Deeper Intersectional Insights and Actions

What is the working strategy of capitalism, patriarchy, and institutional racism? Divide and conquer. Without seeing how systems of oppression are interlinked, we can get caught up in “silo-ed”patterns of work. Our programs and strategies are less effective. Some can even cause harm when organizers unconsciously live by White Supremacy values.

In order to build effective and sustainable social justice coalitions on the ground, leaders and organizers need to acknowledge and celebrate differences between and within groups. This was why intersectionality theory was created when legal scholar and civil rights activist Kimberlé Crenshaw pointed out that antiracist and feminist movements had not included the lived experiences of Black women.

Converge believes that intersectionality continues to provide a framework for deeper insights and actions to combat multiple systems of injustice. It is also an inherently reflexive model of praxis, urging for more authenticity and power-sharing. As Kimberlé Crenshaw puts it, “Intersectionality is a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects.”

Exposing Invisible Systems of Oppression

At the center of oppressive systems are individuals’ identities and lived experiences. Gender, race, immigrant status, socioeconomic class, religion, disability, sexual orientation, nationality. Each dimension of these systems provides a hierarchy of power as well as a field of language to describe marginalized lived experiences. The latter is often the beginning of dismantling the former.

Intersectionality is a versatile theory and analytic tool that reveals the intersections of institutions and systems that produce oppression as well as the identity categorizations (or “intersecting categories”) within groups. Intersectionality also allows for:

Exposing hierarchical exclusions that create silos in social justice work
Breaking down disciplinary divides to include more thought leaders from across all sectors
Interrogating whether inclusion efforts are meaningful or tokenism
Enabling people to have the language to share their lived experiences and voice their truths
Centering humanized impact narratives of oppression
Empowering people to form expansive and stronger solidarity groups for a broader social justice cause

Just like how many Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts in this field become a public relations approach without needing to address the underlying structural injustices, the use of intersectionality often gets cheapened. At Converge, we would like to stress that an equitable process is as important as the outcomes.

Practicing Reflexive Intersectionality

Converge embraces a reflexive intersectionality that challenges individuals and institutions to critically examine their own positionality and privilege within systems of power and oppression. Practicing reflexive intersectionality means always pausing and asking the question of “Who is not at the table?” It goes a step further by asking individuals and institutions to be aware of their own roles in perpetuating systems of power.

Applying an intersectional lens to movement building can create durable solidarity that bridges differences. This solidarity shines when people of different identities contribute to the same fight for the same cause. There are implications for practitioners in different sectors to collaborate together. Not only policy-makers can work with activists and educators, but coalitions on different issues can converge.

Below are two blogs where Converge consultants offer their deeper insights as a practice of reflexive intersectionality:

White Paper Series #2

Converge is proud to release the second White Paper in the Southern Movement Building Landscape Scan series. It includes state profiles of Georgia and Florida. Please click the image below to download it: