I AM an Angry Black Woman: Black Feminist Autoethnography, Voice, and Resistance

This article couples Black feminist thought (Collins, 2009) and autoethnography to advocate for Black feminist autoethnography (BFA) as a theoretical and methodological means for Black female academics to critically narrate the pride and pain of Black womanhood. Rooted in my desire to “talk back” (hooks, 1989) to systemic oppression as a biracial (Black and White) Black woman, I position anger as a productive force that fuels coming to voice through BFA as an act of resistance. In this article, BFA is used to self-reflexively explore my everyday experiences as an “outsider within” (Collins, 1986) and problematize the omnipresence of racism and sexism (at the least) in the everyday lives of Black women. Situating my anger as just and justifiable, I locate my voice directly in response to controlling imagery, such as the angry sapphire that denotes angry women of color as unruly, while simultaneously highlighting the need for “progressive Black sexual politics” (Collins, 2005, p. 16) that bear witness to the productive anger of Black women.