Is there any term more vilified on the right than "identity politics"? Supposedly, "IDpol" is all about creating hierarchies of oppression, and the lower down the ranks you fall, the less value your voice has.
On this episode, Briahna talks to Barbara Smith, who as part of the Combahee River Collective - a radical, black, feminist organization based in Boston - coined the term in the late 1970s. Barbara explains that, far from excluding people, her group meant to include everyone in a common struggle for liberation by recognizing the unique challenges that different groups face. "If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression," the group wrote.
Smith recently endorsed Bernie for president, saying that our campaign and movement carries on the structural, intersectional politics for which she has fought all her life.
Barbara Smith is an author, activist, independent scholar, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. She lives in Albany.
Barbara Smith on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheBarbaraSmith
34 - Turkey Talk: Making the Case for Bernie's Electability (w/ Bernie Sanders & Peter Daou)
33 - Best of Bernie: DACA Fight | On the Trail with AOC | Elegy for Oligarchs
32 - Bernie Gets It Done (w/ Warren Gunnels)
31 - Live at Politicon (w/ Kyle Kulinski, James Adomian, and Anthony Atamanuik)
30 - It's Not Your Fault (w/ Michael Moore & Meagan Day)
29 - Bernie's Back, Baby!
28 - Buddy, Essentialize This! (w/ Tom Sexton & Analilia Mejia)
27 - Best of Bernie: Rising Up | Racial Justice | Whose Economy Is It, Anyway?
26 - Bernie vs. the Rest (w/ Naomi Klein & Xiuhtezcatl Martinez)
25 - Best of Bernie: A Million Donors Strong | Housing for All | Climate Strike
24 - Back to the Future (w/ Harvey Kaye & Cornel West)
23 - Best of Bernie: Climate Threat | Crackdown in Kashmir | Killer Mike
22 - Bern or Burn: The Green New Deal (w/ David Wallace-Wells & Kate Aronoff)
21 - Best of Bernie: Winning the Class War | Green New Deal | Justice for All
20 - Birth and Death in America (w/ Sanjeev Sriram)
19 - Building Coalitions (w/ Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor)
18 - Bridging the Center/Left Divide (w/ Jon Favreau)
17 - Beat the Press (w/ Katie Halper & Sam Seder)
16 - Brazil, Bernie, and the Fight Against Fascism (w/ Michael Brooks & Leandro Demori)
15 - Big Money vs. the City of Brotherly Love
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