This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color

This chapter begins with a poem by Chrystos titled “Give Me Back,” in which she harkens back to the spirituality of her ancestors. “La Prieta” by Gloria Anzaldúa is an autobiographical essay that explores the complicated relationships within Third World cultural groups through her lens as a darker complexioned Chicana, and how Third World peoples can at times be “accomplices to oppression” as they assimilate to oppressive, white American culture.

“A Black Feminist Statement,” written and produced by the Combahee Collective, a Black feminist collective in Boston, outlines the roots of their movement, current projects, struggles, and overall goals to be “recognized as human, levelly human” (212) beyond their multiple oppressions.

“The Welder” is a poem by Cherríe Moraga in which she likens the fusion of people to the welding of metals, the goal to join together despite the fact that “we bend / at different temperatures” (219). “O.K. Momma, Who the Hell Am I?” is an interview transcript with Luisah Teish by Gloria Anzaldúa, diving into Teish’s journey into feminism and feminist spirituality.

“Brownness,” a piece by Andrea Canaan, follows her journey of self-discovery and navigation of internalized racism and sexism as a brown woman.