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This article focuses on the suffering and exploitation of Black women under the system of slavery. American slavery was one of the cruellest and darkest chapters of American history, where millions of Black people were subjugated and marginalised. The article points out how women were sexually exploited and discriminated against because of their colour and race. African American literature includes autobiographical narrative which represents the lives and suffering of enslaved black people under slavery. Many African American authors portrayed the picture of slavery in their writing. The autobiographical narrative became the most popular genre among African American writers, in which they not only discuss their personal lives but also explain the lives of those with whom they were living. The life of Black enslaved women under slavery was very difficult; they were not only exploited as women but also discriminated against based on their race and colour. They carried a double burden of exploitation. Their lives were more difficult than men’s; they had to struggle more to get freedom and rights. So, many autobiographies have been written by male and female authors that discuss the lives of Black women. Through textual analysis, we explore the issues of sexual violence and racial discrimination.
Navneet Kumar Sonkar, Prof. Susheel Kumar Sharma. “The Double Burden: Sexual Violence and Racial Discrimination of Black African American Women.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 4, August 2026, pp. 369-379. DOI, https://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n4.22.
Open Access · CC BY 4.0 · Crossref DOI ·
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