Refusal

The black woman worker is the most important worker in the development of racial capitalism from slavery. Ervin here looks at unions, protests, kitchen-table discussions, laundries, and all arenas of life to find examples of how black women workers' refusals constituted core challenges to racial capitalism and structured black feminism. The book brings out the breadth of struggles black women have been engaged in-from union, civil rights, cultural work, housework, environmental justice, AIDS activism, and more-that black women workers have been engaged in.

In a series of accessible, narrative chapters highlighting specific moments of black women's refusal, from slavery to #Black Lives Matter, Refusal argues that black women workers' refusals can guide us all toward emancipation.