Intersectionality Matters!

In this episode, Kimberlé is joined by W. Kamau Bell, director of the four-part documentary series We Need to Talk About Cosby. Together, the two use an intersectional lens to explore Bill Cosby's descent from his seemingly immovable status as "America's Dad.” Unpacking the complex interactions of race and gender that enabled Cosby's alleged sexual violence, this conversation brings a new dimension to the exploration of the mogul's tarnished legacy and the subsequent range of responses from the Black community and beyond. From respectability politics to the emotional reconciliation needed for processing allegations made against our once-heroes, this episode covers it all and reminds audiences that the denial of and ignorance around gendered abuse come from silence and our nation's great, persisting short-term memory. With: W. KAMAU BELL - Director and Executive Producer, We Need to Talk About Cosby; Host and Executive Producer, United Shades of America, CNN Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks) Produced by Julia Sharpe-Levine and Ashley Julien Edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine Supported provided by Destiny Spruill, Rebecca Scheckman, and the African American Policy Forum Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

In this episode, Kimberlé is joined by thought leaders Jelani Cobb, Sherrilyn Ifill, and Cornel West, who share their perspectives on the threats to Black history and realization of Black freedom. The conversation is anchored in the question, "Was 2022 the last Black History Month?” and makes explicit why we must to fight to ensure it was not. Revisiting the crucial insights they raised as part of the MasterClass series, “Black History, Black Freedom, and Black Love,” each guest discusses what lessons we can learn from Black history in this renewed period of racial backlash. With anti-Critical Race Theory bills assaulting curricula in classrooms and gagging conversations about racism across the country, this conversation addresses the urgent need to push back against the reconfiguration of right wing organizing. Having endured the first Black history month commemorated under the vice grip of this anti-truth campaign, this episode invites us into a timely conversation about the past, present, and future of our collective struggle. With: JELANI COBB - Professor, Columbia School of Journalism; Staff writer, New Yorker; Author, "The Matter of Black Lives: Writing From The New Yorker" SHERRILYN IFILL - Former President & Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; Author, "On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the Twenty-First Century" CORNEL WEST - Professor, Union Theological Seminary; Author, "Race Matters" and "Democracy Matters" Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks) Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine Co-produced by Ashley Julien Supported provided by Destiny Spruill, Rebecca Scheckman, and the African American Policy Forum Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

In this episode, Kimberlé is joined by Bob the Drag Queen for a conversation full of critique and celebration of all things drag. Having once existed at the margins of legality and social acceptability, drag has now moved into the mainstream with the popular success of shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race, Dragula and We’re Here. Even with this moment in the limelight, drag’s inherent subversiveness, fearlessness and resilience shine through, posing fundamental questions like: What is gender and how it is performed? How does race interact with the performance of gender? What are the transformative possibilities and the limitations of this as an art form? And ultimately, what can drag do to contend with and push back against social injustice? Through laughter and honest reflection, Kimberlé and Bob answer these questions and more as they explore drag's ability to be a tool for intersectional activism, their favorite figures in Black and queer history, what it was like being a child of the South, and the vital need to protect Black stories. With: BOB THE DRAG QUEEN - Winner of Rupaul's Drag Race Season 8; Star of HBO's Were Here; Drag Queen, Actor, and Comedian Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks) Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine Co-produced by Ashley Julien Supported provided by Destiny Spruill, Rebecca Scheckman, and the African American Policy Forum Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

In this episode, Kimberlé is joined by an all-star panel to examine not merely the details of the shocking January 6th insurrection, but also the key undercurrents of racial resentment and right-wing authoritarianism that fed into the attempted coup. Together, the panelists unpack how the Trump administration’s shocking effort to subvert democracy was made possible by the longstanding dogmas of permanent minority rule that supplied its strategy and tactics. Furthermore, one year out from the terrifying event, the panelists gather their notes and offer practical next steps for contending with our nation’s white supremacist past and present. With: MAXIMILLIAN ALVAREZ - Editor-in-Chief, The Real News Network; Host, “Working People” JEAN GUERRERO - Columnist, Los Angeles Times; Author, “Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump and the White Nationalist Agenda” JARED HOLT - Resident Fellow, Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab OSITA NWANEVU - Contributing Editor, New Republic Moderated by CHRIS LEHMANN - Editor-in-Chief, The Forum, a new publication from AAPF Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks) Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine Co-produced by Ashley Julien Supported provided by Destiny Spruill, Rebecca Scheckman, and the African American Policy Forum Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

For the last year, we have been surrounded by debates on Critical Race Theory spurred by the Right's organized, widespread campaign to stifle anti-racist education. For all of this debate, though, we hardly ever get to hear from the teachers, administrators, and students who are the subjects of these vicious attacks, and who are risking it all in defense of educational integrity and truth-telling.  On today’s episode, Kimberlé presents a conversation from the African American Policy Forum's Under the Blacklight series, where an incredible line up of brave educators, students, advocates and activists gathered to share their stories from the frontlines. Moderated by Sumi Cho, the roundtable conversation shines a spotlight on the experiences of educators who have been victimized by the draconian legislative campaigns to prevent K-12 teachings about the realities of race and gender based oppression in the United States, past and present. With: LILLY AMECHI - Junior at the University of Oklahoma; Founding member of UO's Black Emergency Response Team; Plaintiff in ACLU lawsuit challenging HB1775 and Oklahoma classroom censorship bill  STACEY DAVIS GATES - Vice President of the Chicago Teachers Union; Executive Vice President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers   AMY DONOFRIO - 13-year educator; Former teacher at Robert E. Lee high school in Jacksonville, Florida; Co-Founder of the EVAC Movement  MATTHEW HAWN - 10-year educator and baseball coach; Former teacher at Sullivan Central High School in Blountville, Tennessee  BRITTANY HOGAN - Former Director of Educational Equity and Diversity for the Rockwood School District in St. Louis County, Missouri   DR. JAMES WHITFIELD - Former principal of Colleyville Heritage High School in Colleyville, Texas   LEAH WATSON - Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU's Racial Justice Program; Co-counsel to ACLU lawsuit challenging HB1775 and Oklahoma classroom censorship bill  Moderated by SUMI CHO - Director of Strategic Initiatives, AAPF; Former law professor who taught CRT for 25 years Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks) Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine Co-produced by Ashley Julien Supported provided by Destiny Spruill, Rebecca Scheckman, and the African American Policy Forum Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

