Frances M. Beal

Frances M. Beal (born January 13, 1940, in Binghamton, New York) is a Black feminist and a peace and justice political activist.

"Black Women's Manifesto; Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female" (1969)

 * Since the advent of Black power, the Black male has exerted a more prominent leadership role in our struggle for justice in this country. He sees the system for what it really is for the most part. But where he rejects its values and mores on many issues, when it comes to women, he seems to take his guidelines from the pages of the Ladies' Home Journal.


 * Let me state here and now that the Black woman in America can justly be described as a "slave of a slave."


 * Those who are exerting their "manhood" by telling Black women to step back into a domestic, submissive role are assuming a counter-revolutionary position.


 * The new world we are attempting to create must destroy oppression of any type. The value of this new system will be determined by the status of the person who was low man on the totem pole.


 * Once you have caught a glimpse of freedom or experienced a bit of self-determination, you can't go back to old routines that were established under a racist, capitalist regime.