Contemporary Connections

For my first article, I chose to read an analyze the article “Black Women and the Wage Gap” written by The National Partnership for Women and Families in March of 2017. This article highlights not only the gender wage gap that exists in our society today, but how much further that wage gap goes in comparison of white women to black women. According to The National Partnership for Women and Families, African American women make 64% of what white men make, while white women make 78% of what white men make. This social issue can definitely be applied to Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Beloved. In both novels, there are strong female characters, who prove to be hard workers and good mothers. Also in both novels, the women run away from their slave owner’s and have to start a new life for themselves. Being a woman in the 19^th century was hard enough, but being a black, runaway slave woman was worse. Not only were they limited to the type of work they could do, but they were surely judged on their color, and probably faced a lot of discrimination because of it. Discrimination that could easily include not being paid as much as their male co-workers.

For the second article, I chose, “The Pay Gap is Even Worse for Black Women, and that’s Everyone’s Problem” by Kathryn Bibler on July 21, 2015. Bibler puts the wage gap into a good perspective by giving the scenario of “Would you like to work eight extra months for free just to earn the same paycheck as your male co-workers? We didn’t think so. Unfortunately, if you’re a black woman in the United States, that’s a likely reality.”

With all of the social issues going on today, like the Black Lives Matter Movement, the wage gap, and racism that is still present, novels like Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Beloved are more relevant now than ever. It’s easy to see that history repeats itself, and while we have somewhat grown from America’s days of slavery, racism is still very much present in our society. Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Beloved give people a new perspective of what it’s like to be African American, and shows how the effects of slavery are still present in our society today.