Intersectionality Through the Lens of the Black Lives Matter Activists: Challenges and Possibilities
Location
Littlefoot B Room 124B
Start Date
21-4-2023 1:00 PM
End Date
21-4-2023 2:15 PM
Publication Date
2023
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Law | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
In the late 1980s, the legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw originated the term Intersectionality in her landmark article ‘Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antiracist Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics’ to critique the failure of law and social justice movements to attend to the intersectional nature of oppression faced by Black women. Crenshaw highlighted the limitations of the one-dimensional analyses that focus either on race or gender separately and emphasized the importance of acknowledging that Black women’s experiences are a complex combination of sexism and racism. Following Crenshaw’s article and coining of the term, scholars and activists developed intersectional analyses to deepen their understandings of oppression dynamics. Intersectionality refers to the ways in which different categories of a person’s identity such as race, gender, class and sexuality overlap to create complex forms of oppression. Over the last twenty years, there has been a growing interest in Intersectionality studies which can be seen as having developed into three distinct trends: A critical theory, a methodological framework, and a critical praxis.
Hate in the twenty first century is a complex and multi-layered notion; therefore, it sometimes requires an intersectional lens and practice to be understood and addressed. In this proposed presentation, the focus will be on intersectionality as a form of critical praxis which refers to how individuals or groups put intersectional knowledge into practice, a trajectory that should prove to materialize theoretical frameworks regarding intersectional oppression into a fruitful social practical framework. My data comes from semi-structured interviews with some Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists, a movement that seeks to adopt the intersectional approach as a strategy of addressing the different manifestations of oppression against Black people. This presentation will address how BLM activists understand intersectionality, how they seek to implement intersectional ideas into a practical framework, and how they address the challenges that arise from the complex practical interpretation of intersectionality. Using the lessons learned from the interviewed BLM activists, this presentation aims at:
- Emphasizing the importance of using an intersectional lens to understand hate in the 21st
- Highlighting the complexity of an intersectional approach to activism which offers a chance to discuss possible ways of improving the critical praxis aspect of intersectionality.
Description Format
html
Recommended Citation
Chehaba, Imane, "Intersectionality Through the Lens of the Black Lives Matter Activists: Challenges and Possibilities" (2023). International Conference on Hate Studies. 27.
https://repository.gonzaga.edu/icohs/2023/seventh/27
Full Text of Presentation
wf_no
Media Format
flash_audio
Session Title
The Complexity of Hate and its Study: What Constitutes Hate Studies and Hate?
Type
Panel
Intersectionality Through the Lens of the Black Lives Matter Activists: Challenges and Possibilities
Littlefoot B Room 124B
In the late 1980s, the legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw originated the term Intersectionality in her landmark article ‘Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antiracist Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics’ to critique the failure of law and social justice movements to attend to the intersectional nature of oppression faced by Black women. Crenshaw highlighted the limitations of the one-dimensional analyses that focus either on race or gender separately and emphasized the importance of acknowledging that Black women’s experiences are a complex combination of sexism and racism. Following Crenshaw’s article and coining of the term, scholars and activists developed intersectional analyses to deepen their understandings of oppression dynamics. Intersectionality refers to the ways in which different categories of a person’s identity such as race, gender, class and sexuality overlap to create complex forms of oppression. Over the last twenty years, there has been a growing interest in Intersectionality studies which can be seen as having developed into three distinct trends: A critical theory, a methodological framework, and a critical praxis.
Hate in the twenty first century is a complex and multi-layered notion; therefore, it sometimes requires an intersectional lens and practice to be understood and addressed. In this proposed presentation, the focus will be on intersectionality as a form of critical praxis which refers to how individuals or groups put intersectional knowledge into practice, a trajectory that should prove to materialize theoretical frameworks regarding intersectional oppression into a fruitful social practical framework. My data comes from semi-structured interviews with some Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists, a movement that seeks to adopt the intersectional approach as a strategy of addressing the different manifestations of oppression against Black people. This presentation will address how BLM activists understand intersectionality, how they seek to implement intersectional ideas into a practical framework, and how they address the challenges that arise from the complex practical interpretation of intersectionality. Using the lessons learned from the interviewed BLM activists, this presentation aims at:
- Emphasizing the importance of using an intersectional lens to understand hate in the 21st
- Highlighting the complexity of an intersectional approach to activism which offers a chance to discuss possible ways of improving the critical praxis aspect of intersectionality.