Intersectionality Matters‪!‬ African American Policy Forum

For the last year, we have been surrounded by debates on Critical Race Theory spurred by the Right's organized, widespread campaign to stifle anti-racist education. For all of this debate, though, we hardly ever get to hear from the teachers, administrators, and students who are the subjects of these vicious attacks, and who are risking it all in defense of educational integrity and truth-telling. 

On today’s episode, Kimberlé presents a conversation from the African American Policy Forum's Under the Blacklight series, where an incredible line up of brave educators, students, advocates and activists gathered to share their stories from the frontlines. Moderated by Sumi Cho, the roundtable conversation shines a spotlight on the experiences of educators who have been victimized by the draconian legislative campaigns to prevent K-12 teachings about the realities of race and gender based oppression in the United States, past and present.

With:
LILLY AMECHI - Junior at the University of Oklahoma; Founding member of UO's Black Emergency Response Team; Plaintiff in ACLU lawsuit challenging HB1775 and Oklahoma classroom censorship bill 

STACEY DAVIS GATES - Vice President of the Chicago Teachers Union; Executive Vice President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers  

AMY DONOFRIO - 13-year educator; Former teacher at Robert E. Lee high school in Jacksonville, Florida; Co-Founder of the EVAC Movement 

MATTHEW HAWN - 10-year educator and baseball coach; Former teacher at Sullivan Central High School in Blountville, Tennessee 

BRITTANY HOGAN - Former Director of Educational Equity and Diversity for the Rockwood School District in St. Louis County, Missouri  

DR. JAMES WHITFIELD - Former principal of Colleyville Heritage High School in Colleyville, Texas  

LEAH WATSON - Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU's Racial Justice Program; Co-counsel to ACLU lawsuit challenging HB1775 and Oklahoma classroom censorship bill 

Moderated by SUMI CHO - Director of Strategic Initiatives, AAPF; Former law professor who taught CRT for 25 years

Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks)
Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine
Co-produced by Ashley Julien
Supported provided by Destiny Spruill, Rebecca Scheckman, and the African American Policy Forum
Music by Blue Dot Sessions
Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

Thirty years ago this week, Anita Hill sat across an all-male, all-white Senate Judiciary Committee to testify that her boss, Supreme Court Justice nominee Clarence Thomas, had sexually harassed her. A historic moment that brought visibility to the issue of sexual harassment, Anita's bravery during the 1991 confirmation hearing set the stage for countless others to better understand and speak out against their own experiences of gender-based violence. Decades later, questions of how gender-based violence intersects with race and power remain as relevant as ever.

On this special anniversary episode, Kimberlé and Luke Charles Harris, co-founder of the African American Policy Forum, reflect on their memory of being at the 1991 confirmation hearing and the lessons learned through Clarence Thomas' confirmation that inspired AAPF's birth. With excerpts from a recent conversation between Kimberlé and Anita Hill, this episode examines the legacy of Black women's truth telling, the persistence of gender-based violence, and the intersectional politics needed to pave a new way forward. 

With:
LUKE CHARLES HARRIS - Co-Founder, the African American Policy Forum; Associate Professor of American Politics and Constitutional Law, Vassar College
ANITA HILL - Professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Brandeis University, Lawyer, and Legal Scholar; Author, Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence 

Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks)
Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine
Co-produced by Ashley Julien
Supported provided by Destiny Spruill, Rebecca Scheckman, and the African American Policy Forum
Music by Blue Dot Sessions
Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

Over the last year, the Right has ignited a widespread disinformation campaign around Critical Race Theory -- and mainstream media is fueling the fire. Mentions of CRT in the news grew exponentially this past year, with journalists often framing the conversation around education censorship as an equal debate between supporters and opponents of anti-equality legislation. And despite CRT’s well-documented history of emerging in 1989 with a clear and fixed definition, the media have decided to play in the Right’s disinformation campaign by allowing a distortion of the concept’s meaning in exchange for views.

On this episode, Kimberlé meets with veteran journalist Soledad O’Brien to unpack mass media’s decision to legitimize faux debate, outline the consequences of this debate on racial justice and democracy, and chart a path forward for journalists who aspire to do better.

