From being a black woman in the US to being an American citizen

What is it like to be a black citizen in the US? Although such a question can sound too broad at first, the actual experience of black people in the US - and women in particular – remains shrouded in myths and stereotypes. From the minstrels show up to hurricane Katrina, black American women have been stereotyped into three categories, according to Melissa Harris-Perry.

Both a professor of political science and a regular media contributor (The Nation, MSNBC), she argues that black women in the US have been seen either as lascivious  (Jezebel), devoted to white domestic concerns (Mammy) or loud, rude and emasculating (Sapphire and the Angry Black Woman). Amidst these offensive and persistent stereotypes, what room is left for the construction of the self? How does one think of one’s citizenship? In this fascinating and politically committed book, Melissa Harris-Perry looks at literature and political theory, listens to focus group and surveys, and uses experimental research to understand the way black women respond to these negative images. Sister Citizen is a powerful way to think critically about American society and to look at current affairs such as the Strauss-Kahn case and Nafissatou Diallo’s portrayal in some media, for instance.

Sister Citizen. Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America, Melissa V. Harris-Perry, Yale University Press, $28

– E.A.