The Sisters Are Alright: Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women in America
Written by Tamara Winfrey Harris
Narrated by Tamberla Perry
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
The Sisters Are Alright exposes anti–black-woman propaganda and shows how real black women are pushing back against distorted cartoon versions of themselves.
When African women arrived on American shores, the three-headed hydra—servile Mammy, angry Sapphire, and lascivious Jezebel—followed close behind. In the '60s, the Matriarch, the willfully unmarried baby machine leeching off the state, joined them. These stereotypes persist to this day through newspaper headlines, Sunday sermons, social media memes, cable punditry, government policies, and hit song lyrics. Emancipation may have happened more than 150 years ago, but America still won't let a sister be free from this coven of caricatures.
Tamara Winfrey Harris delves into marriage, motherhood, health, sexuality, beauty, and more, taking sharp aim at pervasive stereotypes about black women. She counters warped prejudices with the straight-up truth about being a black woman in America. “We have facets like diamonds,” she writes. “The trouble is the people who refuse to see us sparkling.”
Tamara Winfrey Harris
Tamara Winfrey-Harris is a writer who specializes in the ever-evolving space where current events, politics, and pop culture intersect with race and gender. Well-versed on a range of topics, including Beyoncé's feminism, Rachel Dolezal's white privilege, and the Black church and female sexuality, Winfrey-Harris has been published in media outlets, including the New York Times, the Atlantic, Cosmopolitan, New York Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times. And she has been called to share her analysis on media outlets, including NPR's Weekend Edition and Janet Mock's So POPular! on MSNBC.com, and on university campuses nationwide. She is also vice president of community leadership and effective philanthropy at the Central Indiana Community Foundation.
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Reviews for The Sisters Are Alright
71 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Like the encouraging Big Sister I did not have, I listened and took to heart to every word of this book. Short and digestible, and to the point, it’s a succinct tool for undoing the trauma caused by negative protections and stereotypes about Black Women.
I found it really helpful. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Such a beautiful, exquisite, amazing, and needed audiobook for bw!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Some editing repeating issues, but such a good read. Didn't agree with all statements but loved hearing the perspectives. So necessary and thoughtful and informative.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This short collection of essays focuses on how Black women in the United States are maligned and held to toxic stereotypes of being oversexed, irresponsible, and irrationally angry. Winfrey Harris breaks down these stereotypes historically and in the present day, and holds up the beautiful and accomplished reality of Black women. It's very short but powerful so it's worth finding a little time to read or listen to this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a quick read, I think used in a Black Studies or Women's Studies program (or, even better, both). The author shares all the negative stereotypes of black women (angry, strong, sexy, overweight unhealthy single moms) and thoroughly dismantles them all. A number of very valuable and enlightening quotes and stories from black women are included.