On Anger

Hezekiah draws upon Womanism and Black Feminism in this poem. Womanism is a term created by Alice Walker; it is a restructuring or refutation of (white) feminism to include the racial culture of Black women in analysis of power and privilege. Walker says, “Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender.” The roots of Black Feminism can be traced back to Sojourner Truth and Francis Harper, but it was named and flourished in the Civil Rights Movement era with advocates such as Ella Baker and Mary Ann Weathers. Black Feminism also takes a more intersectional approach than white feminism, but with a slightly broader scope than Womanism. While white feminism generally focuses on issues related to reproduction and biological concerns, Black Feminism and Womanism examine how oppression is multi-faceted.

In Hezekiah’s poem, the therapist serves as a representative of white feminism while the speaker responds from a Womanist or Black Feminist perspective. The emotion of anger, specifically righteous anger, is given a more positive connotation in Black Feminism, while white feminism often uncritically advocates for an approach rooted in mild, orderly protest. The therapist asking the speaker to let go of her anger comes from a perspective that anger is damaging to the psyche.