The Intersectionality of Race and Gender: An Exploration of Black Queer Resistance
- acetheyogi
- Jan 31
- 8 min read
Note: The following is a transcript/adapted blog post from my presentation delivered in February 2023 for Cedar Crest College’s Black History Month Speaker Series. This text has been condensed and edited for clarity and focus.
Table of Contents
A Note from the Author: Resistance Beyond the Monolith
When we discuss "Black Resistance," the historical lens often defaults to a singular, masculine, and heteronormative narrative. But resistance is not a monolith. To truly understand the journey toward equality, we must look at the intersectionality of our struggles.
In this talk, I explore how Black Queer individuals have navigated the "double-bound" of racial and gender-based marginalization, transforming their lived experiences into a radical form of defiance.
This "double-bind" is the specific pressure of being marginalized by the state for being Black, while simultaneously facing exclusion or erasure within both the mainstream LGBTQ+ movement and traditional Black spaces. For the Black Queer individual, resistance is not a choice; it is a prerequisite for survival.
Redefining the Journey to Equality
As we move forward, we must ask ourselves: Whose equality are we fighting for? If our version of equality only benefits those who fit into a neat, respectable box, then it isn’t true equality—it’s just a new form of exclusion.
Black Queer Resistance is the radical act of expanding the "we." It is about creating a world where "Black History" includes every Black body, every gender expression, and every way of loving. It is about understanding that as long as any part of our community is forced into the shadows, the entire community remains in the dark.
Final Reflections: 2023 to Today
While this presentation was originally shared in 2023, the intersections we explored then have only become more pronounced today. The fight against systemic erasure continues, but so does the brilliance of Black Queer joy. Joy, in and of itself, is a form of resistance. To be Black, Queer, and thriving is perhaps the most powerful statement one can make against a system designed to see us fail.
Thank you for engaging with this work. Whether you are watching the video or reading these words, I hope you carry this truth with you: Our liberation is bound together.
🎥 Prefer to watch the Presentation? Get a much deeper dive into this history by watching or listening to this presentation.
PRESENTATION TRANSCRIPT | FEBRUARY 2023
Opening: Social Identity and Belonging
Good evening everyone. I want to start by saying thank you to Leon and Cedar Crest College for this opportunity to speak and share my knowledge during this year’s Black History Month. I would also like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of the Lenape nation through a brief moment of silence.
Thank you. Let’s get started. Again, my name is Candace, or Ace for short, and I use they/them pronouns. My social identity is Afro-Native, non-binary, organizer, educator, student, millennial, sexologist, coach, yogi, and Buddhist.
I like to start my presentations off by giving a few of my social identities for the audience to reference. Our social identities are what influence how we see the world and what beliefs or values we may take on as a result of that perspective. I encourage you all to self-reflect on what your social identities are and how those identities have influenced your lived experiences. Social identity allows us to be part of groups and gain a sense of belonging; the more we identify with a particular group, the more that group plays a role in shaping how we feel about ourselves.
Tonight, I invite you all to join me in an exploration of the intersectionality of race and gender as it pertains to Black Queer Resistance; with a specific focus on femininity and queerness. We will examine Black Queer History from the past, the present, and a hopeful future.
The Evolution of Language
Generation by generation, pronunciations evolve, new words are borrowed or invented, the meaning of old words shift, and terminology develops or decays. Language contributes to human evolution by creating new ways of communicating thoughts, ideas, self-expression, and complex social architectures.
One of my many mentors, Miss Camilla Greene, once told me that the language we use today should not be the same language we used in the 1960s. However, one must be willing to self-reflect and acknowledge the ways in which their own vernacular has conditioned them to experience the world. Through my personal expedition, I have learned that "if it does not grow, it decays." Questioning and challenging the history, the language, and the people who have historically dictated both have played major roles in my journey of resistance. My only goal for tonight is to share parts of this liberation with you all, in hopes that it will spark curiosity for you to unlearn and relearn.
What does Intersectionality mean?
In 1989, this word was coined by scholar and theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw, a civil rights writer and Black feminist legal theorist. Intersectionality explains how discrimination and oppression compound based on one’s individual experiences relating to their gender identity, race, nationality, ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation, and other markers.
As Kimberlé states: “Intersectionality is a metaphor for understanding the ways that multiple forms of inequality or disadvantage sometimes compound themselves, and they create obstacles that are not understood within conventional ways of thinking about anti-racism or feminism or other social justice advocacy structures we have.”
To understand the intersection, we must define the components:
Race: A controversial classification system used to categorize humans on the basis of physical traits. It is a social construct, not genetic. Biologically, there is only the human race.
Gender: Refers to socially constructed roles, behaviors, and identities. While sex is biologically defined, gender is a social construct.
Sexual Orientation: Describes who a person is attracted to and wants to have a relationship with (LGBTQIA+).
Queer: Often used as an umbrella term to describe someone who is "strange" based on heteronormative standards. Reclaimed by the community, it has evolved from a derogatory term to a catch-all for LGBTQ people.
The Context: In 2021, data from the Gallup Daily Tracking Poll estimated that about 40% of LGBTQ+ adults in the U.S. are people of color, with 12% identifying as Black. Both demographics have historically dealt with unjust discrimination, from physical violence to a lack of adequate healthcare access.
