing that happen anymore.

The story of the ‘plantation to ghetto’ and ‘black soldier return from WWII’ is really much alike to each part. They both talk about the black history, which has generally been grounded between two historic struggles, one of them is civil and another one is modern civil right moments. The black soldier was treated very differently than how they should have been treated. African American participated in every war fought by the United states. As the other people of the country watched World War I across the European, African American citizens saw an opportunity to win the respect of their white neighbors. Still they were considered second-class citizens. While it’s still discriminatory, the army was far more progressive in race relations than the other branches of the military. In both stories they have been fighting for changes, the historical period of the civil rights movement brought tremendous changes to the African American community. The growing social and economic power of black working class began to impact the American political system in today’s society.

Now I will focus on talking about the reconstruction era and restoring the south to the union. Also, the African American workers, which was involved in the era. The reconstruction era in American history, which was from 1863 to 1877. There was changes in ended slavery and making the newly freed slaves’ citizen with civil rights. In reconstruction era, there were some visions of the civil war memory that appeared during the reconstruction: the reconciliations vision, the white supremacist and equality for African American. So many of the southern united states were destroyed during the reconstruction era. Plantations and farms were burned down, and their crops were destroyed. The south needed to be rebuilt. To rebuild, it lasted 14 years. Also, African American abolition of slavery was changed due in time as today, but they are still filled with hardship. African American worked with wages no more than one dollar. It was harder in the reconstruction era than now it improves in a better way.

The reconstruction era is also same similarities to the 2nd reconstruction era. The 2nd reconstruction is a little bit different that made a change. On the second reconstruction act it was made two changes to the first. It is that every voter recites the registration oath promising them support and their obedience to the law. The first reconstruction act left the states in confusion while the second act answer this problem. Second reconstruction act also warned first remonstration act in the method of counting votes. It was an era that always puts up a challenge to teach. At first, it was a time of tremendous political complexity and far reaching consequences. They are often an obstacle to a deeper understanding of the period. It was a movement that occurs after the end of world war II. The nation began to correct civil and human rights abuses. The 2nd reconstruction era created something positive in many ways. They also made a newly freed slaves citizens and civil right moment guaranteed by the three new constitutional amendments. They were the era that the attempt of the federal government of the united states to resolve the issues of the American Civil war.

Another piece that I want to talk about which connect with Afrocentricity is race and Pan African identity. Afrocentricity is a method that considers no phenomena can be apprehended adequately without locating it first. Afrocentricity is a paradigm based on the idea that African people should reassert an agency in order to achieve sanity. And pan African is something that did came at the beginning of the 20th century, which they both are similar to each other. One of the major political traditions was largely created by black people at that time. Pan Africanism is a movement that aim of unifying and uplifting the African nation and African community. They both are powerful, which has cultural, political aspects and historical evolution. Afrocentricity also becomes a revolutionary idea because its study idea, event and political. Both stories are politically involved to change and make things improve.

Now I will talk about one of the pieces ‘union workers’ that interact with African American workers. Union worker is an organized group of workers who unite to make a decision about the condition after affecting their work. It brings economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our nation. The union worker played an important role for independence. It also became part of American culture. Back into civil movement, some of the workers like African American were treated differently, they had low wages than anything else. It was tough for them when one was standing up for them. African American is known to have participated in labor action. They also played a dominant role. They created an African American labor movement which helps union workers to get better wages and more improvement. After their hardship and with low wages, they had to step up and make things change, it was a movement that changed many other things by the union workers

Resistance, Reform, and Renewal in the Black Experience is another story where African Americans have created themselves. They constructed their cultural identity in a country that denied them citizenship and human dignity. African American people were the foundations for the construction of a black American society that was achieved its specific interests. Similarly, the Black Power movement that arose when the weakness become evident. Also, Floyd McKissick, in his endorsement of black power, who have established the black capitalist venture of Soul City. Also, on the other hand, Black Panthers embraced a Marxist analysis of capitalism. They base its ideology on a concrete analysis of concrete conditions. African American fought for their Black freedom. There is also a museum about the African American that portrays the story of them. It’s a museum about history and culture. Their many of the arts was collected from the African American resistance across the history of American. Resistance has had real consequences whenever the political perspective from which African American struggle for freedom.

The great depression is another story which interact with black Workers in the Great Depression. In the great depression some African Americans were successful in their lands and farms, this also became difficult for them to deal with because of the economic crisis which was began in the rural south. Many of the African American people moved out because of the oppressive economic conditions. As the price of wages fell, many of the black began to migrate to the northeast and midwestern states. Many of the jobs disappeared and the worker was struggling with the great depression. African American families were the most people that were in a bad situation without any support. At this time, unemployment rate for white was 31% where the unemployment rate for African American people were 50%. While the Black people came to north for a job, the job that they were supposed to get were given to white people. As a result, so many poor farmers were evicted from their land and federal government did little to intervene. It was an awful moment for African American that the Agriculture administration paid farmers to destroy their crops in order to increase market prices. African American people always face hardship than anything in this world.

These whole stories intersect with different things in different ways. They whole have similarities where they fight for the changes and for the right. These stories tell us how history was back then with a lot of hardship and how it changed rapidly after keep fighting. It was hard back in old age to fight something when people barely get support. Most of them were poor people who always face difficulties, there was no equalities or fair concern. African American where the most people where they get in trouble, there was an ugly discrimination between each person. If they didn’t step forward to fight for their rights, then today would have been something where people see them differently than anything else. As I mentioned, African American workers are always left out with low wages and barely get any job, it was really complicated for them. Because of their hardship and fighting for their own equality everything has changed today. History have changed so much than before, so for the African American community. One of the examples could be that, in the old days when African Americans were a slave where people sell them and make them do all the work, but nowadays it’s not the same anymore, it’s changed everything and into well improvement. There still racism exists, but it happens sometime, when things like that occur people step up and help them. Every story has changed the social movement into something better. Everyone gets treated in the same way with better rights. Throughout the history, it keeps changing and will change more as long as we keep fighting for something good.

