ABSTRACT
African American women have long sought after and worked for peace, but it has long eluded them. This chapter considers the work and experiences of African American women who formed and joined organizations—including those along gendered and racial lines—to ensure and to contribute to intersectional peace in the United States and beyond its borders. Utilizing a historical lens, it considers the approaches that African American women took across the 20th century, the language they employed, and the triumphs and disappointments they experienced. It examines their invaluable, but often unaccounted contributions to nonviolent movements and the cessation of open warfare as well as the over disappointments, disdain, and even deaths they continue to encounter in the 21st century. Only then can we understand and appreciate births of bodies like the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2013 and Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security & Conflict Transformation (WCAPS) in 2017. In reigniting global conversations around state violence and racism and calling for diverse voices in peace and security, these movements reflect the latest iterations of Black women’s search for peace and parity, and undeniably illustrate that the struggle for peace is still incomplete.
