Africana Womanism

* AFRICANA WOMANISM IS A TERM COINED IN

THE LATE 1980S BY CLENORA HUDSON – WEEMS.
* IT IS A IDEOLOGY WHICH IS APPLICABLE TO
ALL WOMEN OF AFRICAN WOMEN DESCENT.
* IT IS GROUNDED IN AFRICAN CULTURE AND
AFROCENTRISM AND FOCUSES ON THE
EXPERIENCES, STRUGGLES, NEEDS AND DESIRES
OF AFRICAN WOMEN.
 Afrocentric

 To promote emphasis on African culture and the contributions of Africans to the

development of western civilization.
 The primary goal of Africana women:

 Is to create their own criteria for assessing their realities , both in thought and in

action .
 The following are the culturally derived Africana Womanist characteristics:

 The Africana womanist can be Self – Naming, which means she is accessing herself,
naming herself and her movement.
 The Africana womanist is Self- defining, which means she defines her reality and
community in terms of the Africana cultural experiences.
 The Africana womanist is Family-Centered, as she is more concerned with her entire
family rather that with just herself and her sisters.
 The African womanist is In Concert with Males in the broader struggle for humanity
and the liberation of all African people.. the idea of the intertwined destiny of Africana
men, women, children it is directly related to the notion of the dependency upon the
male sector in the participation of the African womanist’s struggle for herself and her
family.
 The Africana womanist is Flexible Role Player.
 Africana Womanist characteristics:

 The Africana womanist is Genuine in Sister wood. This sisterly bond is a reciprocal one,
the one in which each gives and receives equally.
 The Africana womanist comes from a long tradition of psychological as well as physical
Strength. She/he has persevered centuries of struggling for her/himself and family.
 The Africana womanist Male Compatible, and seeks a relationship in which each
individual is mutually supportive, an important part of positive Africana family.
 The Africana womanist commands Respect for herself in order to acquire true –esteem
and self worth, which in turn enables her, among other things, to have complete and
positive relationship with all people.
 The Africana womanist must insist upon Recognition of her humanness so that she may
more effectively fulfil her role as a positive and responsible co-partner in the overall
Africana struggle.

 Africana Womanist characteristics:

 Africana womanist seeks Wholeness (Completeness)

 The Africana womanist is Authentic (cultural connected) in her life
 The Africana womanist is Spiritual and thus, believes in a higher power that transcends
rational ideals, which is an ever-present part of Africana culture.
 The African a womanist demonstrates Respect and Appreciation for Elders, insisting
that her young do likewise. This respect and appreciate for elders is another continuum
of African culture.
 The Africana womanist is Adaptable, and demands no separate space for nourishing her
individual needs and goals.
 The African womanist is Ambitious and demonstrates responsibility, highly important
in the life of the Africana womanist, for her/his family, too, depends on these qualities
in her.
 The Africana womanist is committed to the art of mothering her own children in
particular and humankind in general. This collective role is supreme in Africana
culture, for the Africana woman comes from a legacy of fulfilling the role supreme
Mother Nature- nurturer, provider, and protector
 The African womanist is a Nurturer and consistent in doing what must be done for the
survival of the family, a commitment grounded in and realized though a positive sense
of history, family hood, and security. (Hudson- Weems, 1998).