Sister Citizen, by Melissa V. Harris-Perry

Published in 2011, Melissa V. Harris-Perry’s Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America utilizes “multiple methods of inquiry, including literary analysis, political theory, focus groups, surveys, and experimental research, to understand more deeply Black women’s political and emotional responses to pervasive negative race and gender images. Not a traditional political-science work concerned with office-seeking, voting, or ideology, Sister Citizen instead explores how African American women understand themselves as citizens and what they expect from political organizing. Harris-Perry shows that the shared struggle to preserve an authentic self and secure recognition as a citizen links together Black women in America, from the anonymous survivors of Hurricane Katrina to the current First Lady of the United States.”