Jordan-Welker_EN250-Final

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Welker 1 EN 250-003 Jordan Welker Barry Cole Folklore in African American Literature: The Impact of Women on Imagined Futures. In the Journal, “African American Folklore: Its Role in Reconstructing African American History” by Tolagbe Ogunleye, African American Folklore is described as “ a line to a vast, interconnected network of meanings, values, and cognitions. Folklore contains seeds of wisdom, problem-solving, and prophecy through tales of rebellion, triumph, reasoning, moralizing, and satire.” (Ogunleye, 2). When examining the impact African American authors have on imagined futures for themselves and other African Americans, there is a clear sense of optimism for what the future could look like in our post-slavery world. Women play a critical role in what it means to be both a racial and gender minority. Women make up less than 50% of the American population, as stated by March of Dimes. Of that less than 50%, only 15% are African American. These are important statistics to recognize for the context of this paper because they depict how small of a minority Black Women in the U.S. makeup, let alone the even smaller percentage of Black Female authors who write African American Folklore. The women telling these stories and writing about imagined futures for African Americans are paving the way for future minority authors. Folklore, as it relates to African American Female authors, can be best seen in the works of three writers: Zora Neale Hurston, Octavia Butler, and Toni Morrison. All of these women wrote the majority of their works in the twentieth century, a time when representation for under- appreciated and acknowledged communities was at an all-time high. The importance of these

Welker 2 women on imagined futures takes a three-fold approach. African American folklore and imagined futures were impacted by these women because of their full disclosure of black cultural identities, their use of feminism to oppose traditional views on folklore, and their challenges of the exclusion of African American Women from media. To identify what it means to be part of black culture in the United States, a Research Article titled “The Girls Are Alright: Examining Protective Factors of US Black Culture and Its Impact on the Resilience of Black Girls and Women” by Bennefield Zinobia and Jackson Taylor examines how US Black Culture has altered perceptions and expectations toward Black Girls and Women. The co-authors write this: “the constant assault and insult against Black femininity by white culture and media, and call to question how Black girls can love their authentic selves when they are growing up in a world that tells them they should not. But even positive images, meant to some degree, to push back against the negative images, Black women have suggested, do not always have the desired positive affect.” (Zinobia et al., 220). Black culture in the United States as it pertains to women features false narratives that assert that Black Women must love themselves fully, but American culture asserts that they should not through harmful imagery and rhetoric. Black cultural identities are very often brought up in African American folklore writings to address and solve disparities between how the US has crafted Black Culture and how it truly is. Toni Morrison does an exemplary job of representing what it means to define cultural identity in her folklore writings. Morrison uses methods of incorporating Black Culture and history in her writing to inspire imagined futures for Black Americans through folklore. In her novel “Sula,” Morrison places a lot of blame on Black Women for problems that occur throughout because of the culture and stigma surrounding them. The main character, Sula, is seen as somewhat of a deceiver to show “the horrific consequences of humanity’s loss of the ability to feel.” (Wilcots,

Welker 3 692). On the other hand, she uses “Sula” to show varying styles of friendship in women as well. While it is clear that Black Culture is defined differently by various artists, creatives, and writers, a clear theme of many folklore tales by African American authors is the discarding of women’s experiences and futures. To use feminism to oppose traditional views on folklore is not an easy task. Octavia Butler, an author of American fiction, was a large proponent of Afrofuturist feminism. She is unique, in that, she touches on and recognizes Black History and Culture, but does not use past or present traditional ways of thinking to impact her outlook on women’s power. Butler challenges traditional views on folklore by giving women platforms to stand on and an outlet for any transgressions. In Susana Morris’ writing for Women’s Studies Quarterly, she writes that Butler’s “emphasis on symbiosis, enchantment, and how the novel's humans and Ina struggle to make sense of the evolution of their cultures and species reflects the challenges found in our own diverse, unenchanted world as we try to make feminist futures out of trenchant patriarchal realities.” (Morris, 162). Patriarchal realities are those of the endorsement and advancement of males over females. Butler uses her voice to attack these long standing social constructs and offer new ways of thinking and points of view on how women are not just cooperators, but innovators, creatives, changemakers, and inspirations to other men, women, and children. Tying in her passion for science fiction and African American Folklore in her writing, she upholds her feminist values to create representation for unrecognized communities. However, this writing also challenges traditional views on what constitutes “traditional African American Folklore.” Butler’s works do not often focus on black utopias as many of her counterparts do. While these utopias are great works of inspiration, Butler takes a different approach by imagining futures for women that challenge societal norms by fostering ideas of greater options for women in the

