Black Woman

“Heritage” by Countee Cullen (1922)

If “Heritage” is the call to Africa by Black Americans, then “Black Woman” is an answer provided by a speaker who has direct experience of the African continent and its resistance to colonialism. In “Heritage,” Cullen grapples with a sense of displacement from Africa, specifically asking “What is Africa to me?” (Line 10). Cullen’s poem reflects the alienation of a member of the African diaspora who lives in the West and sees their identity through the lens of Christianity. In contrast, Senghor’s poem reclaims Africa as home.

“Prayer to the Masks” by Léopold Sédar Senghor (1945)

Published in the same collection as “Black Woman,” “Prayer to the Masks” is another engagement with African aesthetics and African culture. While “Black Woman” uses the body as a symbol of Africa, “Prayer to the Masks” relies on communion with ancestral spirits who bring a cultural renewal.

“Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou (1978)

Like “Black Woman,” “Phenomenal Woman” is a celebration of Black femininity as a divine, awe-inspiring force. Angelou’s speaker is supremely confident and at home in her body. She has no doubts about her beauty and allure. This self-assuredness counters Western aesthetics and beauty standards, much like “Black Woman” does. A significant difference between the poems is the subject’s position. In “Black Woman,” the woman is the object of the speaker’s address, while in “Phenomenal Woman,” the Black woman speaks for herself. She has a physical body that is much more than a landscape for the African nation.