In conclusion, the whole pieces of the story have changed the whole society. Everything is improved so much better. Everyone has fair equality and judgment. Black worker wages are also something that changed which don’t affect them or anyone anymore. In today’s real world, African American is doing much better than anything else as far as I noticed. Nothing would have been changed without fighting for their rights. Each of the pieces of the story changed something that society would never forget, they are the history that would always stay in life. The progress of African American is so inspirational, they have come so far. It’s also amaze me how strong people can be. In today’s real life, most of the African American people consider themselves as middle class member. It’s also beautiful to see everyone lives together. Their organization was the most amazing thing to me that I feel like it helps them to get over a difficult situation. Life is amazing and it can always change, we all just have to fight for justice and rights, that’s the movement of society.

The phrase ‘blaxploitation’ already implies the medium was used by Hollywood to exploit blackness, or black bodies, through stereotypical characterization and glorification of violence in these films (although few characters were depicted as heroes). The films Shaft and Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, is credited for the invention of the genre, but its inception began further back with films such as Uptight, as they depicted Black Power ideology on screen in earlier periods. These films brought light to the black experience and allowed black actors to control their own narrative, often depicting issues that were ignored in mainstream cinema. Sweetback and Shaft, both inspired by Black Power ideology, integrated Marxist elements, while using violence and sexual tropes to enhance storylines. The films were considered controversial for their stereotypical depictions of black people, but some (or many, etc.) said they depicted forms of black life that were neglected in mainstream cinema and television. Often low-budget features, they formed an avenue for performers and filmmakers to come together and create these stories. The films in which Grier starred — Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974), Sheba, Baby (1975), and Friday Foster (1975) –featured elements similar to those seen in earlier blaxploitation films, mixing gritty naturalism with sex and violence, whilst sensationalizing social issues present in the film. In her most famous roles, Coffy and Foxy Brown, she combined these elements to create characters who exude sex appeal while using savvy to outsmart the bad guys, sometimes being stripped of their dignity and power to reach their objectives. So was she a powerful heroine or an unknowing victim of exploitation?

Pam Grier was discovered by Jack Hill, noted film director in the exploitation genre, after her move from Denver to Los Angeles to secure acting gigs, while working on the switchboards at American International Pictures. While working at AIP, she worked other odd jobs to save money for film school at UCLA. Her first film credit was as a party extra in Russ Meyer’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, before she secured starring roles for American International Pictures. Meyer was a filmmaker known for sexploitation flicks starring voluptuous women, and Grier obviously fit the bill. In the party scene where the band The Kelly Affair is performing, she is seen among a group of partygoers, but so briefly that if you blink you’ll miss her. Her role was not prominent as she did not speak but merely served as a curvaceous fly on the wall. The following year, she starred in two women-in-prison films, The Big Doll House and Women in Cages. In the former film, she played a lesbian prisoner who assists her fellow cellmates to escape from their island prison, and in the latter, she starred as a sadistic prison guard with a penchant for torture. Grier then cut her teeth on small roles in early blaxploitation flicks, Cool Breeze and Hit Man, a film more famously adapted as Get Carter.

Screen grab from Black Mama White Mama w/ Pam Grier (right) and Margaret Markov (left).

She then went on to perform in two other women-in-prison flicks, The Big Bird Cage and Black Mama White Mama, an exploitative remake of The Defiant Ones. In these films, nudity was shown so much, you’d think it was the best thing since sliced bread. Black Mama White Mama starred Grier, who played a prostitute, and Margaret Markov, a revolutionary, who plan to escape prison together even though they hate each other. Regardless of the film’s exploitative nature, it is empowering for starring two strong female leads. Revolutionary Karen Brent (Margaret Markov) seeks to overthrow a corrupt government while Lee Daniels (Pam Grier) conjures up a plan to exact revenge on her misogynistic pimp. Black Mama White Mama shows that two women from different backgrounds can band together and defeat the system despite their differences. Their strength overpowers the men around them when they use their intelligence, sexuality, and firepower to break free from dangerous situations. The film also had elements of Black Power, which also showed up in Grier’s later work. Despite playing a prostitute, Grier showed audiences one of the first roles that did not show black women in a subservient light (Simms, 2006). She wears her hair natural in an Afro and is seen as an action heroine, traits which both present an antithesis to the Mammy figure (Simms, 2006).

In Coffy, Pam Grier stars as the film’s titular character, a nurse who seeks revenge on those responsible for her younger sister’s heroin addiction. After the success of Coffy, Pam Grier went on to feature in more starring roles such as The Arena, where she again co-stars with Margaret Markov, Foxy Brown, Friday Foster, and Sheba Baby. Through these successes, Pam Grier ultimately became the undisputed queen of blaxploitation films. Jack Hill designed the role of Coffy specifically for Grier, even allowing her input on the dialogue in the production stage in hopes of creating a more authentic character.We first see Coffy feigning for a quick fix in exchange for sex unbeknownst to the dealers who discover her in their car’s backseat. After going back to their apartment for an assumed tryst, she stands up with her gun cocked and declares, “This is the end of your rotten life, you motherfuckin’ dope pusher,” blasting the dealer’s head off while the camera cuts to his henchman’s look of disbelief. She asks the henchman if he is familiar with her sister Lubelle, to which he refutes before being injected with a lethal dose of heroin. This introduction to Coffy shows how she is able to use her feminine wiles and beauty to facilitate her revenge. She is able to fluctuate between militant Coffy and sexy Coffy, maneuvering between the two identities whenever she sees fit. The film drew on the sexual victimization of women while allowing the subjects to fight back against their subjugation.

Grier’s role as Coffy came in the wake of the Black Power movement, which fostered the rise of black female revolutionaries like Angela Davis and Kathleen Cleaver, which “served to contain the threat” that was posed with being a strong revolutionary (Johnson, 2012). Her sexual objectification in these films were used to placate the fear and anxiety she causes when seeking her revenge, while reinforcing the stereotype of the angry black woman. For example, in a scene from Coffy where she attempts to thwart the assault of her friend Carter, she ends up getting assaulted herself, shown in a position with her blouse ripped open, exposing her breasts. She is disempowered and humiliated while fighting back against the burglars. The black female action heroine is used in place of real revolutionaries to reinforce the idea that they posed a threat to society. Grier was rendered a glamorous sex symbol because directors at the time wanted toto control the imagedea of the revolutionary black woman by, setting them in an inner-city characterized by drugs, crime, and violence.

