Extracts on the roots of Intersectional Feminism (Part 3)

This month we are focusing on the Roots of Intersectionality and instead of one big conversation, we wanted to really reflect the diversity of voices and opinions that emerged with early African American feminists.

We have picked six extracts of text by some writers of the time, and invited on six guests to share their reflections on them. There’s so much richness of thought here and so we’ve divided this month’s episode into three mini episodes, so you can reflect on different pieces in your own time.

This (part 3) looks at an extract from Angelina Weld Grimke’s lesbian love poetry, and our second extract from Audre Lorde’s ‘Sister Outsider’.

• Angelina Weld Grimke was a teacher, poet and playwright, working in the first half of the 20th century. She is far less well known than the other authors we have explored in these podcasts,and there is limited information about her life. However, we know she was mixed race, and race was an important theme in her work, especially as she was one of the first women of colour to have her play performed in America. Her work also explores her suppressed sexual identity, and our extract is taken from the poem Rosabella, one of her lesbian love poems. Reflecting on this is Amu.
• As mentioned above Audre Lorde was a black, lesbian feminist activist. Our second extract from her works is also taken from ‘Sister Outsider’, but is an extract taken from the speech ‘Lessons from the 1960s’, which she delivered at Havard University in 1982. This speech looks to the future, and all marginalised and oppressed identities allying together to fight the oppression each community experiences both individually and collectively. Reflecting on this speech is Chi Chi x.

A quick note to apologise for the audio quality in this part, we had some recording issues but we hope you can still enjoy the reflections from Amu and Chi Chi. 

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