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Welker 4 world. Using her sense of folklore and Afrofuturism to implore women to strive for more and be changemakers to make the utopian futures that are so common, a closer reality. By bringing African American Women’s perspectives and experiences to the table, Butler fosters security for women to look outside society and the world’s views, and imagine a world in which they are not only seen as equals but as powerful and empowered figures. A large part of imagined futures for African American Women is bringing their perspectives to the table. Forms of media have long asserted that women, African Americans, and African American Women are inferior to their counterparts. Whether it be the praise of White Americans or males, the demographic of African American Women in media has been misconstrued to stereotype them as being below other African Americans, White Women, and White Men. A beautiful aspect of African American folklore writing that Hurston, Butler, and Morrison portray is that Black Women are empowered and fearless. With their writings, the empowerment of a marginalized community is shown through the realistic interpretation of an imagined future that borders on a utopian standpoint on what we could become. Hurston plays one of the largest roles in challenging the exclusion of African American Women from the media. “Hurston contended (1981) that many white writers have erroneously and callously tried to influence readers into believing that the African Americans' mode of speaking is a "weird thing," full of "ams" and "Ises," and lacking in grammatical rules and patterns that govern its use.” (Ogunleye, 437). This quote from Tolagbe Ogunleye’s “African American Folklore: Its Role in Reconstructing African American History.” support the claim that Hurston challenges portrayals of Black Women in media because she regularly contests examples of racism from white writers in their depiction of Black Women’s speech patterns. This is harmful rhetoric by white writers because it asserts to readers that Black Women are less educated, slower learners, or non-readers

Welker 5 because of their inherited speech patterns that have little to nothing to do with their education levels. When authors like Hurston challenge such narratives, she does so in a way to call out that when Black Women are not excluded from media, they are portrayed as less than others in the same stories. It’s harmful to Black Women and all women to see them made as an example of “what not to be” or “how not to speak.” Black Women in media are often excluded altogether because most writers do not have anything nice to say, so they do not say it at all. In the same Journal Article by Ogunleye, he writes: “Even more disturbing is the fact that the evidence of the African American's humanity, moral qualities, and capacity for the lofty and complicated emotions that Zora Neale Hurston and other writers strive to bring to the public through the medium of folklore is out by these so-called scholars. They have not provided their readers with the quality of material from which the prose of African American literary writers' work has emerged.” (Ogunleye, 441). When African American Women are given a seat at the table and purposely included in media, the way that writers view them is that of lower status and stature, consistently bringing to question their morals and capabilities. It is no surprise that marginalized and minority communities are consistently disregarded, stereotyped, and criticized. However, with the continued interest in practices of imagined futures and folklore writing, once ostracized communities are finally receiving examples of what it means to live in a world where no person views them as inferior. The presence of imagined futures as a possibility for what could be to come in our world is one that sparks imagination, creativity, and hope in many. Authors Zora Neale Hurston, Octavia Butler, and Toni Morrison do an exemplary job of showcasing the beauty of a future where African American Men and Women are given equal and equitable opportunity to their white counterparts. Because of the author’s uses of folklore, they have been able to create works that serve a purpose of bringing meaningful

Welker 6 conversations to light by inspiring change through their communities. While all of these authors show a clear love and passion for folklore and science fiction writing the more important theme of these three women’s works is empowerment. Using the term “imagined futures” is not to say that the futures these women depict are “unimaginable” or “of someone’s imagination,” this term is to say that imagined futures is the hope and passion for working towards a world that is less divisive, controlling, and traditional. Society and societal norms cannot be transformed overnight, especially in the United States, but what can be transformed are individuals' views and outlooks on more traditional ways of thinning that society has conditioned us to believe. No race is inferior to another, just as no gender or sex is inferior to another. The sooner that more people realize and take action to support and uplift communities that have been brutalized by harmful teachings and rhetoric, the sooner our cities, states, country, and world can become a place filled with less hatred, racism, bigotry, misogyny, and evil. The works by Hurston, Butler, and Morrison, while seemingly a tale of science fiction and folklore, hold deeper meanings than that of an alien, vampire, or a world set in the year 3000. These women have used their talents and voices to create writings that spark curiosity for deeper themes of marginalization and minority treatment through the way they place African Americans in the spotlight. Because many authors fail to include diversity in their writing or place a diverse side character, African American men and women have long gone without representation of themselves in popular writing. African American folklore and the use of imagined futures in writing has proven to flip the script on what is seen as “traditional” and “the norm.” These writings only serve to make our world a better place by inviting more individuals to sit at a table that once excluded them based on education level, looks, stereotypes, and hatred. Overall, on the surface, African American folklore is a seemingly action-filled genre with principles of science fiction that engages readers

