Go Back: Module 10: Unpacking Whiteness | You Are Here: Module 11: Intersectionality | Next: Module 12: Confronting Colorblindness and Neutrality |
After working through this module, you will be able to:
- Define intersectionality.
- Describe ways in which intersectionality alters and compounds the effects of racism and other forms of oppression.
Introduction
In Module 5 we talked about systems of oppression. In this module, we will explore the concept of intersectionality which shows how the impacts of systems can be compounded and complicated by youth’s multiple identities.
Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the concept of intersectionality in her 1989 paper, Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. In the article, Crenshaw discusses several legal cases brought by Black women, including the case of Emma DeGraffenreid, a Black woman who was denied employment at General Motors and sued the company on the grounds of racial and gender discrimination. While General Motors employed Black men, usually in industrial or maintenance jobs and white women, usually in secretarial or front office role, they did not employ any Black women. The judge assigned to the case argued that since the company employed both women and Black men, no discrimination was happening and threw out her case, refusing to see the discrimination resulting from the overlap of Emma’s identities as a Black woman (Crenshaw, 2016).
Crenshaw uses the metaphor of an intersection to describe Emma’s experience: imagine one road running North to South that represents racial discrimination and another road running East to West that represents gender discrimination. Emma was situated at the intersection of those two roads and the law, represented by an ambulance in this metaphor, was prepared to help her if she were “driving” on either the race road or the gender road, but not both (Crenshaw, 2016). Although intersectionality was inspired by the experiences of Black women, it can be used to explain the unique burdens experienced by anyone with multiple marginalized identities.
Who is…
Kimberlé Crenshaw
Kimberlé Crenshaw is a scholar, writer, and professor at both the UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School. Her work focuses on civil rights, critical race theory, Black feminist legal theory, and race, racism, & the law. Along with Andrea Ritchie, Crenshaw co-authored Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women and launched the #SayHerName campaign to direct attention to police violence against Black women and girls..
To learn more about Kimberlé Crenshaw and her work:
As we work with BIYOC, it is important to be aware of their other identities and to consider the ways in which these identities intersect with each other and thus influence the experiences they have in libraries. But we must also go beyond awareness to use intersectionality as a lens that can help us see how power and oppression operate across identity categories, even within spaces that are built for and by marginalized people. For example, a Black transgender teen may face racism from others in the LGBTQ+ community, or may face transphobia from other BIPOC, and they may experience both racism and transphobia in general society. An Afro-Latina child may face language discrimination within spaces intended to welcome BIYOC, and may face colorism within the Latinx community. Using an intersectional lens can help us ensure that all systems of oppression are challenged and dismantled so that true inclusion of all marginalized identities is realized. As Crenshaw stated, “Intersectionality is a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects. It’s not simply that there’s a race problem here, a gender problem here, and a class or LGBTQ problem there. Many times that framework erases what happens to people who are subject to all of these things” (Columbia Law School, 2017).
BIYOC who experience marginalization due to another facet of their identity face specific challenges that must be identified in order to effectively dismantle the multiple systems of oppression that impact their lives. For example:
- Black LGBQ youth and trans* youth face high rates of discrimination, anxiety, depression, and suicide.
- Although BIPOC report experiencing mental health problems at rates similar to white peers, they are less likely to receive mental health care, and thus often face more severe and longer-lasting consequences of these problems.
- BIYOC with disabilities receive fewer special learning services than their white peers in school. Black children specifically are more likely to receive services for emotional disturbance or intellectual disabilities than peers from all other racial/ethnic groups.
The rest of this module will help you build a working definition of intersectionality as a lens and a tool. You will also explore how applying an intersectional lens can improve your equity and inclusion work in the library.
Read
Though Crenshaw began using the term intersectionality in 1989, the concept didn’t become widely known and discussed until the mid 2010s. As the idea of intersectionality has become more mainstream, its meaning and application has often been misunderstood. Read “Busting Common Myths About Intersectionality,” which explores some common misconceptions about the concept.
Watch
Watch this video, created by Learning For Justice, which explains intersectionality in an accessible manner, using the identities of three different students as examples. As you watch the video, notice how Jerry’s disability, socioeconomic status and responsibility to care for his siblings all impact his schoolwork, how his school counselors view him, and job prospects. How do the identities of the other two students, Fatima and Gretta, impact how others view them and how they view themselves?
Next, watch this video created by the National Association of Independent Schools in which Kimberlé Crenshaw speaks about the importance of applying an intersectional lens in learning spaces. As you watch the video, think about how intersectionality as a tool allows us to identify systems of oppression and how they function in libraries.
Read
Read this blog post which presents a useful metaphor for understanding how an intersectional lens can help us understand the experiences and outcomes of marginalized people. This article focuses on the healthcare context, so as you read, think about what “roots,” “leaves,” and “fruits” are present in library spaces. What are the cultural (soil) and structural (trunks and branches) determinants that impact how BIYOC experience libraries?
Respond
In your journal, label and annotate the image of the tree using the framework you read about above. Consider each element (soil, trunk and branches, roots, leaves, and fruits) in the context of your own library or school.
explore
Consider the experiences of a Black autistic child visiting their local public library with their mother. Using Crenshaw’s metaphor of a road intersection, think about what barriers or forms of oppression the child faces as a Black child in the library. Now think about the barriers or forms of oppression they experience as an autistic child in the library. How is the library prepared to meet the needs of the child if they are driving on the race road? How is the library prepared to meet the needs of the child if they are driving on the disabled road? Now, what can the library do to support the child who is in the intersection? How can the library eliminate or lower the barriers?
Explore
Learning for Justice’s Toolkit for “Teaching at the Intersections” shares standards, essential questions, and suggestions for texts that can be used to help youth of various ages understand identity, oppression, and how the two interact. Read through the toolkit. How might you use this framework in your work with youth in libraries? How might you center identity and justice in story hours or programs? What essential questions might you explore? What other texts, beyond those recommended in the toolkit, might you use to explore these questions?
References and Image Credits
Crenshaw, K. (2016). The urgency of intersectionality [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?language=en&subtitle=en
Columbia Law School. (2017). Kimberlé Crenshaw on intersectionality, more than two decades later. Retrieved from https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/kimberle-crenshaw-intersectionality-more-two-decades-later
Go Back: Module 10: Unpacking Whiteness | You Are Here: Module 11: Intersectionality | Next: Module 12: Confronting Colorblindness and Neutrality |