African American Politics of Social Change: Intersectionality - Essay Example

African American Politics of Social Change: Intersectionality Introduction Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, an American scholar of race coined the term “intersectionality” in 1989. However, the ideas of intersectionality predated 1989 and originated both within and beyond America (Hankivsky 2). As intersectionality has become more popular, black activists, feminists and scholars have understood and discussed it in a variety of ways. These perspectives include intrsectionality as a theory, framework, methodology, lens or paradigm. Moreover, the term has been defined in different ways. Intersectionality seeks to promote the understanding that several social factors interact to shape human life. These factors include race and ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, class, age, migration status and disability or ability. Put simply, any inequality is never the product of a single, isolated factor. Rather it is the result of the intersections of various social factors, experiences, and power relations. This paper analyzes how two figures, namely Ida B. Wells and Amy Marcus, understood and utilized intersectionality as a lens through which to analyze events and as a political tool in the pursuit of the broader goals of their respective movements. The analysis is undertaken in the historical settings of their efforts. In addition, their specific events, writings, and actions are assessed as a way of conducting the analysis. Ida B. Wells Ida Bell Wells was an African-American woman who lived between July 1862and March 1931. In their career life, Wells worked as a journalist, a newspaper editor, a suffragist, a sociologist and as an initial leader in the civil rights movement. As a journalist, Wells documented the lynching of blacks in the United States (Bressey 1). They demonstrated that it was a way of controlling blacks who displayed opposition to whites in any sphere of life. The lynching was usually done on the pretext of rape charges (Logan 50). Being an active leader of the civil rights movement, Wells established many leading womens organizations across the United States. These included the National Association of Colored Women which Wells founded in 1896 and the Women’s Era Club. The latter became the first civic organization for black women. Moreover, Wells co-founded the National Afro-American Council. Wells was endowed with public speaking skills and spoke at several international civil rights events. The African-American Civil Rights Movement comprised several social movements across the United States. The goal of the movement was two-fold: first, the movement sought to bring to and end racial segregation and discrimination against Americans of African descent (Logan 50). Secondly, the movement sought to compel all the States to recognize and protect the citizenship rights of black Americans. These rights had been incorporated into the Constitution of America in the aftermath of the civil war. However, many States had declined to recognize them. About racial segregation, there existed parallel social, political, economic, and other systems for blacks and whites. For instance, there were schools for blacks and whites. In their career in the civil rights movement, Wells faced several challenges. One incidence stands out in Wells civil rights movement career and illustrates the hardships with which they had to contend. The incidence involved Frances Willard. Willard served as the secretary of the Womans Christian Temperance Union, a nation-wide organization with a membership of over two hundred thousand at that time. Willard had seen the push for black women suffrage as too radical and used their position to mobilize women against it (Bressey 5). Then, one day, fate brought the two to England at the same time (Logan 55). Until then, the British people had esteemed Willard as a champion of democracy in America. However, when Wells accused Willard of condoning the lynching of blacks, and of making racial comments that served to fuel racism, the British public abhorred Willard. In order to support their public allegation against Willard, Wells quoted an interview that Willard had held while on a tour of the South (Logan 56). In the interview, Willard had accused blacks of causing the failure of the temperance legislation. Willard had also remarked that the black Americans were multiplying like the locusts of Egypt, apparently alluding to the biblical plague of locusts. The conflict between Wells and Willard led to increased vilification of Wells by the American press. The press presented them as an unpatriotic self-centered woman who was prepared to taint the image of their country for their selfish gain. In the end, however, Wells emerged the winner. Their tour of Britain led to the establishment of the British Anti-Lynching Committee. In their civil rights movement career, Wells understood and invoked the idea of intersectionality. They understood that while racism was common againstthe black Americans, other factors also came into play to perpetuate the evil. These factors included the mind-set of African-Americans (Logan 63). While being militant in their quest for equality, Wells also stressed that blacks needed to fight for it through their efforts. No one was going to give them equality and justice on a silver platter. Thus, Wells rightly interpreted intersectionality as a lens through which to analyze the problems of black Americans then seek solutions based on the understanding of the problem. Amy Marcus Amy Marcuslived from 31 December 1895 and 25 July 1983 and was the second wife, of Jamaican decent, of Marcus Garvey. Marcus Garvey’s first wife wasAshwood Garvey. Like Wells, Amy Marcus was a journalist and activist. They relocated to New York in 1917 and shortly afterward, became engaged in publishing the Negro World when the newspaper was conceived in 1918. Their work with this publication marked the beginning of their career in black rights activism.They married Marcus in July 1922 following Marcus divorce with their first wife Ashwood a month earlier. Amy Marcus later rose to become the unofficial leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Arguably, UNIA was the largest Pan-African Movement of the last century and much of Amy Marcus’ work took place in the context of this organization. Amy Marcus was a master of community feminism (Taylor 104). Community feminism allowed women of African descent to serve as both helpers and leaders in their respective communities. Amy Marcus’s career as black rights activist began soon after they marriedMarcus.They started their career by editing the first volume of the Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey. This was a compilation of speeches and writings by Marcus. The purpose of their editorial work was to avail objective information on the basis of