This is done intentionally to distort the image of the black revolutionary that was seen as a dangerous weapon threatening the status quo, feeding into society’s fear of black militancy by usurping it with sexual deviance through the eyes of the overly, aggressive black female. Foxy Brown was released in 1974, the same year Elaine Brown assumed the position of party chair to the Black Panther party, giving audiences a more palatable image of the revolutionary. Foxy Brown reinforced the notion of black women being seen as threatening while redirecting their rage onto “othered whites — whites who are drug dealers, prostitutes, lesbians,” white people who deviate from societal norms and become the heroine’s primary focus (Johnson, 2012). Regardless, we can see how being seen as a threat and a symbol of Black Power can be empowering as it denotes strength and the ability to summon fear into others. This is especially significant for women, since women are more often seen as weak and inferior.

Movie poster for Coffy (left) and Foxy Brown (right). Courtesy of IMDb.

Lakesia D. Johnson asserts that the promotion for the films Coffy and Foxy Brown were used to contribute to mitigating the fears of the increase in militant black men and women. Johnson presents three images, which include the film poster for Coffy and two other promotional images depicting scenes from the film. The movie poster for Coffy juxtaposes images of violence and sexuality, showing Coffy’s exposed stomach and a halter exposing her large breasts while she totes a gun. Her size in relation to the other characters, and particularly a black man positioned between her legs, professes dominance, establishing “a clear hierarchy where black men are subordinate to black women” (Johnson, 2012 pg. 49). The image of Pam Grier towering over the other characters reaffirms the myth of the emasculating, strong black woman usurping the weak black male. I saw the images representing Grier as the focal point of the film, since she is amplified on the posters.

The second image shows Coffy at a party capturing the gaze of those both black and white, using her sexuality to gain the attention of her target, simultaneously having the attention of a black man and a white woman gawking at her breasts. The third image shows Coffy in a revealing dress preparing to shoot her target. These images combine sexuality and violence to minimize the black female heroine’s “latent danger through her erotic appeal” (Johnson, 2012 pg. 50). We can see a similar focus on her sexuality in the trailers for Coffy, which mostly consisted of scenes showing Grier disrobing and seducing her prey. Another instance is the film’s tagline “They call her ‘Coffy’, and she’ll cream you!”, a sexual innuendo alluding to the what could be seen in the film. On the other hand, we could view these images as a form of empowerment, amplifying her strength and ability to use her sexuality to conquer her surroundings. The black female heroine was not a victim of her environment, but a super woman who is able to use her brains and beauty to destroy her victims. By assuming the role of the militant and sexual version of the lead character, she is able to achieve her goals of delivering justice.

Sexy vs. Militant

Coffy was ahead of its time for its use of a strong female lead and particularly a black woman lead. Although she had some input on dialogue to make Coffy more authentic, Pam Grier did not have complete control over the development of Nurse Coffin. Jack Hill wrote the script specifically for Grier after her turn in The Big Doll House, using the women-in-prison genre as a nexus to feed into the genre’s “quasi-feminist dimensions (Quinn, 2012, pg. 270). Coffy’s roots were “heavily masculinist”, with the bulk of the film’s production involving men who sought to produce “male-driven filmic fantasy” (Quinn, 2012). This was not entirely the case, though, as she did have a say in the conception of Coffy. Grier, like many other black actors of the period, sought to take control over the central narrative by “[adding] elements to the characters and scripts in… to make the movies more dimensional” (Quinn, 2012, pg. 270). Grier worked on the script for free with Hill, but the film’s producers did not offer any assurance that she would land the role. The directors used Grier as free labor to gain insight into a “life they weren’t familiar with” incorporating black and female social matters to develop the film’s generic formula— this exemplifies the racist division of labor in filmmaking.

Grier had a strong following among black men, but held influence over black women as well for redefining black female sexuality, beauty, and womanhood, and straying from the typical portrayals of black women as mammy-fied and haggard. Women across all ethnic lines also responded to Grier’s roles positively. In Pakistan, women were not allowed to be depicted showing skin, fighting, or holding guns, so moviegoers instead found Coffy in underground theaters. The violent action sequences are “feminine coded” since Coffy feels “ambivalence towards the violence she perpetuates” and uses weapons which feminize the violence, such as wigs and razor blades and kitchen staples like sugar and knives (Quinn, 2012, pg. 278). Hill created a character that any woman could envision herself as— not one trained in fighting or holding a gun, but one who could use her beauty and eroticism to exact her revenge.

Coffy and Foxy Brown both exploit Grier’s beauty and sexuality to its advantage, with the films’ primary focus surrounding Grier’s cleavage and “the fetishistic treatment of Grier’s sexual body via her breasts”, exemplified by the numerous seduction scenes involving her disrobing to expose them (Dunn, 2008, pg. 880). Women’s bodies were still being objectified and seen through the male gaze, but veiled as sexual liberation. Women were sexually objectified in these films to offset the rise of women’s liberation, allowing men’s titillation to be “augmented by the graphic violence that usually followed the sexual display (O’Day; Tasker, 2004, pg. 203). Despite this, it allowed black women to be seen as assertive and heroic, doing all the things men had done in blaxploitation with a sense of agency.

These portrayals often showcased black women’s bodies as more attuned to black nationalism while denying the needs and desires of the black woman. The Black Power movement asserted that feminism was simply a white woman’s issue, and female centrality could not coexist alongside antiracist ideals. An example is the scene where Foxy Brown goes to a local black community organization to receive help to take down Ms. Kathryn’s prostitution ring. Foxy is seated before a poster depicting a nude black woman, while an all-male council, positioned as overshadowing an image of Angela Davis, decides her verdict. This scene minimizes Foxy’s needs by upholding black nationalism and “privileging a male perspective, while diminishing the existence of black revolutionary women” (Johnson, 2012). Foxy’s sexual assault is minimized in place of avenging violence against black men. The privileging of black men’s needs are presented through Foxy’s revenge.

