Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower

Brittney Cooper

Feb 2018 · Macmillan Audio · Narrated by Brittney Cooper

About this audiobook

"...Cooper delivers a frank, conversational-style examination of the importance of black female friendships, respectability politics, and harmful stereotypes, among other topics. She blends candor and humor as she roots out toxic behaviors and beliefs we use in America to tear ourselves and each other down, while also offering paths forward. Listeners learn how rage, aimed with fine-tuned focus and purpose, can help build up black women's lives and society overall." — AudioFile Magazine

With searing honesty, intimacy and humor too, America’s leading young black feminist celebrates the power of rage in this piercing new audiobook.

So what if it’s true that Black women are mad as hell? They have the right to be. In the Black feminist tradition of Audre Lorde, Brittney Cooper reminds us that anger is a powerful source of energy that can give us the strength to keep on fighting.

Far too often, Black women’s anger has been caricatured into an ugly and destructive force that threatens the civility and social fabric of American democracy. But Cooper shows us that there is more to the story than that. Black women’s eloquent rage is what makes Serena Williams such a powerful tennis player. It’s what makes Beyoncé’s girl power anthems resonate so hard. It’s what makes Michelle Obama an icon.

Eloquent rage keeps us all honest and accountable. It reminds women that they don’t have to settle for less. When Cooper learned of her grandmother's eloquent rage about love, sex, and marriage in an epic and hilarious front-porch confrontation, her life was changed. And it took another intervention, this time staged by one of her homegirls, to turn Brittney into the fierce feminist she is today. In Brittney Cooper’s world, neither mean girls nor fuckboys ever win. But homegirls emerge as heroes. This audiobook argues that ultimately feminism, friendship, and faith in one's own superpowers are all we really need to turn things right side up again.

More Praise for Eloquent Rage:

“I was waiting for an author who wouldn’t forget, ignore, or erase us black girls as they told their own story...I was waiting and she has come—in Brittney Cooper.” — Melissa Harris Perry

“Cooper may be the boldest young feminist writing today. Her critique is sharp, her love of Black people and Black culture is deep, and she will make you laugh out loud.” — Michael Eric Dyson

Ratings and reviews

I saw Dr. Cooper on a #ForHarriet, YouTube discussion. I couldn't buy this book fast enough. I've been sleeping on my feminist reading and she woke me up. It's amazing how much I missed over the years without having any direction. With the turmoil in our world today, I loved the conversation about feminism and policing so much that I picked this as the first book in my black feminist reading list. I am glad I did. She is candid and perfectly on point. How do we know we are feminists? We see ourselves in her story and how we reflect on our history and the world around us. I hope she reads this. I want to thank you, young Dr. Cooper. Now, on to Audre Lorde, bell hooks and beyond. It's never too late. We are all beginners at something all the time.

Love, love, love it! A necessary book for this moment for Black women and anyone who claims to be a friend, ally or lover of Black women.

A wonderfully affirming critical breakdown of the intersections of black womanhood and American white supremacy.

About the author

Brittney Cooper writes a popular monthly column on race, gender, and politics for Cosmo. A professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University, she co-founded the Crunk Feminist Collective, and her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Ebony.com, and The Root.com, among many others.