Black Resistance and Historical Themes
Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the "Father of Black History," established Negro History Week to showcase the contributions of Black Americans that were being deliberately suppressed. Since 1928, an annual theme has been selected. The 2023 theme was BLACK RESISTANCE—the exploration of the African American legacy to resist oppression in all forms, including politics, the arts, and even internalized white supremacy.
When we speak of Black Resistance, we also speak of Black Oppression. I focus on two systems:
White Supremacy Culture (WSC): A form of racism centered on the belief that white people are superior and should dominate society.
Patriarchy (Sexism): A system that empowers men while disempowering women. In this context, sexism is the undermining and devaluing of femininity. It plays into homophobia and transphobia.
For example—a Black transgender woman must navigate WSC, Sexism, and transphobia; meanwhile, a white gay man will likely only need to navigate homophobia while holding onto his white male privileges.
Timeline of Resistance
Year | Milestone / Event | Significance |
1619 | First Africans arrive in Jamestown | First documented arrival of enslaved Africans in Virginia. |
1808 | Import Ban | Congress bans the import of humans from Africa. |
1848 | Seneca Falls Convention | First women’s rights convention; notably excluded women of color. |
1851 | "Ain’t I a Woman?" | Sojourner Truth delivers her iconic speech on Black women's rights. |
1863 | Emancipation Proclamation | Applied only to states in rebellion; did not fully abolish slavery. |
1865 | 13th Amendment & Juneteenth | Slavery abolished (except as punishment for crime); true independence celebrated. |
1868 | 14th Amendment | Citizenship granted to all formerly enslaved peoples. |
1870 | 15th Amendment | Black men granted the right to vote. |
1896 | Plessy v. Ferguson | Supreme Court upholds "separate but equal" doctrine. |
1909 | NAACP Founded | Co-founded by Ida B. Wells, investigative journalist and abolitionist. |
1920 | 19th Amendment | White women granted the right to vote (Black women still barred by local laws). |
1924 | Society for Human Rights | First documented gay rights organization in the U.S. |
1944 | Rape of Recy Taylor | Investigated by Rosa Parks; ignited early Civil Rights Movement. |
1954 | Brown v. Board of Ed. | Racial segregation in schools declared unconstitutional. |
1955 | Claudette Colvin | Arrested at 15 for refusing to give up bus seat (9 months before Rosa Parks). |
1955 | Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) | First lesbian civil and political rights organization in the U.S. |
1963 | March on Washington | Organized by Bayard Rustin, a gay Black man. |
1965 | Voting Rights Act | Women of Color finally granted the right to vote. |
1966 | "The Ladder" Magazine | Ernestine Eckstein becomes first Black woman on iconic lesbian cover. |
1969 | Stonewall Inn Uprising | Catalyst for the Gay Rights Movement led by marginalized queer people. |
1970 | First Pride / STAR | Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera found Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries. |
1972 | Shirley Chisholm | First woman/African American to seek major party presidential nomination. |
1973 | Roe v. Wade | Ruling on right to abortion (overturned in 2022). |
1973 | NBFO Founded | National Black Feminist Organization addresses intersectional racism and sexism. |
1989 | "Intersectionality" | Term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw. |
1991 | Anita Hill Testimony | Testimony against Clarence Thomas sparks fight against rape culture. |
1992 | Anti-LGBTQ Violence | Worst year for violence; death of revolutionary Marsha P. Johnson. |
2006 | #MeToo Movement | Founded by Tarana Burke to normalize support for survivors. |
2009 | Hate Crimes Prevention Act | Signed by Obama to include gender identity in federal investigations. |
2013 | Founded by Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi. | |
2017 | Women's March | First major intersectional activism merging white, black, and queer movements. |
2020 | Trending after murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. | |
2021 | Kamala Harris | First female, Black, and Asian-American Vice President. |
2021 | The 1619 Project | Landmark project by Nikole Hannah-Jones reframing American history. |
2022 | Ketanji B. Jackson | First Black woman nominated to the United States Supreme Court. |
I Am Black History
Black History is not just our past; it is consistent and never-ending. It is now. I am Black History. Look at the revolutionaries who have shifted culture: Audre Lorde, Grace Jones, RuPaul, Laverne Cox, Sam Jay, and Willi Ninja.
We are our ancestors' wildest dreams. We see this in the trailblazing work of Ava DuVernay, Issa Rae, Marsai Martin, and Lizzo, who champions body inclusivity. We see it in Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history.
Reframing Resistance: From Pain to Joy
Black Resistance isn’t only about our struggles; it is also our resiliency and ability to transmute trauma into beauty. This generation has reframing the concept of Resistance into Black Joy.
As Kleaver Cruz of the Black Joy Project says: "Amplifying Black joy is not about dismissing our collective pain... it’s about using that joy as an entry into understanding the oppressive forces we navigate through as a means to imagine and create a world free of them." By reconnecting to the things that bring us joy, we naturally resist oppression.
Further Reading & Resources
If today’s exploration sparked a curiosity in you to unlearn and relearn, I’ve curated a special collection for you. I maintain a Black History Book Recommendation folder on my Linktree Shop featuring the works of many of the revolutionaries and theorists mentioned today—including the foundational texts of Audre Lorde, Bell Hooks, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Dr. Carter G. Woodson. These are the voices that fuel the journey of liberation.
Comments