When Foxy is held captive, she is tied down and bruised, with one of her captors drugging and sexually assaulting her. She eventually escapes and burns down the shack with her captors inside. Foxy has to handle her vengeance herself without the aid of the black male figures. Instead of her final act of revenge being centered around her rape, her suffering is diminished in favor of “a narrative that privileges justice for the black male characters”, with her own vindication being placed on the backburner (Johnson, 2012, pg. 55). An example is when the Black Panther brothers castrate Ms. Kathryn’s boyfriend, Steve, who was not even responsible for Foxy’s rape. Foxy then presents a pickle jar containing Steve’s genitals to Ms. Kathryn, which could be seen as a symbol of the emasculation of black males through their sexuality. This reinforces the values that were present during the height of the Black Power struggle, forcing women to sacrifice their bodies for the cause, in turn neglecting their wants and desires.

Tamara Dobson’s kung-fu fighting CIA agent, Cleopatra Jones, was considered to be more classy, in comparison to Pam Grier’s portrayals of street-wise, scantily clad women. Some scholars assert that there was a “bourgeois-versus-street” rivalry between the two portrays, as Cleo was more respectable, “leading to an under acknowledgement of the latter’s class flexibility. Coffy was able to maneuver herself between middle-class and working-class settings, being able to remain comfortable in both. Grier represents a dichotomy of the street and classy, nurturing and vengeful, being able to navigate both the low-class and high-class worlds. Although for Dunn, she purports that Coffy and Foxy Brown positions “real black femaleness” in a facile rendering of “lower-class black females in the figure of the prostitute or hot mama” (Dunn, 2008, pg. 116). But Coffy works as a nurse, placing her between upper-working and lower-middle classes. By functioning between these two worlds, she is able to move secretly and disguise herself to her targets. Coffy and Foxy Brown both pose as prostitutes, using their sexuality to control the situation at hand. Instead of being forcibly stripped naked, which happens more than once, they both are able to distinguish between a woman who is “in control of their sexuality and [women] who are exploited” by others because of it (Clark, 2006). Grier accommodates the typical male heroic figure to fit she and what black women represent.

The following year, Pam Grier starred in Sheba, Baby and Friday Foster, playing a private eye and magazine photographer respectively, deviating from the hypersexual roles she played earlier on screen. Despite playing more “classy” characters, she was still being sexualised in these films. In Sheba, Baby, Grier plays Sheba Shayne, a private eye confronting those attempting to take over her father’s insurance business, and eventually father’s murder. In these films, she still had to be groped by the bandits she pursued, as if they fondle her, it would lessen her power and curtail her pursuit. In Friday Foster, she is seen as a damsel in distress, as she is the target of death, instead of being the one handing out beatdowns. This was also unusual for the time as black women were rarely painted as women in need of saving. Friday Foster features Grier in an obligatory nude shower scene, although this is the only time Grier is seen naked throughout the film. Grier’s roles showed that women did not have to be masculine to have power and that they can stand up for themselves.

Film critic Nelson George asserts that Pam Grier remains one of the few female actress who were given roles that “emphasized her physical beauty but also her ability to take retribution on men who challenged her” (George, 1995). Being one of the first action heroes, Grier was instrumental in shaping gender roles by portraying strong female characters who not only used their sexuality, but were able to renounce those trying to cause harm, embracing vigilantism in the process. She showed that women were able to addressed with deference, not to be seen as victims, but survivors of their circumstances. I still view her as a symbol of empowerment, as she was able to perform roles that were not afforded to women previously. Her presence on screen showed audiences that she demanded respect in spite of her sexualization. I have realized that I can enjoy watching her films, but still be able to note the flaws and critique them. It doesn’t mean that I will like the films any less. She redefined what could be seen as beautiful and feminine for women, especially African-American women. At the time she came onto the scene, it was rare to see women fighting on screen and toting guns, exemplifying that women embody vigor as well. In the end, Pam Grier was more of an empowering figure than one who was subjugated by the powers that be.

The twelve pieces that I will talk about is all connected to the reading and videos that we have done for the weekly assignment. It will describe how each of the stories intersect the pieces that I have chosen which is basically the similarity of them. Some of the pieces could be from the online article that I have chosen to work with it. The weekly assignment that we have done so far is: feminism, union workers, Afrocentricity, black power, slavery, from plantation to ghetto, national association of colored women, reconstruction after math, 2nd reconstruction and the great depression. Some of the pieces that I will talk about which interact with these topics is ‘ain’t I women’, ‘A black nationalist manifesto’, and ‘the selling of slaves’. More of them will be included to describe the story. I would also talk about how the history have changed from before until now and how these stories have changed it.

One of the pieces that I chose ‘ain’t I a woman’ is similarly to black feminism. Black feminism is something that makes changes or make a challenge to change the society. Black feminism is also an activist who had challenged such inferiority. They have confidence and strengthening in the writing and in public careers. Where ain’t I woman is a speech that delivered extemporaneously. They both have their own position in relation to the experience of being women and can’t be grasped in terms of being black. Ain’t I a Woman also known as anti-slavery speaker. Her speech was delivered at the Women’s Convention and didn’t originally have a title. Where black feminism is something that raised a issues with practical appropriate for other women. Black women and ain’t I women both have experience with sexism, racism and how they had struggled both individually and to overcome almost overwhelming obstacles. Ain’t I a Woman represents to move black women beyond silence and to mainstream of feminist discourse which white women have tended to monopolize over the past decade. It was an argument that ignores black feminism to uninterested in feminist concerns. But black feminism has a good unique vision which develops strong bond of women. They have developed survival skills that will be useful in today’s world at large. They have a special view of reality that come from being enclosures. Their moment has made things improve and they realized to begin those views as a form of power.

