ABSTRACT

‘Dare you Meet a Woman’ examines how black women exhibited their willingness to take on forceful and even violent action to dismantle the institution of slavery. Black resistance was central to abolitionism and black women were essential to the movement. This essay argues that their activism should be examined as the politics of protective violence. The politics of protective violence explains black women's employment of force to protect themselves and their communities and ultimately promote the overthrow of slavery. Beginning with the Christiana Resistance in 1851 and culminating with John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, this essay examines the bookends and high points of free and fugitive black women's responses during key turning points of the 1850s. In sum, black women violently resisted the Fugitive Slave Law and anti-black oppression. Moreover, black women leaders contributed significantly to the acceleration of violent sectional tensions and, ultimately, the American Civil War.

摘要

《你遇见一个女人的敢死》探讨了黑人妇女如何表现出愿意采取有力甚至暴力的行动来消除奴隶制的意愿。黑人抵抗是废奴运动的核心，黑人妇女对该运动至关重要。本文认为，应将他们的行动主义视为保护性暴力的政治。保护性暴力政治解释了黑人妇女为了保护自己和社区并最终促进推翻奴隶制而使用武力。从1851年的克里斯蒂安娜抵抗运动开始，到约翰·布朗袭击哈珀斯·费里（Harpers Ferry）达到高潮，本文考察了1850年代关键转折点上书呆子和自由和逃亡黑人妇女的回应的高潮。总之，黑人妇女猛烈地抵抗了逃亡奴隶法和反黑人压迫。此外，黑人女领导人为加速暴力局部紧张局势，并最终为美国内战做出了重要贡献。