As el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (better known as Malcolm X) once said, “The most disrespected woman in America, is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America, is the Black woman.” Although this has always been a universal truth to Black women, it was groundbreaking to say in the time of el-Shabazz, and is still quite revolutionary to admit to today. Nevertheless, the statement still holds true without much effort to reverse it on the behalf of Black American culture, but specifically Black men. This much can be seen clearly in hip-hop culture (where Black female rappers are hardly taken as seriously as they deserve), even in the “conscious” spheres of rap music. Most recently, Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly proves that Black women still have a long way to go before we will be portrayed as completely as our male counterparts. Though this is a particularly glaring problem for this contemporary album, Jean Toomer’s 1923 novel Cane proves that portraying women equitably is quite possible. As both works are written by Black men, the lives of Black women specifically are discussed and featured the most, as well as their lives in relation to the lives of Black men. On the other hand, Toomer is able to paint a more vivid and complete picture of Black womanhood through a greater quantity of stories and with the audience to which he appeals.
