Blog #3 on Intersectionality and the Four I’s of Oppression

 “The Four I’s of Oppression” from Training Resources for the Environmental Community (TREC)

“The Urgency of Intersectionality” TedTalk from Kimberle Crenshaw

“The Four I’s of Oppression” video of Luna Malbroux

QUOTES

1.       “If we can’t see a problem, we can’t fix a problem” (Crenshaw 8:10).

Crenshaw begins and ends her Ted Talk with this quote. I chose this as my first quote because it reminded me of the Johnson reading. There are many social justice topics that may not be talked about due to not wanting to cause discomfort for others or oneself. Johnson discussed the importance of getting past this uncomfortableness, as we cannot take action and be a part of the solution without being able to discuss the problem. Crenshaw is using this quote in the context of there being no media outcry when black women die by police violence. If we are not seeing or acknowledging this problem or talking about it, we will not be a part of the solution. I thought that beginning her talk by asking the audience to remain standing if they knew the names she was saying was moving and a very relevant introduction to the topic of her talk. Many people remained standing when she stated the names of black men that have been killed due to police violence, but very few remained standing when she started saying the names of black women who have been killed by the same acts of violence by police. A main idea of her Ted Talk was that black women are at a center of intersectionality, race and gender discrimination, and we need to be acknowledging and talking about this or else we will not fix this problem/be able to take and see action.

 

2.       “Institutional oppression can look like withholding FEMA funds” (TREC p. 3).

This example of institutional oppression stuck out to me while I was doing this reading as it was not something I have ever learned or read about in regard to institutional oppression. I decided to look this up elsewhere to learn more about it and found several examples/articles about the topic. One example I found was from after a 2021 hurricane where a white man received $17,000 while a black couple received $7,000 from FEMA after trees fell through the roof of each of their homes. This article stated that there is research that shows that FEMA helps white disaster victims more than people of color, even when the damage is the same. They pointed out that this is due to systemic factors, like real estate placing higher value on neighborhoods that are mostly white. Another researcher found that when a neighborhood has a higher percentage of black residents, the less likely FEMA is to give them a home inspection (which they need to get any assistance). Black neighborhoods were more likely to have requests denied with no reason given and received less money on average than white neighborhoods.

The following link is an article about how the federal government often gives less help to Black disaster survivors. (2021) You can access the article for free using your RIC email.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/climate/FEMA-race-climate.html

The next link is an article on some of the changes to FEMA in recent years and how they might help black communities. (2024)

https://capitalbnews.org/fema-rule-changes/\

 

3.       “I use the term intersectionality to deal with that fact that many of our social justice problems, like racism or sexism, are often overlapping, creating multiple levels of social injustice” (Crenshaw 4:50).

This quote made me think about our in-class S.C.W.A.A.M.P. activity and how some of the items were listed, or could have been listed, on several of the topics. The more that someone is “valued” because of SCWAAMP, the more power that they have.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tidalequality.com%2Fblog%2Fa-venn-diagram-of-belonging-where-identities-equity-and-inclusion-intersect&psig=AOvVaw2DruUVktyVAyQjsVqUrnRJ&ust=1739839093931000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBcQjhxqFwoTCMiOx_C7yYsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE