The struggle against patriarchy and racism must be substantively robust and inextricably intertwined.
Kimberle Williams CrenshawRead
I think it's useful to recall that a lot of these statutes like 'disrupting the classroom' or 'disturbing the peace' have long been historically used to oppress and criminalize black people.
Interpretation
The quote highlights how laws can be historically misused to target marginalized communities, particularly Black individuals.
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw emphasizes the historical misuse of laws like 'disrupting the classroom' and 'disturbing the peace' as tools for the oppression and criminalization of Black people. This underscores the importance of critically analyzing legal frameworks and their impact on marginalized groups, reminding us that legal language can often serve as a facade for systemic injustice.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about systemic racism in legal systems.
The struggle against patriarchy and racism must be substantively robust and inextricably intertwined.
I have a wonderful, diverse, and young staff at the AAPF who pretty much work around the clock trying to figure out how we promote the idea that social justice requires us to be intersectional in our thinking and in our scope of vision.
If you don't have a lens that's been trained to look at how various forms of discrimination come together, you're unlikely to develop a set of policies that will be as inclusive as they need to be.
We have to move back to the idea that education isn't about teaching people to bow to rigid rules. That's not what democracy is about.
Having a monolithic view of feminism is suffocating.
We must begin to tell black women's stories because, without them, we cannot tell the story of black men, white men, white women, or anyone else in this country. The story of black women is critical because those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it.
Every American has the duty to obey the law and the right to expect that the law will be enforced.
I am asking that every American everywhere, in every state, in every zip code have the same opportunities and the same right to live.
Those who peacefully gather to express sympathy for the family of Michael Brown must have their rights respected at all times. And journalists must not be harassed or prevented from covering a story that needs to be told.
The prosecution has an ethical duty to ensure not just that they get a conviction when the defendant is guilty, but also to ensure that they get it by means of fair trial, and that means a fair trial for the defense as well as the prosecution.
While mass incarceration is a national crisis, it was built locally.
Justice must be done in investigating the tragic death of Mr. Freddie Gray. His family deserves our deepest sympathy and respect for their loss, and our admiration for their courage in calling us, as a city, to act as our better selves.
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