Intersectionality - We Are A Mosaic

CAssandra JaMES, DEI MANAGER

If someone asked you to describe yourself, I’m sure you would use more than one word. You may mention your marital status, religion, race, ability status, even your education level. All these identities make you who are, and all these identities are impacted differently by society, and that is called Intersectionality.  Intersectionality is important because it helps us understand how different forms of discrimination interact and exacerbate inequality. The term was coined by American civil rights advocate Kimberle Crenshaw., following a meeting with Emma DeGraffenreid, who sued General Motors in 1976 for discrimination, claiming the company did not hire her because of her race and gender.
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I was eleven and a half when my younger brother was born, and I pretty much adopted him as my own. I would dress him up and take him to the park with me.  Each time I would do that, someone would ask me if he was my son.  Now that never happened to my white friends of the same age, but those people saw my two identities, race and age and drew their own conclusion. A young Black girl with a child, it must be hers. That’s how society views those identities, and it plays into how people interact with you. It can seem overwhelming to try to account for everyone’s multitude of identities, but there are actions that you can take to ensure that you’re at least considering them.  

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