Now I will talk about the Black power and one of the pieces that I think interact which is a black nation manifesto. Black power was a revolutionary that happened ages ago. It emphasized racial pride, economic and politics. Black power is a name for different associated ideologies aim at achieving and political slogan. Black power is something that replaced the nonviolent movement which was powerful. They made an organization to puts frustration of the black population and police brutality, then by that time, many people joined the movement of black power to arm themselves and prepare for the struggle for freedom. Where black nation manifesto has the similarities, which was launched in 1967. In their organization, it was claimed that they had recruited enough member in London during the impact in Britain. Where black power got a foothold in Britain. Black power and the black nation manifesto they formed in team together and they worked with the U.S black panther party in 1967. Together they protested outside the U.S embassy in support of the U.S black panther funder, who was on trial for murder in New Haven, Connecticut. They also made a slogan together, which was ‘you can kill a revolutionary but not a revolution’. Which was powerful enough to make a movement and make a change in people.

The national association of colored women and whenever the colored man’s is elevated, I think they are alike each other in different ways. Their motto is strong enough to empower something. The national colored women have the motto ‘lifting as we climb’ which demonstrate an ignorant and suspicious is their aim and interest are identical with those of all good aspiring women. Where colored man motto was ‘I will sink or swim with my race.’ Which moderate that he will fight for his rights. They both made a positive change in the society and made a change in the African American community by improving the lives of impoverished African American. They both fought their right, which was like violence and race. This is also interacting with Idea B and Julia Anna where they fight against black, poor school and the failure of black people to fight for their rights. Despite all the danger they encourage the black residents. Everything has changed from how it was before, it’s all because they each have fought for their rights.

Everything connects with each piece and different point of view. Also, I want talk about the pieces that interact with slavery. Slavery abolition and ‘the selling of slave’, they are similar to each story. In both stories, black and white wages a biracial assault against slavery. Abolitionists focus attention on slavery and made it difficult to ignore. They highlighted that had threatened to destroy the unity of the nation. Slavery has existed, in one form through recorded human history. They have been sold and traded to different countries, it was a harsh moment where there wasn’t any sympathy toward them. They have been affected with many kinds of diseases, but no one was willing to save them. In the 19th century, many abolitionists united to form numerous antislavery societies. These groups sent petitions with thousands of signatures to congress, conference and gave innumerable speeches for their cause. Some individual abolitionist sometimes advocated violent means for bringing slavery to an end. Sometime white and black worked together to save slavery, while many other white abolitionists focus only on slavery, black Americans tended to couple anti-slavery activities with demand for racial equality and justice. They tired their best to overcome this slavery and in today’s life nothing that happen anymore.

The story of the ‘plantation to ghetto’ and ‘black soldier return from WWII’ is really much alike to each part. They both talk about the black history, which has generally been grounded between two historic struggles, one of them is civil and another one is modern civil right moments. The black soldier was treated very differently than how they should have been treated. African American participated in every war fought by the United states. As the other people of the country watched World War I across the European, African American citizens saw an opportunity to win the respect of their white neighbors. Still they were considered second-class citizens. While it’s still discriminatory, the army was far more progressive in race relations than the other branches of the military. In both stories they have been fighting for changes, the historical period of the civil rights movement brought tremendous changes to the African American community. The growing social and economic power of black working class began to impact the American political system in today’s society.

Now I will focus on talking about the reconstruction era and restoring the south to the union. Also, the African American workers, which was involved in the era. The reconstruction era in American history, which was from 1863 to 1877. There was changes in ended slavery and making the newly freed slaves’ citizen with civil rights. In reconstruction era, there were some visions of the civil war memory that appeared during the reconstruction: the reconciliations vision, the white supremacist and equality for African American. So many of the southern united states were destroyed during the reconstruction era. Plantations and farms were burned down, and their crops were destroyed. The south needed to be rebuilt. To rebuild, it lasted 14 years. Also, African American abolition of slavery was changed due in time as today, but they are still filled with hardship. African American worked with wages no more than one dollar. It was harder in the reconstruction era than now it improves in a better way.

The reconstruction era is also same similarities to the 2nd reconstruction era. The 2nd reconstruction is a little bit different that made a change. On the second reconstruction act it was made two changes to the first. It is that every voter recites the registration oath promising them support and their obedience to the law. The first reconstruction act left the states in confusion while the second act answer this problem. Second reconstruction act also warned first remonstration act in the method of counting votes. It was an era that always puts up a challenge to teach. At first, it was a time of tremendous political complexity and far reaching consequences. They are often an obstacle to a deeper understanding of the period. It was a movement that occurs after the end of world war II. The nation began to correct civil and human rights abuses. The 2nd reconstruction era created something positive in many ways. They also made a newly freed slaves citizens and civil right moment guaranteed by the three new constitutional amendments. They were the era that the attempt of the federal government of the united states to resolve the issues of the American Civil war.

Another piece that I want to talk about which connect with Afrocentricity is race and Pan African identity. Afrocentricity is a method that considers no phenomena can be apprehended adequately without locating it first. Afrocentricity is a paradigm based on the idea that African people should reassert an agency in order to achieve sanity. And pan African is something that did came at the beginning of the 20th century, which they both are similar to each other. One of the major political traditions was largely created by black people at that time. Pan Africanism is a movement that aim of unifying and uplifting the African nation and African community. They both are powerful, which has cultural, political aspects and historical evolution. Afrocentricity also becomes a revolutionary idea because its study idea, event and political. Both stories are politically involved to change and make things improve.

Now I will talk about one of the pieces ‘union workers’ that interact with African American workers. Union worker is an organized group of workers who unite to make a decision about the condition after affecting their work. It brings economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our nation. The union worker played an important role for independence. It also became part of American culture. Back into civil movement, some of the workers like African American were treated differently, they had low wages than anything else. It was tough for them when one was standing up for them. African American is known to have participated in labor action. They also played a dominant role. They created an African American labor movement which helps union workers to get better wages and more improvement. After their hardship and with low wages, they had to step up and make things change, it was a movement that changed many other things by the union workers

Resistance, Reform, and Renewal in the Black Experience is another story where African Americans have created themselves. They constructed their cultural identity in a country that denied them citizenship and human dignity. African American people were the foundations for the construction of a black American society that was achieved its specific interests. Similarly, the Black Power movement that arose when the weakness become evident. Also, Floyd McKissick, in his endorsement of black power, who have established the black capitalist venture of Soul City. Also, on the other hand, Black Panthers embraced a Marxist analysis of capitalism. They base its ideology on a concrete analysis of concrete conditions. African American fought for their Black freedom. There is also a museum about the African American that portrays the story of them. It’s a museum about history and culture. Their many of the arts was collected from the African American resistance across the history of American. Resistance has had real consequences whenever the political perspective from which African American struggle for freedom.

