“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” Audre Lorde – writer, professor, philosopher, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist
A discussion of privilege and oppression is not complete without a broader discussion of intersectionality, a concept that helps us understand how multiple oppressed identities show up together. The Combahee River Collective, a group of Black, lesbian women is often credited for the concept of intersectionality. In 1977 the collective released a statement that highlighted the racism they experienced in the feminist movement dominated by white women and the sexism they experienced among Black-nationalist organizations that were largely led by Black men. They offered a strategy that centered the needs of Black women to better achieve the overall goals set out by feminists and Black nationalists. The term intersectionality was later coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe the ways in which systems of inequality based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, class and other forms of discrimination “intersect” to create unique dynamics and effects.
For instance, a woman who is Black and has a disability will likely experience a different complexity of discrimination through these identities. She never gets to experience the world as just a woman or just Black or just a person with a disability. She always experiences the world through a combination of these identities. And, as a result, her experiences aren’t just a sum of sexist, anti-Black racist, and ableist oppression. She experiences oppression in a way that is complicated by her multiple, oppressed identities.
Consider how someone’s experience may differ in the following scenarios:
- A young person boards a public transit bus
- A boy boards a public transit bus
- A Latino boy boards a public transit bus
- A Latino boy who is a wheelchair user boards a public transit bus
- A Latino transgender boy who is a wheelchair user boards a public transit bus
If we were only to consider his experience as a boy boarding a bus, we would miss out on understanding the many other layers of his experience. Likewise, if we only considered his experience as a trans boy, we would not understand the fullness of his experience.
We have the opportunity to not only consider racial justice through an intersectional lens, but we can also act in a way that is intersectional. Consider the concepts shared in the article “Climate Activism Without Intersectionality Isn’t Enough: Why We Need Intersectional Environmentalism” https://www.blackwomenradicals.com/blog-feed/leahthomas. Leah Thomas draws our attention to intersectionality in environmentalism when she says, “you cannot talk about endangered salmon in a lake in Alaska without talking about the Indigenous people who rely on that salmon for their livelihood. You cannot talk about the creation of national parks without talking about the people you are displacing from those areas. How can you not talk about communities in New Orleans that face immediate impacts of sea-level rising and displacement?”
Today’s Challenge
Read
- In this famous declaration, the members of the Combahee River Collective share the history of Black feminism, outline the challenges of single-issue justice movements, and offer a way forward. (1977) The Combahee River Collective Statement | BlackPast.org
Watch
- Ashley Jiang takes a light and short approach to describe the complexities of intersectionality. What Is Intersectionality? | Queer 101 | The Advocate
- Kimberlé Crenshaw explains her journey to coining the term intersectionality and how she has applied it to a growing body of research in civil rights and constitutional law. The urgency of intersectionality | Kimberlé Crenshaw | TED
- Engage and Reflect: Consider these 15 Examples of Intersectionality
Engage
- The term “intersectionality” gives us a way to understand how interlocking systems of oppression operate. How can this concept help you deepen your understanding of racial equity and social justice?
- How might the concept of intersectionality help you think about your interactions with people in your life and the people in your community?
- How is your life shaped by your multiple identities? What do you wish people knew about how you experience the world?
