They wanted black women to conform to the gender norms set by white society. They wanted to be recognized as 'men,' as patriarchs, by other men, including white men. Yet they could not assume this position if black women were not willing to conform to prevailing sexist gender norms. Many black women who has endured white-supremacist patriarchal domination during slavery did not want to be dominated by black men after manumission.

It is poetry that changes everything.

The world demands that you work for it, make families, provide, take no time to listen to your own heart beating.

When we only name the problem, when we state complaint without a constructive focus or resolution, we take hope away. In this way critique can become merely an expression of profound cynicism, which then works to sustain dominator culture.

The word "love" is most often defined as a noun, yet al the more astute theorists of love acknowledge that we would all love better if we used it as a verb.

The fierce willingness to repudiate domination in a holistic manner is the starting point for progressive cultural revolution.

But love is really more of an interactive process. It's about what we do not just what we feel. It's a verb, not a noun.