With:
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN - CEO of Soledad O’Brien Productions; Anchor and Producer, The Hearst Television political magazine program “Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien”

Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks)
Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine
Co-produced by Ashley Julien
Supported provided by Destiny Spruill, Rebecca Scheckman, and the African American Policy Forum
Music by Blue Dot Sessions
Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

Over the past year, Critical Race Theory has been increasingly misrepresented by the Right in an organized, widespread effort to stifle racial justice and gender equity, and weaken our multiracial democracy. In response to these attacks, AAPF held a 5-day Critical Race Theory Summer School in mid-August to educate participants about the origins, principles, and insights of Critical Race Theory, and to chart a path forward.

On this episode, we bring you a conversation that took place on the first day of Summer School, which features some of the leading thinkers in the field of Critical Race Theory. Together, the panelists tell the story of CRT came to be, explore what it teaches us about the world, and discuss it can now help us protect the very existence of critical thinking about race.

With:
ANTHONY COOK - Professor of Law, Georgetown; Author, The Least of These: Race, Law and Religion in American Culture

DANIEL MARTINEZ HOSANG - Associate Professor of Ethnicity, Race & Migration, Yale; Author, Racial Propositions: Ballot Initiatives

GLORIA LADSON-BILLINGS - Pedagogical theorist & educator; Author, The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children

GARY PELLER - Professor of Law, Georgetown; Author, Critical Race Consciousness

ROBERT A. WILLIAMS, JR - Professor of Law, University of Arizona; Author, Savage Anxieties: The Invention of Western Civilization

Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks)
Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine
Supported provided by Destiny Spruill, Ashley Julien, Rebecca Scheckman, and the African American Policy Forum
Music by Blue Dot Sessions
Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

When we think about the history of Black athletic resistance, we don't tend to think of Black women athletes like Wyomia Tyus, Rose Robinson, or Wilma Rudolph, who have all taken great risks to speak out against racial injustice. On this episode, Kimbelé is joined by Layshia Clarendon and Sydney Colson of the WNBA, Demario Davis of the New Orleans Saints, and civil rights icon Dr. Harry Edwards to celebrate the achievements of today’s Black women athletes, reflect on the history of athletic activism, and imagine the power that lies in collective action and athletic solidarity.

With:
LAYSHIA CLARENDON - WNBA player, leading advocate for trans, non-binary and LGBTQ+ athletes, and the first vice president of the WNBA Players Association

SYDNEY COLSON - WNBA player, member of the WNBA’s Social Justice Council, and a leading voice in the WNBA #SayHerName initiative

DEMARIO DAVIS - Linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, member of the Players Coalition, recipient of the Bart Starr Award for outstanding character on the field, at home, and in the community

DR. HARRY EDWARDS - Professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, founder of the field of study known as the Sociology of Sports, and founder of the Olympic Project for Human Rights movement

Special thanks to the Players Coalition (@playerscoalition) for making this event possible

Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks)

Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine
Supported provided by Amarachi Anakaraonye, Rebecca Scheckman, Destiny Spruill, and the African American Policy Forum

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

On today’s episode, Kimberlé and a group of leading champions for equitable healthcare take us behind the “white coat” of medical racism, and explore its disproportionate impact on Black women and girls. Guests share their own stories being mistreated and ignored as patients, and reflect on the struggles they’ve endured as Black woman doctors working in a medical system with roots in eugenics and racialized violence. The conversation analyzes the lessons learned from the tragic case of Dr. Susan Moore, examines how the experiences of Black women in healthcare relate to historical racism and sexism, and asks what it would take to deconstruct the misogynoir that “lurks behind the white coat.”

With:
Dr. Karen Scott, epidemiologist, educator and obstetric doctor;
Dr. Gail Wyatt, professor at UCLA, psychologist, and board certified sex therapist;
Dr. Alisha Liggett, board certified family medicine doctor with a clinical practice based in New York City;
Dr. Joia Crear Perry, the founder and president of the National Birth Equity Collaborative.

Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks)

Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine
This episode was co-produced by Amarachi Anakaraonye
Supported provided by Rebecca Scheckman, Destiny Spruill, and the African American Policy Forum

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast