intersectionality

The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism (Audre Lorde, 1981)

1946-1989, Black, Consciousness Raising, Date, Defining the Enemy, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, Women

In this piece from Audre Lorde, a renowned intersectional feminist/activist, she offers the use of anger as a unifying force for women across the lines of race. White women struggled to understand the consequences of racism, even in their own activism. Lorde suggests that this divide can be lessened when women empathize with each other and use their divergent experiences to come together against the patriarchy. Anger can be a powerful tool instead of a divisive force.

AudreLordeSisterOutsiderExcerptsDownload
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own. And I am not free as long as one person of Color remains chained. Nor is any one of you.”

The Sixties Speak to the Eighties (Redstockings, 1983)

1946-1989, Black, Consciousness Raising, Date, Defining the Enemy, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, White Supremacy, Women

The Redstockings are a radical feminist group that emerged partly out of the Women’s Liberation Movement. In this speech, Kathie Sarachild, a prominent activist and leader within the Redstockings, reflects on her time spent with the Civil Rights Movement. Specifically, she focuses on how white feminists need to reflect on who their cause benefits the most and how people in power have intentionally created splits in ideologies so in – fighting remains a constant issue for groups trying to work together. She aims to disrupt the established patterns of thinking and create more opportunities for a collective group working together to disrupt the patriarchy and white supremacy.

Redstockings-SixtiesSpeakToEighties-013107-1Download