Black Feminism: The Importance of Inclusion In Feminism ( A Celebration for International Women's Day)

By Lucia Ene-Lesikar

You might be saying, I know what feminism is, but what exactly is black feminism? How is it different? Doesn’t feminism include black women? All very good questions. The truth is that the Feminist movement hasn’t always been very inclusive or appreciative of black women and the contributions they have made to Feminism. Black Feminism specifically aims to empower Black women within the movement and explores how racism and sexism work together to mutually oppress women. This intersectionality is a significant part of the movement. As I’ve spoken about in a previous blog post:

https://elevateyoungminds.uk/blog/2021/cross-roads-where-being-black-meets-being-lgbtq

Intersectionality is a way of examining the interactions of race, gender, sexuality, class, ability and other social categories and understanding how they compound to create different levels of oppression. This means that Black Feminist activsism is wider than just focusing on women, but also affects Black LGBTQ+ people, as well as black disabled people and indigenous Black people.

Through the idea of intersectionality, we can also explore how these social categories we are put in are all in place so as to maintain the status quo, that is to a society that is centred around ‘imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchal’ ideals. Black Feminism aims in part to dismantle these systems by understanding that racism and sexism come from the same place. For decades mainstream feminism was just represented by white women and often didn’t include women of colour. This excluded them from conversations about equality and meant they weren’t heard when talking about problems that exclusively or disproportionately affected them. In fact, the very term ‘intersectionality’ was coined by the Black Feminist scholar Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989.

You probably don’t know this, but the people who founded the #blacklivesmatter movement where Opal Tometi, Alicia Garza and Patrice Cullors, precisely to address police brutality through the lens of intersectionality. Similarly the #sayhername was created to highlight women killed by the police who were not as publicised as other deaths. The hashtag was particularly focusing on highlighting the importance of the lack of support from white feminists. The movement would not be where it is today without these incredibly important figures, including Angela Davis, Bell Hooks, Alice Walker, Sojourner Truth, Ida B.Wells, Rosa Parks and Patricia Hill Collins.

Today, on International Women’s Day, it is crucial to remember the contributions and value that Black women have brought and bring in society today. Too often feminism appropriates, but doesn’t appreciate black culture. So, it is absolutely crucial that Mainstream feminism is inclusive. You cannot claim to be a feminist and in favour of womens rights if your feminist does not serve all women, including black, indigenous, disabled, LGBTQ+ and neurodiverse women.