Recognition
Analyze the exclusivity and strictness of the term “Women of Color” and how it still falls short of intersectional understanding. Why are the terms “WOC” and “Black women” NOT interchangeable?
Are there levels to allyship? Is the label enough or is there a pre-requirement of action?
Intersectionality is often used as an approach versus a desired result. How could intersectionality as an approach lead to, but not offer productive solutions for, hypervisibility of Black female bodies in predominantly white spaces like most elite universities?
How potentially dangerous is the term “easy” or “fast” in the context of conservatism in the Black community and comprehensive sexual education/health?
Some Black women feel as though the blanket label of Feminism has historically excluded their goals, interests, and participation. How does this echo the debate of separatism versus collaboration in larger political discussions towards progress?
How does Sandra Bland’s “Say Her Name” movement work to recondition a destructive relationship between Black women with police brutality?
Sitting president Donald Trump has a long career and history of discriminating against Black people despite claims that he is “the least racist person that you have ever met”. Think of one way Mr. Trump could practice actual allyship when 88% of the US Black population voted against him in 2016?
“Existing while black in America requires, among other things, a perpetual cognizance that your appearance will be both noticed and noted, possibly legislated against and perhaps even criminalized” -Damon Young, The Washington Post
Take the headline “A woman captured on viral video calling police on a black girl who was selling bottled water in San Francisco insists the incident had nothing to do with race — just the “disturbance”. 8 year old Jordan Rogers was trying to raise money outside her apartment building because she wanted to go to Disneyland. How does the label “Permit Pattys” speak to a harmful culture of White women policing Black children without a badge?
How do policies like “Stop and Frisk” fail to complicate Black masculinity? How important is this conversation alongside Black femininity?
64% of White Protestant women voted for Trump in 2016. What parallels exist between the “Women for Trump” movement and women at the center of the largely middle class Second Wave of Feminism?
In what ways are Black women collectively rendered “invisible” among movements like #MeToo and even #BlackLivesMatter?
What is missing from the argument which places blame on single Black motherhood as the common source for lacking economic success within Black family units?
Consider the quote “Work twice as hard to get half of what they have” and apply its impact to the feasibility of professional or educational endeavors for young, Black women? Is this quote accurate? (Think: Black women make about 63 cents to the white man's dollar)
Can you identify a policy example that lacks cultural relevance and does not consider a fragile history of Black hair politics in the US? (Think: uniforms, military, corporate America)
Name 5 Black female politicians. Are Black women properly represented in our governmenting bodies?
Black creatives face the challenge of engaging in the “Blax-ploitation” (Black exploitation) genre which produces bodies of work reliant on generational trauma of Black bodies like slavery or sexual abuse. Can you name an example of Black-produced work that transcends this genre? Is there one way to do this?
How does the legacy of US slavery make our nation’s racial dynamics unique to our own political system? How does it not?
Mattel's new “Entrepreneur Barbie” doll is still thin, wears a tight pink dress, and is perfectly made up. How does this image play into feminine stereotypes and does it help or hurt the “equal pay” debate which historically dismisses racial and gendered barriers to economic equity?
How can economic incentives function behind the appropriation of intellectual property within initiatives like “Design Thinking” or Diversity & Inclusion”?
How do the negative labels “loud” and “aggressive” fail Black women and their activism efforts to be seen as valid?
Trans* and gender-expansive people of color experience the intersectional impact of racism, misogyny, sexism and transphobia, but there are currently zero federal laws that protect them from employment discrimination or hate crimes. How does this lack of recognition mirror or expand upon previous worker’s rights movements?
Audre Lorde claims “Some problems we share as women and some we do not.” Cite a problem that Black parents maneuver in society that White women or men might take for granted?
A study by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality “provides—for the first time— data showing that adults view Black girls as less innocent and more adult-like than their white peers, especially in the age range of 5–14.” How can these realizations connect to Jennifer C. Nash’s theory of “defensiveness” in her work Black Feminism Reimaged?
Black bodies suffer from more comorbidities such as asthma and diabetes than their white counterparts. Alongside food insecurity, medical racism, and systemic health disparities, how have disproportionate death rates from COVID-19 been amplified?
In what ways can “Disappears” function as an active verb? (Think: exploitation of Black women’s labor in academic feminism & beyond)