Eight years ago, when I first began research for this book, discussions of “Black Women and Feminism” or “Racism and Feminism” were uncommon. Friends and strangers were quick to question and ridicule my concern with the lot of black women in the United States. I can remember a dinner where I talked about the book and one person, in a big booming voice choking with laughter exclaimed, “What is there to say about black women!” Others joined the laughter. I had written in the manuscript that the existence of black women was often forgotten, that we were often ignored or dismissed, and my lived experience as I shared the ideas in this book demonstrated the truth of this assertion.

bell hooks, Ain't I a Woman_ Black Wome…, loc. 27