The great depression is another story which interact with black Workers in the Great Depression. In the great depression some African Americans were successful in their lands and farms, this also became difficult for them to deal with because of the economic crisis which was began in the rural south. Many of the African American people moved out because of the oppressive economic conditions. As the price of wages fell, many of the black began to migrate to the northeast and midwestern states. Many of the jobs disappeared and the worker was struggling with the great depression. African American families were the most people that were in a bad situation without any support. At this time, unemployment rate for white was 31% where the unemployment rate for African American people were 50%. While the Black people came to north for a job, the job that they were supposed to get were given to white people. As a result, so many poor farmers were evicted from their land and federal government did little to intervene. It was an awful moment for African American that the Agriculture administration paid farmers to destroy their crops in order to increase market prices. African American people always face hardship than anything in this world.

These whole stories intersect with different things in different ways. They whole have similarities where they fight for the changes and for the right. These stories tell us how history was back then with a lot of hardship and how it changed rapidly after keep fighting. It was hard back in old age to fight something when people barely get support. Most of them were poor people who always face difficulties, there was no equalities or fair concern. African American where the most people where they get in trouble, there was an ugly discrimination between each person. If they didn’t step forward to fight for their rights, then today would have been something where people see them differently than anything else. As I mentioned, African American workers are always left out with low wages and barely get any job, it was really complicated for them. Because of their hardship and fighting for their own equality everything has changed today. History have changed so much than before, so for the African American community. One of the examples could be that, in the old days when African Americans were a slave where people sell them and make them do all the work, but nowadays it’s not the same anymore, it’s changed everything and into well improvement. There still racism exists, but it happens sometime, when things like that occur people step up and help them. Every story has changed the social movement into something better. Everyone gets treated in the same way with better rights. Throughout the history, it keeps changing and will change more as long as we keep fighting for something good.

In conclusion, the whole pieces of the story have changed the whole society. Everything is improved so much better. Everyone has fair equality and judgment. Black worker wages are also something that changed which don’t affect them or anyone anymore. In today’s real world, African American is doing much better than anything else as far as I noticed. Nothing would have been changed without fighting for their rights. Each of the pieces of the story changed something that society would never forget, they are the history that would always stay in life. The progress of African American is so inspirational, they have come so far. It’s also amaze me how strong people can be. In today’s real life, most of the African American people consider themselves as middle class member. It’s also beautiful to see everyone lives together. Their organization was the most amazing thing to me that I feel like it helps them to get over a difficult situation. Life is amazing and it can always change, we all just have to fight for justice and rights, that’s the movement of society.

The phrase ‘blaxploitation’ already implies the medium was used by Hollywood to exploit blackness, or black bodies, through stereotypical characterization and glorification of violence in these films (although few characters were depicted as heroes). The films Shaft and Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, is credited for the invention of the genre, but its inception began further back with films such as Uptight, as they depicted Black Power ideology on screen in earlier periods. These films brought light to the black experience and allowed black actors to control their own narrative, often depicting issues that were ignored in mainstream cinema. Sweetback and Shaft, both inspired by Black Power ideology, integrated Marxist elements, while using violence and sexual tropes to enhance storylines. The films were considered controversial for their stereotypical depictions of black people, but some (or many, etc.) said they depicted forms of black life that were neglected in mainstream cinema and television. Often low-budget features, they formed an avenue for performers and filmmakers to come together and create these stories. The films in which Grier starred — Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974), Sheba, Baby (1975), and Friday Foster (1975) –featured elements similar to those seen in earlier blaxploitation films, mixing gritty naturalism with sex and violence, whilst sensationalizing social issues present in the film. In her most famous roles, Coffy and Foxy Brown, she combined these elements to create characters who exude sex appeal while using savvy to outsmart the bad guys, sometimes being stripped of their dignity and power to reach their objectives. So was she a powerful heroine or an unknowing victim of exploitation?

Pam Grier was discovered by Jack Hill, noted film director in the exploitation genre, after her move from Denver to Los Angeles to secure acting gigs, while working on the switchboards at American International Pictures. While working at AIP, she worked other odd jobs to save money for film school at UCLA. Her first film credit was as a party extra in Russ Meyer’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, before she secured starring roles for American International Pictures. Meyer was a filmmaker known for sexploitation flicks starring voluptuous women, and Grier obviously fit the bill. In the party scene where the band The Kelly Affair is performing, she is seen among a group of partygoers, but so briefly that if you blink you’ll miss her. Her role was not prominent as she did not speak but merely served as a curvaceous fly on the wall. The following year, she starred in two women-in-prison films, The Big Doll House and Women in Cages. In the former film, she played a lesbian prisoner who assists her fellow cellmates to escape from their island prison, and in the latter, she starred as a sadistic prison guard with a penchant for torture. Grier then cut her teeth on small roles in early blaxploitation flicks, Cool Breeze and Hit Man, a film more famously adapted as Get Carter.

Screen grab from Black Mama White Mama w/ Pam Grier (right) and Margaret Markov (left).

She then went on to perform in two other women-in-prison flicks, The Big Bird Cage and Black Mama White Mama, an exploitative remake of The Defiant Ones. In these films, nudity was shown so much, you’d think it was the best thing since sliced bread. Black Mama White Mama starred Grier, who played a prostitute, and Margaret Markov, a revolutionary, who plan to escape prison together even though they hate each other. Regardless of the film’s exploitative nature, it is empowering for starring two strong female leads. Revolutionary Karen Brent (Margaret Markov) seeks to overthrow a corrupt government while Lee Daniels (Pam Grier) conjures up a plan to exact revenge on her misogynistic pimp. Black Mama White Mama shows that two women from different backgrounds can band together and defeat the system despite their differences. Their strength overpowers the men around them when they use their intelligence, sexuality, and firepower to break free from dangerous situations. The film also had elements of Black Power, which also showed up in Grier’s later work. Despite playing a prostitute, Grier showed audiences one of the first roles that did not show black women in a subservient light (Simms, 2006). She wears her hair natural in an Afro and is seen as an action heroine, traits which both present an antithesis to the Mammy figure (Simms, 2006).

