'Rage is a fundamentally more reasonable response to America's cultural investment in the disrespect of Black women than being respectable. A quote from a fantastic section of the book about rage vs. One of her most impressive feats in this collection: she wields a writing voice that is intelligent and incisive and academic, that also comes across as real and relatable. She addresses respectability politics and rage, friendship between black women, the 2016 collection, neoliberalism and the myth of exceptionalism, and more. Brittney Cooper writes about an array of cultural, personal, and political topics from the perspective of a black feminist. This book argues that ultimately feminism, friendship, and faith in one's own superpowers are all we really need to turn things right side up again.Ī powerful and moving essay collection that will appeal to fans of Roxane Gay and Audre Lorde. In Brittney Cooper’s world, neither mean girls nor fuckboys ever win. And it took another intervention, this time staged by one of her homegirls, to turn Brittney into the fierce feminist she is today. When Cooper learned of her grandmother's eloquent rage about love, sex, and marriage in an epic and hilarious front-porch confrontation, her life was changed. It reminds women that they don’t have to settle for less. It’s what makes Michelle Obama an icon.Įloquent rage keeps us all honest and accountable.

It’s what makes Beyoncé’s girl power anthems resonate so hard. Black women’s eloquent rage is what makes Serena Williams such a powerful tennis player. But Cooper shows us that there is more to the story than that. Far too often, Black women’s anger has been caricatured into an ugly and destructive force that threatens the civility and social fabric of American democracy.

Eloquent rage brittney cooper