Understanding Intersectional Systems of Oppression
Intersectionality was a concept brought into academics by Black scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in the 1990s. It explains the unique combinations of privilege and oppression that individuals experience.
For example, the experience of an indigenous drug user with a physical disability is going to be different than a white drug user with a physical disability, or a black queer woman will have a different experience than a straight black man.
Gender, race, physical ability, class, and more all add details to our experiences of the world. Creating space for the multiplicity and layers of an individual’s experiences means letting things be complex, multilayered, and come into clarity over time. Letting all of the pieces of ourselves exist in full can take more time, take more space and be messier than we may be used to.
A practical thing to remember in programming these street college offerings is to leave space for complexity by not over programming. Western capitalism has tendencies to over schedule or expect high degrees of “productivity” at all times. Decolonizing and creating intersectionally accessible programs often can look like:
Use tools like the First Peoples Principles of Education (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teaching-tools/aboriginal-education/principles_of_learning.pdf) to ensure that learning spaces are “holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place)” while working to decolonize the learning exchanges taking place.
Intersectionality was a concept brought into academics by Black scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in the 1990s. It explains the unique combinations of privilege and oppression that individuals experience.
For example, the experience of an indigenous drug user with a physical disability is going to be different than a white drug user with a physical disability, or a black queer woman will have a different experience than a straight black man.
Gender, race, physical ability, class, and more all add details to our experiences of the world. Creating space for the multiplicity and layers of an individual’s experiences means letting things be complex, multilayered, and come into clarity over time. Letting all of the pieces of ourselves exist in full can take more time, take more space and be messier than we may be used to.
A practical thing to remember in programming these street college offerings is to leave space for complexity by not over programming. Western capitalism has tendencies to over schedule or expect high degrees of “productivity” at all times. Decolonizing and creating intersectionally accessible programs often can look like:
- slowing things down
- scheduling time for
- contemplation
- discussion
- integration
- and complexity
Use tools like the First Peoples Principles of Education (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teaching-tools/aboriginal-education/principles_of_learning.pdf) to ensure that learning spaces are “holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place)” while working to decolonize the learning exchanges taking place.