Includes bibliographical references (p. [302]-325) and index.

pt. 1. The social construction of black feminist thought. The politics of black feminist thought -- Distinguishing features of black feminist thought -- pt. 2. Core themes in black feminist thought. Work, family, and black women's oppression -- Mammies, matriarchs, and other controlling images -- The power of self-definition -- The sexual politics of black womanhood -- Black women's love relationships -- Black women and motherhood -- Rethinking black women's activism -- pt. 3. Black feminism, knowledge, and power. U.S. black feminism in transnational context -- Black feminist epistemology -- Toward a politics of empowerment.