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Welker 7 into what may be seen as a future with extraterrestrials. Clearly, there are underlying themes presented by Hurston, Butler, and Morrison that prove that this is not just the case. And while these women may not be the only authors to shine a spotlight on imagined futures, they are certainly paving the way for women to be involved and valued in the spaces that they were once cast aside in.

Welker 8 Works Cited: Abd, Shakir Mahmoud, and Yasir Mutlib Abdullah. “Toni Morrison and the Ghostly Past: A Rereading of the Role of the Ghost in Beloved.” Journal of Al-Frahids Arts , vol. 14, no. 48, Part 2, Jan. 2022, pp. 549–65. EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=awr&AN=155245171&site=eds-live&scope=site . Billingslea-Brown, Alma Jean. “Crossing Borders Through Folklore : African American Women’s Fiction and Art.” University of Missouri Press , 1999. EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=49430&site=eds- live&scope=site. Bronner, Simon J. Folklore: The Basics . Routledge, 2017. EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1428991&site=eds- live&scope=site. Butler, Octavia E. Fledgling: A Novel . 2005. Bowker , https://doi.org/10.1604/9781583226902 . Deck, Alice A. “Zora Neale Hurston.” Black Heroes , Aug. 2001, pp. 341–45. EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=pwh&AN=38027884&site=eds-live&scope=site. Higgins, Therese E. “Religiosity, Cosmology and Folklore: The African Influence in the Novels of Toni Morrison.” Routledge , 2001. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=cat00456a&AN=ua.10149425&site=eds-live&scope=site Hurston, Zora Neale. Folklore, Memoirs, and Other Writings . Library of America, 1995. EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

Welker 9 direct=true&db=edsasp&AN=edsasp.ASPS00007987.bltc&site=eds-live&scope=site . Morris, Susana M. “Black Girls Are from the Future: Afrofuturist Feminism in Octavia E. Butler’s ‘Fledgling.’” Women’s Studies Quarterly , vol. 40, no. 3/4, Oct. 2012, pp. 146–66. EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.23333483&site=eds-live&scope=site. Morrison, Toni. Sula . Knopf, 2002. Bowker , https://doi.org/10.1604/9780375415357 . Obourn, Megan. “Octavia Butler’s Disabled Futures.” Contemporary Literature , vol. 54, no. 1, Spring 2013, pp. 109–38. EBSCOhost , https://doi.org/10.1353/cli.2013.0001 . Ogunleye, Tolagbe. “African American Folklore: Its Role in Reconstructing African American History.” Journal of Black Studies , vol. 27, no. 4, 1997, pp. 435–55. JSTOR , http://www.jstor.org/stable/2784725 . “Population of Women 15-44 Years by Race: United States, 2020.” March of Dimes | PeriStats , www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/data? top=14&lev=1&stop=128&ftop=126®=99&obj=3&slev=1 . Rigney, Barbara Hill. “Black Women Novelists and the Nationalist Aesthetic Madhu Dubey.” Research in African Literatures , vol. 32, no. 4, Dec. 2001, pp. 202–04. EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.3820820&site=eds-live&scope=site. Vukelic, Tatjana. “Black Vernacular Tradition and Folklore.” Yearbook - Faculty of Philology , vol. 13, no. 19, Jan. 2022, pp. 45–54. EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=160356607&site=eds- live&scope=site.

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Welker 10 Wilcots, Barbara J. “Toni Morrison’s Folk Roots.” African American Review , vol. 26, no. 4, 1992, pp. 691–94. JSTOR , https://doi.org/10.2307/3041882 . Accessed 2 May 2023. Zinobia Bennefield, and Taylor Jackson. “The Girls Are Alright: Examining Protective Factors of US Black Culture and Its Impact on the Resilience of Black Girls and Women.” Open Cultural Studies , vol. 6, no. 1, Sept. 2022, pp. 218–27. EBSCOhost , https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0148.

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