Unit 4- Movements

What is Black feminism?

An intellectual and political tradition that centers Black women's experiences and argues that struggles against racism and sexism are inseparable.

What is a common misconception about Black feminism?

It is often seen as 'anti-men' or focused only on interpersonal prejudice.

What does the term 'interlocking oppression' refer to in Black feminism?

It indicates that racism, sexism, class inequality, and other systems do not operate independently but shape each other.

What role does lived experience play in Black feminist thought?

Personal and community experiences can reveal how institutions function, especially when official narratives ignore harm.

What is meant by collective liberation in Black feminism?

Strategies should not sacrifice the most marginalized; solutions that work for them tend to expand freedom for everyone.

What was the Combahee River Collective?

A Black feminist lesbian socialist collective active in the 1970s that addressed multiple forms of domination.

How does the Combahee River Collective define identity politics?

Political work grounded in the real conditions of a group whose oppression has been ignored.

What is intersectionality?

A framework for understanding how multiple aspects of identity and structural power overlap to produce distinct experiences.

How do institutions often define discrimination?

Using single-axis categories (race or gender) that can create blind spots for individuals experiencing combined forms of harm.

What is a key example of intersectional organizing?

Reproductive justice, which includes the right to have children, not have children, and parent in safe environments.

What does 'political participation' include?

Influencing government and public life through various forms, such as voting, campaigning, and community organizing.

How has African American political participation been historically shaped?

By a constant push-pull between expanded rights and efforts to limit those rights.

What does voter mobilization involve?

Registration drives, education about races, transportation, and combating misinformation.

What are descriptive and substantive representation?

Descriptive representation refers to officials sharing background with constituents, while substantive representation involves advocating for their interests.

How do African American political movements build influence?

Through voting, representation, coalition politics, litigation, and movement-to-politics pathways.

What does the term 'defund the police' imply in activism?

It can include reallocating funds to community services, narrowing police responsibilities, and increasing accountability.

How do contemporary movements leverage social media?

As infrastructure to amplify, coordinate, and narrate activism, but not as a substitute for organizing.

What is the significance of the #MeToo movement in relation to Black feminism?

It connects personal harm to institutional power and centers historically dismissed voices.

What does environmental justice focus on?

How environmental harms disproportionately affect marginalized communities and how they organize for accountability.

What are the two approaches to the criminal legal system mentioned?

Reform, which aims to change practices, and abolition, which seeks alternative safety solutions.

How are collective action debates in movements characterized?

By tensions over strategy, such as whether to focus on reforms or transformational change.

What factors shape global dimensions of contemporary movements?

Protest tactics, human rights language, critiques of state violence, and transnational solidarity.

What are the key questions to analyze when examining a contemporary movement?

Identifying the grievance, targets, tactics, and outcomes of the movement.