Barbara Smith Facts for Kids

For other uses, see Barbara Smith (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids Barbara Smith

Born	(1946-11-16) November 16, 1946 (age 78) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Independent scholar, writer, activist
Education	Mount Holyoke College (BA) University of Pittsburgh (MA)
Literary movement	Black feminism
Relatives	Beverly Smith (sister)

Barbara Smith (born November 16, 1946) is an American writer, activist, and scholar. She is a very important figure in the Black feminism movement in the United States. Since the early 1970s, she has worked to share the ideas of Black feminists through her writing and speeches.

For 25 years, Smith taught at many colleges and universities. Her writing has been featured in famous publications like The New York Times Book Review, Ms., and The Nation. She has a twin sister, Beverly Smith, who is also a feminist activist and writer.

Early Life and Education
A Lifetime of Activism
Later Life and Achievements
See also

Early Life and Education

Childhood in Cleveland

Barbara Smith and her twin sister, Beverly, were born in Cleveland, Ohio. Their mother, Hilda Beall Smith, worked as a nurse's aide and later a store clerk. Because their mother worked, their grandmother was their main caretaker. Sadly, their mother passed away from heart problems when the twins were nine years old. After this, they continued to live with their grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Even though the family did not have a lot of money, they valued education. Barbara's grandmother and great-aunts had been teachers, and her mother had earned a college degree. This was a big achievement for Black women at that time. The family loved to read and encouraged the girls to learn both in and out of school.

Barbara and her sister grew up in the northern U.S., but their family kept its southern traditions from Georgia. Her family was part of the Great Migration, where millions of African Americans moved north to escape unfair treatment and find better jobs. This family history inspired Barbara to become an activist. She saw racism in the north, too, which made her want to fight for justice.

Excelling in School

Barbara and her sister were excellent students. They attended Bolton Elementary School, Robert Fulton Elementary School, and later John Adams High School. In high school, Barbara took advanced classes and did very well on her tests.

Her great grades helped her get into Mount Holyoke College in 1965. She later transferred to the New School in New York City for a year before returning to Mount Holyoke to graduate in 1969. After college, she earned a Master's degree in literature from the University of Pittsburgh in 1971. In 2015, the University at Albany gave her an honorary doctorate degree for her life's work.

Becoming an Activist

Growing up in a segregated society made Barbara aware of politics from a young age. In high school, she and her sister joined protests for civil rights. She volunteered for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). She also attended speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. and met activist Fannie Lou Hamer.

In college, she joined groups that protested the Vietnam War. After college, she felt that some activist groups did not fully respect women's roles. She decided to focus on her studies for a while. However, after attending a meeting of the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO), she jumped back into activism.

A Lifetime of Activism

The Combahee River Collective

In 1975, Barbara, her sister Beverly, and activist Demita Frazier started a Boston chapter of the NBFO. They soon realized their ideas were more radical than the national group's. They decided to form their own group, the Combahee River Collective. It was named after a successful military mission led by Harriet Tubman.

The group wrote a statement that explained their goals. They focused on how race, gender, and class all connect to create challenges for women of color. The Collective was a socialist Black feminist organization. It was one of the first to talk about how all parts of a person's identity matter. The group was structured to be equal, with no single leader. This was important to Smith for making sure Black feminism could grow as a radical movement.

Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press

Barbara loved literature but was disappointed that most famous writers were men. She wanted to share the stories of women of color. In 1980, she founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press with the help of her friend, the poet Audre Lorde.

Kitchen Table published important books like Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology and This Bridge Called My Back. These books became popular in college classes like women's studies and Black studies. The press helped writers like Alice Walker and Toni Morrison become well-known. Smith believes Kitchen Table's legacy is that it helped women of color find their place in American literature.

Shaping Feminist Ideas

Barbara Smith made huge contributions to feminism. She was one of the first to use the term "identity politics". This idea explains that different parts of a person's identity, like their race and gender, create unique experiences of unfairness. She argued that for feminism to help all women, it had to understand these different experiences.

She also created Black feminist criticism. In her famous 1977 article, "Toward a Black Feminist Criticism," she pointed out that Black women writers were often ignored. When their work was studied, it was often not seen as feminist. Smith's work helped create a way to study and appreciate the rich history of Black women's writing.

Later Life and Achievements

In 2005, Smith was elected to the city council in Albany, New York, where she served for two terms. She worked on programs for young people, violence prevention, and education for those in need.

Smith has received many awards for her work. In 2005, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. She has also received the Harriet Tubman Lifetime Achievement Award and a Stonewall Award for her activism. In 2015, the Albany Public Library Foundation named her a "Literary Legend."

Her life and work have been featured in books and documentaries, including the 2013 film Makers: Women Who Make America. A 2019 episode of the podcast Making Gay History was also about her. Today, she continues to be an activist, speaking out against Islamophobia and supporting immigrants and refugees.

Barbara Smith facts for kids

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