The purpose of this book is to examine factors that contribute to the social, political, economic, legal and educational disenfranchisement of African American women. Specific attention is focused on the structures and dynamics in the United States that result in African American women remaining on the periphery of mainstream society. Specifically, I examine how the privileged class uses images and ideology to maintain its social power and economic wealth, while consigning African American women to a depressed socioeconomic status. I argue that those who have a monopoly on power and wealth use the mass media and societal institutions to ensure their privileged status through the maintenance of various systems of domination (i.e. race, sex and class inequality).