This essay examines the experiences of African American women living in China during the early 1960s as many black activists began to look to Asia for other models for revolutionary transformation and global anti-imperialist struggle. The essay centers on Vicki Garvin, who settled in China after 1964. The essay charts Garvin’s experiences as a teacher in Shanghai and as a representative of black radicalism in China from 1964 to 1970. The writing is particularly attentive to Garvin’s negotiations of life and gender politics during the start of the Cultural Revolution as Mao pronounced his support for black liberation struggles in the US and a powerful Third World solidarity (and anti-Vietnam war movement) arose in the States.
Race and gender matter: A multidimensional approach to conceptualizing and measuring stress in African American women.