In Coffy, Pam Grier stars as the film’s titular character, a nurse who seeks revenge on those responsible for her younger sister’s heroin addiction. After the success of Coffy, Pam Grier went on to feature in more starring roles such as The Arena, where she again co-stars with Margaret Markov, Foxy Brown, Friday Foster, and Sheba Baby. Through these successes, Pam Grier ultimately became the undisputed queen of blaxploitation films. Jack Hill designed the role of Coffy specifically for Grier, even allowing her input on the dialogue in the production stage in hopes of creating a more authentic character.We first see Coffy feigning for a quick fix in exchange for sex unbeknownst to the dealers who discover her in their car’s backseat. After going back to their apartment for an assumed tryst, she stands up with her gun cocked and declares, “This is the end of your rotten life, you motherfuckin’ dope pusher,” blasting the dealer’s head off while the camera cuts to his henchman’s look of disbelief. She asks the henchman if he is familiar with her sister Lubelle, to which he refutes before being injected with a lethal dose of heroin. This introduction to Coffy shows how she is able to use her feminine wiles and beauty to facilitate her revenge. She is able to fluctuate between militant Coffy and sexy Coffy, maneuvering between the two identities whenever she sees fit. The film drew on the sexual victimization of women while allowing the subjects to fight back against their subjugation.

Grier’s role as Coffy came in the wake of the Black Power movement, which fostered the rise of black female revolutionaries like Angela Davis and Kathleen Cleaver, which “served to contain the threat” that was posed with being a strong revolutionary (Johnson, 2012). Her sexual objectification in these films were used to placate the fear and anxiety she causes when seeking her revenge, while reinforcing the stereotype of the angry black woman. For example, in a scene from Coffy where she attempts to thwart the assault of her friend Carter, she ends up getting assaulted herself, shown in a position with her blouse ripped open, exposing her breasts. She is disempowered and humiliated while fighting back against the burglars. The black female action heroine is used in place of real revolutionaries to reinforce the idea that they posed a threat to society. Grier was rendered a glamorous sex symbol because directors at the time wanted toto control the imagedea of the revolutionary black woman by, setting them in an inner-city characterized by drugs, crime, and violence.

This is done intentionally to distort the image of the black revolutionary that was seen as a dangerous weapon threatening the status quo, feeding into society’s fear of black militancy by usurping it with sexual deviance through the eyes of the overly, aggressive black female. Foxy Brown was released in 1974, the same year Elaine Brown assumed the position of party chair to the Black Panther party, giving audiences a more palatable image of the revolutionary. Foxy Brown reinforced the notion of black women being seen as threatening while redirecting their rage onto “othered whites — whites who are drug dealers, prostitutes, lesbians,” white people who deviate from societal norms and become the heroine’s primary focus (Johnson, 2012). Regardless, we can see how being seen as a threat and a symbol of Black Power can be empowering as it denotes strength and the ability to summon fear into others. This is especially significant for women, since women are more often seen as weak and inferior.

Movie poster for Coffy (left) and Foxy Brown (right). Courtesy of IMDb.

Lakesia D. Johnson asserts that the promotion for the films Coffy and Foxy Brown were used to contribute to mitigating the fears of the increase in militant black men and women. Johnson presents three images, which include the film poster for Coffy and two other promotional images depicting scenes from the film. The movie poster for Coffy juxtaposes images of violence and sexuality, showing Coffy’s exposed stomach and a halter exposing her large breasts while she totes a gun. Her size in relation to the other characters, and particularly a black man positioned between her legs, professes dominance, establishing “a clear hierarchy where black men are subordinate to black women” (Johnson, 2012 pg. 49). The image of Pam Grier towering over the other characters reaffirms the myth of the emasculating, strong black woman usurping the weak black male. I saw the images representing Grier as the focal point of the film, since she is amplified on the posters.

The second image shows Coffy at a party capturing the gaze of those both black and white, using her sexuality to gain the attention of her target, simultaneously having the attention of a black man and a white woman gawking at her breasts. The third image shows Coffy in a revealing dress preparing to shoot her target. These images combine sexuality and violence to minimize the black female heroine’s “latent danger through her erotic appeal” (Johnson, 2012 pg. 50). We can see a similar focus on her sexuality in the trailers for Coffy, which mostly consisted of scenes showing Grier disrobing and seducing her prey. Another instance is the film’s tagline “They call her ‘Coffy’, and she’ll cream you!”, a sexual innuendo alluding to the what could be seen in the film. On the other hand, we could view these images as a form of empowerment, amplifying her strength and ability to use her sexuality to conquer her surroundings. The black female heroine was not a victim of her environment, but a super woman who is able to use her brains and beauty to destroy her victims. By assuming the role of the militant and sexual version of the lead character, she is able to achieve her goals of delivering justice.

Sexy vs. Militant

Coffy was ahead of its time for its use of a strong female lead and particularly a black woman lead. Although she had some input on dialogue to make Coffy more authentic, Pam Grier did not have complete control over the development of Nurse Coffin. Jack Hill wrote the script specifically for Grier after her turn in The Big Doll House, using the women-in-prison genre as a nexus to feed into the genre’s “quasi-feminist dimensions (Quinn, 2012, pg. 270). Coffy’s roots were “heavily masculinist”, with the bulk of the film’s production involving men who sought to produce “male-driven filmic fantasy” (Quinn, 2012). This was not entirely the case, though, as she did have a say in the conception of Coffy. Grier, like many other black actors of the period, sought to take control over the central narrative by “[adding] elements to the characters and scripts in… to make the movies more dimensional” (Quinn, 2012, pg. 270). Grier worked on the script for free with Hill, but the film’s producers did not offer any assurance that she would land the role. The directors used Grier as free labor to gain insight into a “life they weren’t familiar with” incorporating black and female social matters to develop the film’s generic formula— this exemplifies the racist division of labor in filmmaking.

