As we think about the cultural representation of black women in American today, there are many complexities to analyze. Representations in media, film, literature, politics, etc. all provide certain suggestions as to who black women are. Black women have had to work extensively to redefine themselves in a more positive light, yet there is still more work that needs to be done. Ultimately, liberation from years of racial and gendered oppression rests in the freedom to just "be"...to be smart, funny, happy, mad, sexy, strong, or weak...just to be human. A passage from “ A Black Feminist Statement” embodies this very thing:
"Above all else … black women are inherently valuable, our liberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else’s but because of our need as human persons for autonomy.”
-The Combahee River Collective
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