Summary

In the Introduction, Mikki Kendal writes about her grandmother's version of feminism. Born in 1924, she always worked and mandated education for her daughters but believed in certain gender roles and did not think of white women as her allies. Mikki's grandmother is one of the most feminist women she has known, despite her efforts to make her granddaughter more "ladylike" (x). From her grandmother, Mikki learned about intersections of race and class, as well as how white feminism has ignored or neglected the needs of marginalized communities. As a child, Mikki learned that being a "good girl" would offer her no protection and in this way, her grandmother's lessons about being a woman differed from what Mikki needed to do in her own generation.

From growing up in the hood, Mikki learned that feminism is about practical work, not academic theory. Basic needs such...