Grier had a strong following among black men, but held influence over black women as well for redefining black female sexuality, beauty, and womanhood, and straying from the typical portrayals of black women as mammy-fied and haggard. Women across all ethnic lines also responded to Grier’s roles positively. In Pakistan, women were not allowed to be depicted showing skin, fighting, or holding guns, so moviegoers instead found Coffy in underground theaters. The violent action sequences are “feminine coded” since Coffy feels “ambivalence towards the violence she perpetuates” and uses weapons which feminize the violence, such as wigs and razor blades and kitchen staples like sugar and knives (Quinn, 2012, pg. 278). Hill created a character that any woman could envision herself as— not one trained in fighting or holding a gun, but one who could use her beauty and eroticism to exact her revenge.

Coffy and Foxy Brown both exploit Grier’s beauty and sexuality to its advantage, with the films’ primary focus surrounding Grier’s cleavage and “the fetishistic treatment of Grier’s sexual body via her breasts”, exemplified by the numerous seduction scenes involving her disrobing to expose them (Dunn, 2008, pg. 880). Women’s bodies were still being objectified and seen through the male gaze, but veiled as sexual liberation. Women were sexually objectified in these films to offset the rise of women’s liberation, allowing men’s titillation to be “augmented by the graphic violence that usually followed the sexual display (O’Day; Tasker, 2004, pg. 203). Despite this, it allowed black women to be seen as assertive and heroic, doing all the things men had done in blaxploitation with a sense of agency.

These portrayals often showcased black women’s bodies as more attuned to black nationalism while denying the needs and desires of the black woman. The Black Power movement asserted that feminism was simply a white woman’s issue, and female centrality could not coexist alongside antiracist ideals. An example is the scene where Foxy Brown goes to a local black community organization to receive help to take down Ms. Kathryn’s prostitution ring. Foxy is seated before a poster depicting a nude black woman, while an all-male council, positioned as overshadowing an image of Angela Davis, decides her verdict. This scene minimizes Foxy’s needs by upholding black nationalism and “privileging a male perspective, while diminishing the existence of black revolutionary women” (Johnson, 2012). Foxy’s sexual assault is minimized in place of avenging violence against black men. The privileging of black men’s needs are presented through Foxy’s revenge.

When Foxy is held captive, she is tied down and bruised, with one of her captors drugging and sexually assaulting her. She eventually escapes and burns down the shack with her captors inside. Foxy has to handle her vengeance herself without the aid of the black male figures. Instead of her final act of revenge being centered around her rape, her suffering is diminished in favor of “a narrative that privileges justice for the black male characters”, with her own vindication being placed on the backburner (Johnson, 2012, pg. 55). An example is when the Black Panther brothers castrate Ms. Kathryn’s boyfriend, Steve, who was not even responsible for Foxy’s rape. Foxy then presents a pickle jar containing Steve’s genitals to Ms. Kathryn, which could be seen as a symbol of the emasculation of black males through their sexuality. This reinforces the values that were present during the height of the Black Power struggle, forcing women to sacrifice their bodies for the cause, in turn neglecting their wants and desires.

Tamara Dobson’s kung-fu fighting CIA agent, Cleopatra Jones, was considered to be more classy, in comparison to Pam Grier’s portrayals of street-wise, scantily clad women. Some scholars assert that there was a “bourgeois-versus-street” rivalry between the two portrays, as Cleo was more respectable, “leading to an under acknowledgement of the latter’s class flexibility. Coffy was able to maneuver herself between middle-class and working-class settings, being able to remain comfortable in both. Grier represents a dichotomy of the street and classy, nurturing and vengeful, being able to navigate both the low-class and high-class worlds. Although for Dunn, she purports that Coffy and Foxy Brown positions “real black femaleness” in a facile rendering of “lower-class black females in the figure of the prostitute or hot mama” (Dunn, 2008, pg. 116). But Coffy works as a nurse, placing her between upper-working and lower-middle classes. By functioning between these two worlds, she is able to move secretly and disguise herself to her targets. Coffy and Foxy Brown both pose as prostitutes, using their sexuality to control the situation at hand. Instead of being forcibly stripped naked, which happens more than once, they both are able to distinguish between a woman who is “in control of their sexuality and [women] who are exploited” by others because of it (Clark, 2006). Grier accommodates the typical male heroic figure to fit she and what black women represent.

The following year, Pam Grier starred in Sheba, Baby and Friday Foster, playing a private eye and magazine photographer respectively, deviating from the hypersexual roles she played earlier on screen. Despite playing more “classy” characters, she was still being sexualised in these films. In Sheba, Baby, Grier plays Sheba Shayne, a private eye confronting those attempting to take over her father’s insurance business, and eventually father’s murder. In these films, she still had to be groped by the bandits she pursued, as if they fondle her, it would lessen her power and curtail her pursuit. In Friday Foster, she is seen as a damsel in distress, as she is the target of death, instead of being the one handing out beatdowns. This was also unusual for the time as black women were rarely painted as women in need of saving. Friday Foster features Grier in an obligatory nude shower scene, although this is the only time Grier is seen naked throughout the film. Grier’s roles showed that women did not have to be masculine to have power and that they can stand up for themselves.

Film critic Nelson George asserts that Pam Grier remains one of the few female actress who were given roles that “emphasized her physical beauty but also her ability to take retribution on men who challenged her” (George, 1995). Being one of the first action heroes, Grier was instrumental in shaping gender roles by portraying strong female characters who not only used their sexuality, but were able to renounce those trying to cause harm, embracing vigilantism in the process. She showed that women were able to addressed with deference, not to be seen as victims, but survivors of their circumstances. I still view her as a symbol of empowerment, as she was able to perform roles that were not afforded to women previously. Her presence on screen showed audiences that she demanded respect in spite of her sexualization. I have realized that I can enjoy watching her films, but still be able to note the flaws and critique them. It doesn’t mean that I will like the films any less. She redefined what could be seen as beautiful and feminine for women, especially African-American women. At the time she came onto the scene, it was rare to see women fighting on screen and toting guns, exemplifying that women embody vigor as well. In the end, Pam Grier was more of an empowering figure than one who was subjugated by the powers that be.