which members of the public could form their opinions on Garvey and what they stood for (Taylor 105). This was at a time when a lot of biased information circulated about Marcus Garvey and the ideas for which they stood. However, the objectivity of that information is questionable given the nature of the relationship between the two. After some time, Amy Marcus’career in the organization took a more purposive angle when they became the representative of women in the organization and the movement (Taylor 108). In their book Garvey and Garveyism,Amy Marcus claimed that a significant chunk of Garvey’s speeches were their work both directly in their wording and indirectly through the research that went into them. In the book, Amy Marcus elaborates how Garvey would persuade them to read the front pages of newspaper articles and other sources of news, and interpret their significance to them. Having obtained that information from Amy Marcus, Marcus would use it to craft their speeches. Amy Marcus was reported to have been an excellent speaker so much so that some observers noted that their husband started to view them as a rival, not a wife and a helper. Amy Marcus had gained speaking from experience from their several tours of the country in the company of their husband or sometimes alone. However, Amy Marcus did not constitute a significant threat to their husband, initially. They had a strong understanding of their role as the wife of Marcus and intended to keep things that way. Amy Marcus, like, most women in UNIA, took a back seat. UNIA consistently claimed to be an equal-rights organization. Sexism still thrived in UNIA (Taylor 116). Many women were dissatisfied with the positions they were accorded in the organization. The women made their grievances public in 1922 during UNIA’s national conference. In June 1923, Marcus Garvey was charged with mail fraud. They had barely been married for a year. Marcus Garvey was imprisoned at Tombs Prison in New York. They spent three months there before they were released on bond. Garvey tried to appeal several times. They failed in all occasions. Consequently, in February 1925, Marcus was sent to Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for five years. Marcus’ imprisonment marked a turning point in the career of Amy Marcus. It was under these circumstances that Amy Marcus took over the leadership of UNIA (Taylor 120). While in that position, Amy Marcus worked tirelessly to keep the organization moving, including speaking at functions countrywide to raise funds for the release of Garvey. Despite all their efforts, observers noted that Garvey never appreciated Amy Marcus. In fact, Amy Marcus never assumed the official leadership of the organization. Garvey would not allow them, even while in prison. By 1940, when Marcus died, Amy Marcus worked as an editor for The African, a journal then published in Harlem. The publication offered Amy Marcus an avenue to further their activism following the collapse UNIA. In the late 1940s, Amy Marcus founded the African Study Circle of the World (Taylor 124) where they continued their activism. The organization was based in Jamaica. By this time, the Negro improvement fever had spread to the Caribbean, thanks to its predominantly black population. Amy Marcus’ activism earned them international recognition. In November 1963, they visited Nigeria having been invited by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Azikiwe was being sworn in as the country’s first Governor-General. In the same year, they published their book, Garvey and Garveyism. In 1971, they were awarded the “Musgrave Medal”. Many Jamaicans saw Amy Marcus as a hero such when they eventually breathed their last on July 25, 1973, their remains were buried in the compound of Saint Andrews Church as a sign of honor. This summary of Amy Marcus’s story reveals that they understood the intersectionality of women’s rights. While pursuing the broader goal of the rights of black people in America, and later on in Jamaica, Amy Marcus understood that several forces conspired to make the realization of women’s rights even more difficult. These forces included sexism (or male chauvinism) that was prevalent within UNIA, even though, repeatedly, the organization purported to provide an equal-right environment regardless of a person’s gender. Besides gender bias, there was the politics of succeeding Garvey following their imprisonment in 1925. Amy Marcus’s response to both challenges depicted profound wisdom. They did not contend with Garvey for the official recognition of their leadership of UNIA. Instead, they worked tirelessly in their unofficial position to champion the aims of the organization as a whole and the rights of women in particular. Conclusion Throughout history, intersectionality has been an integral part of African-American politics of social change. In essence, the idea of intersectionality shows that several social, political, economic, and other factors collude to determine the circumstances of a group of people in society. The leaders who were successful in the politics of social change for black Americans were those who understood this fact and acted accordingly. Ida Bell Wells understood that the media played a major role in the fight for the rights of black Americans. Given that the media back home was biased against blacks, they chose to capitalize on the British media. Their strategy entailed naming and shaming Willard whom they perceived to be a racist. In the end, their efforts bore fruit when the British appreciated the plight of African-Americans and constituted the Anti-Lynching Committee (Bressey 18). Amy Marcus was quite successful in their struggle for women’s rights in the wider context of UNIA, in spite of the sexism that was rampant. They were able to create what scholars have called “community feminism” in which they empowered women to take charge of the leadership of their communities. However, they failed to sustain UNIA after Garvey’s death, instead opting to form a new organization in Jamaica. Understood, Amy Marcus may have lacked the support of their rather jealous husband, Garvey, but with a mastery of organizational politics, they might have salvaged the movement and the organization. Works cited Bressey, Caroline. A Strange and Bitter Crop: Ida B. Wells Anti-Lynching Tours, Britain 1893 and 1894. Working Paper. Swindon: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), 1993. Print. Hankivsky, Olena. Intesectionality 101. Primer. Ottawa: The Institute for Intersectionality Research and Policy, 2014. Print. Logan, Shirley Wilson. Ida B. Wells: "Lynch Law in all Its Phases" (13 February 1893). Thesis. College Park: the University of Maryland, 2007. Print. Taylor, Ula. ""Negro Women Are Great Thinkers as Well as Doers": Amy Amy Marcus GarveyAmy Marcus-Garvey and Community Feminism, 1924-1927." Journal of Womens History 12.2 (2000): 104-126. Print. Read More