War & Peace: The Black Gender Divide - Mixtape

 Makhia Ruffin 

Dr. Harris 

African American Lit 

1 December 2025 


  War & Peace: The Black Gender Divide 

The topic "War and Peace: The Black Gender Divide" depicts the emotional and historical conflicts that Black men and women face as they work through issues of identity, love, and emancipation in a society that is dominated by sexism, racism, and survival. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a powerfully fixing text in which Janie Crawford's journey depicts conflict and unity, war, and peace, between the masculine and feminine, as well as between the male and female voices. Her attempt for independence, love, and self-definition reflects the larger struggle in Black communities to balance shared struggles against oppression with gendered expectations.

Spirituals like "Wade in the Water" and "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," which reflect the ancestral suffering Hurston effortlessly incorporates into Janie's tale, open the musical arc. These spirituals reflect two emotional landscapes that shaped early Black gender experiences: the masculine voice of exile and the feminine voice of perseverance. This grieving is extended into protest in Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit," which shows how racial terror historically repressed Black male voices while compelling Black women to grieve in silent resiliency. Like Janie's final separation from Logan and Jody, Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" moves toward hope; a stride toward selfhood despite the male authority that attempted to imprison her.

Aretha Franklin's "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" expresses the gendered tension Hurston dramatizes through Janie's marriage to Joe Starks as the story advances into the mid-20th century. The song demands respect for one another, which Janie is continuously denied until Tea Cake shows up as a replacement. In line with Janie's developing feeling of value, Nina Simone's "Young, Gifted and Black" emphasizes the growing assertion of Black feminine intelligence. Similarly, "Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister)" reflects the healing female voice Janie discovers in Nanny, Pheoby, and eventually in herself, reinforcing female unity.

"The Closer I Get to You" depicts a romantic reconciliation that captures the great moments of Janie and Tea Cake's relationship, where the masculine and feminine momentarily find harmony. However, fresh conflicts emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s. 2Pac's song "Keep Ya Head Up" calls for reform while openly addressing the historical abuse of Black women. Like Janie letting go of the load of her previous marriages, Erykah Badu's "Bag Lady" symbolizes the emotional responsibilities Black women bear over generations. Also, Common's "The Light" re-centers a healthier masculine voice: expressive, responsible, and caring like Tea Cake's part in Janie's emotional awakening.

The playlist closes in "Freedom" by Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar and "Blessings" by Chance the Rapper, which combines masculine and feminine voices to fight for liberation. Hurston's last message, that the Black community cannot bridge the gender gap without recognizing suffering, honoring resiliency, and choosing empathy is echoed by these artists.

Together, these songs and Hurston's book show a path from gendered conflict to the potential for peace, from suffering to self-realization. Although there is still a gender gap among Black people, peace is always possible through common struggle, expression, and love.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ROP8hlehCxfPjAVgKp3ec


30-Minute Mixtape: 

  1. “Wade in the Water- Traditional (1800s)

  2. “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”- Mahalia Jackson 

  3. “Strange Fruit”- Billie Holiday (1939)

  4. “A Change Is Gonna Come”- Sam Cooke (1964)

  5. “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man”- Aretha Franklin (1967)

  6. “Young, Gifted and Black”- Nina Simone (1970)

  7. “The Closer I Get to You”- Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway (1978)

  8. “Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister)” – Quincy Jones & Tata Vega (from The Color Purple, 1985)

  9. “Keep Ya Head Up”- 2Pac (1993)

  10. “Bag Lady”- Erykah Badu (2000)

  11. “The Light”- Common (2000)

  12. “Freedom”- Beyonce ft. Kendrick Lamar (2016)

  13. “Blessings”- Chance the Rapper ft. Jamila Woods (2016)

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