Africana womanism is a term coined in the late 1980s by Clenora Hudson-Weems,[1] intended as an ideology applicable to all women of African descent.
', one in which she battles with the dominant alienating forces in her life as a struggling Africana woman, questioning the accepted idea of womanhood.
Without question she is the flip side of the coin, the co-partner in the struggle for her people, one who, unlike the white woman, has received no special privileges in American society.
Africana womanism fundamental foundation is built on traditional Africana philosophy and values and on Afrocentric theories:[10] Some of the traditional values forefront the role of African mothers as leaders in the struggle to regain, reconstruct, and create a cultural integrity that espouses the ancient Maatic principles of reciprocity, balance, harmony, justice, truth, righteousness, order, and so forth.
[7] Lastly, Nah Dove (1998), "African Womanism: An Afrocentric Theory", credits Hudson-Weems and other scholars in shaping the Africana womanist model.
Dove asserts:[11] A concept [Africana Womanism] that has been shaped by the work of women such as Clenora Hudson-Weems, Ifi Amadiume, Mary E. Modupe Kolawole, and others.
Africana womanism brings to the forefront the role of African mothers as leaders in the struggle to regain, reconstruct, and create a cultural integrity that espouses the ancient Maatic principles of reciprocity, balance, harmony, justice, truth, righteousness, order, and so forth.
The second principle defined, Self-Definition, begins to describe realities that African women face, through a Pan-African lens.
The Pan-African movement attempts to create a sense of brotherhood among all people of African descent, regardless of whether or not they live on the continent of Africa.
The second grouping of characteristics includes Family-Centeredness, Wholeness, Authenticity, Role Flexibility, Adaptability, In Concert With Men, and Genuine Sisterhood.
[4] The commitment to immediate and extended family is of crucial importance to African women, as it shapes the third principle outlined by Clenora Hudson-Weems.
[4][14] As described by Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, "In wielding the power that is deservedly yours, don't permit it to enslave your sisters".
Morrison's insights refer to the frequency that women tear each other down, as she continues to describe that this behavior is especially common in the workplace.
This principle of Strength is often the one that is attacked by non-Africana oppressors because their goal is to force submission upon the powerful group that is Africana women.
Therefore, the principle of male compatibility is based upon mutually beneficial relationships between a well-respected African woman and a supportive, like-minded, man.
To dissect both principles a bit further, respect refers to reverence an African woman has for herself, absent of the colonized standards.
Recognition plays a large role in keeping communal peace and ensuring the Black women's effectiveness in the struggle for equality.
We are Africana culture-keepers: Our primary obligation is to the progress of our cultural way of life through the stability of family and the commitment to community.
Italian, Japanese, Hispanic, East Indian, Arab, Jewish women, etc., all utilize this approach to decision-making, and know the value of maintaining indigenous cultural autonomy.
The rite of passing generation-to-generation knowledge free from outside manipulation, coercion or intimidation insures traditional integrity, which fosters a climate of cultural security.
Traditional cultures should not be obligated to bow to redefinitions foisted upon them by elitist entities that gain their authority via the drive of well-organized "media hype.
According to Tolagbe Ogunlege (1998), "Referring to a man as a male-womanist is not an anomaly or rarity, and bestowing gender-specific title on individuals of the opposite sex has been practiced by Africana peoples for millennia.
For example, among the Yoruba, an exceptional woman who has made significant contributions to the educational, socioeconomic, and/or spiritual growth and development of her family and community is referred to as a man-woman or obinrin bi okunrin."
Ogunlege further explains that among the Lebou people of Senegal, a man who governs according to ancient customs is referred to as the "Mother of the Country".
According to Daphne W. Ntiri (2001), Associate Professor of Social Science, Wayne State University: "Since Clenora Hudson-Weems broke new ground with her 1993 book Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves, discourse on the place and agenda of Africana women in the women's movement reflects the text's influence.
Drawing on the tenets of Africana womanism, Clenora Hudson-Weems extends the theoretical framework to literary analysis.
Such an analysis of Africana literature emphasizes the family, complementarity between men and women, and commitment to the survival and liberation of the community as a whole.
93–94); Paule Marshall, a prominent African-Caribbean writer, Praisesong for the Widow, which the character "Reena" bears the historical nuances of so-called shortcomings of the Africana woman in relationship with her male companion.
Pauline, the narrator, advocates a solution to the deteriorating relationship between the Africana man and woman (Hudson-Weems, p. 105); Toni Morrison, Beloved.
Hudson-Weems explains that the character Zora Banks is self-naming and self-defining, family-centered and compatible, flexible with her roles and ambitions, demanding of respect and strong, reverent of elders and authentic, and last but not least, nurturing and mothering (pp. 133–134).