Black Womanist Ethics

Cannon's view of black womanist ethics can be traced to Alice Walker's definition of the terms womanism and womanist. Walker's definition of womanism contains four areas of concern: outrageous or willful, grown-up behavior by black feminists or feminists of color; women loving women (sexually or not), and "committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female"; loving of people (Folk), herself, food, spirit, music, etc.; "womanist is to feminist as purple to lavender" (Walker, cited by Cannon 22). Cannon's view of black womanist ethics is that these areas of definition can be expressed in terms of female moral agency. This involves "challenging inherited traditions for their collusion with androcentric patriarchy as well as a catalyst in overcoming oppressive situations through revolutionary acts of rebellion" (Cannon (b) 23). Cannon's moral vision is related

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uth. That moral truth was feistiness--seizing joy in the midst of despair. Howard Thurman's theology is a model for black womanist ethics in the idea of mystically experiencing God in the midst of oppression: "For Thurman, the awareness of potential is the greatest source of hope" and the basis for "moral agency" (Cannon 161). Dr. King's ideas are a model for black womanist ethics in the idea of acting against injustice so that oppressed people can experience freedom, justice, and equality (Cannon 163). According to Cannon, Thurman's mystical approach is based on the "transforming" power of love. Dr. King's approach is also connected to love. His concept of love is one of agape, "understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all people" (Cannon 165-6). In other words, there is a sense of social action and deeds, not just mystical contemplation. This is what Cannon means when she says that King "believed that life is fundamentally social in character and thus love can exist only in communication between people, never in total isolation of the individual" (Cannon 166). What Thurman and King share, however, is the idea of the "dignity of all Black people grounded in God, precisely the starting point of Hurston's vision" (174).
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2367
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)