Thirty years ago this week, Anita Hill sat across an all-male, all-white Senate Judiciary Committee to testify that her boss, Supreme Court Justice nominee Clarence Thomas, had sexually harassed her. A historic moment that brought visibility to the issue of sexual harassment, Anita's bravery during the 1991 confirmation hearing set the stage for countless others to better understand and speak out against their own experiences of gender-based violence. Decades later, questions of how gender-based violence intersects with race and power remain as relevant as ever. On this special anniversary episode, Kimberlé and Luke Charles Harris, co-founder of the African American Policy Forum, reflect on their memory of being at the 1991 confirmation hearing and the lessons learned through Clarence Thomas' confirmation that inspired AAPF's birth. With excerpts from a recent conversation between Kimberlé and Anita Hill, this episode examines the legacy of Black women's truth telling, the persistence of gender-based violence, and the intersectional politics needed to pave a new way forward.  With: LUKE CHARLES HARRIS - Co-Founder, the African American Policy Forum; Associate Professor of American Politics and Constitutional Law, Vassar College ANITA HILL - Professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Brandeis University, Lawyer, and Legal Scholar; Author, Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence  Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks) Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine Co-produced by Ashley Julien Supported provided by Destiny Spruill, Rebecca Scheckman, and the African American Policy Forum Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

Over the last year, the Right has ignited a widespread disinformation campaign around Critical Race Theory -- and mainstream media is fueling the fire. Mentions of CRT in the news grew exponentially this past year, with journalists often framing the conversation around education censorship as an equal debate between supporters and opponents of anti-equality legislation. And despite CRT’s well-documented history of emerging in 1989 with a clear and fixed definition, the media have decided to play in the Right’s disinformation campaign by allowing a distortion of the concept’s meaning in exchange for views. On this episode, Kimberlé meets with veteran journalist Soledad O’Brien to unpack mass media’s decision to legitimize faux debate, outline the consequences of this debate on racial justice and democracy, and chart a path forward for journalists who aspire to do better. With: SOLEDAD O'BRIEN - CEO of Soledad O’Brien Productions; Anchor and Producer, The Hearst Television political magazine program “Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien” Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks) Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine Co-produced by Ashley Julien Supported provided by Destiny Spruill, Rebecca Scheckman, and the African American Policy Forum Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

Join leading scholars as they unpack the origins and impact of Critical Race Theory. Daniel Martinez Hosang, an expert in race and migration, discusses societal shifts. Anthony Cook brings in a legal perspective on race, law, and religion. Gloria Ladson-Billings explores pedagogical approaches to teaching about race. Robert A. Williams, Jr. addresses Indigenous sovereignty, while Gary Peller shares insights from critical legal studies. Together, they advocate for a nuanced understanding of race and the importance of allyship in confronting systemic inequalities.

When we think about the history of Black athletic resistance, we don't tend to think of Black women athletes like Wyomia Tyus, Rose Robinson, or Wilma Rudolph, who have all taken great risks to speak out against racial injustice. On this episode, Kimbelé is joined by Layshia Clarendon and Sydney Colson of the WNBA, Demario Davis of the New Orleans Saints, and civil rights icon Dr. Harry Edwards to celebrate the achievements of today’s Black women athletes, reflect on the history of athletic activism, and imagine the power that lies in collective action and athletic solidarity. With: LAYSHIA CLARENDON - WNBA player, leading advocate for trans, non-binary and LGBTQ+ athletes, and the first vice president of the WNBA Players Association SYDNEY COLSON - WNBA player, member of the WNBA’s Social Justice Council, and a leading voice in the WNBA #SayHerName initiative DEMARIO DAVIS - Linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, member of the Players Coalition, recipient of the Bart Starr Award for outstanding character on the field, at home, and in the community DR. HARRY EDWARDS - Professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, founder of the field of study known as the Sociology of Sports, and founder of the Olympic Project for Human Rights movement Special thanks to the Players Coalition (@playerscoalition) for making this event possible Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks)
 Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine Supported provided by Amarachi Anakaraonye, Rebecca Scheckman, Destiny Spruill, and the African American Policy Forum
 Music by Blue Dot Sessions
 Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

On today’s episode, Kimberlé and a group of leading champions for equitable healthcare take us behind the “white coat” of medical racism, and explore its disproportionate impact on Black women and girls. Guests share their own stories being mistreated and ignored as patients, and reflect on the struggles they’ve endured as Black woman doctors working in a medical system with roots in eugenics and racialized violence. The conversation analyzes the lessons learned from the tragic case of Dr. Susan Moore, examines how the experiences of Black women in healthcare relate to historical racism and sexism, and asks what it would take to deconstruct the misogynoir that “lurks behind the white coat.” With: Dr. Karen Scott, epidemiologist, educator and obstetric doctor; Dr. Gail Wyatt, professor at UCLA, psychologist, and board certified sex therapist; Dr. Alisha Liggett, board certified family medicine doctor with a clinical practice based in New York City; Dr. Joia Crear Perry, the founder and president of the National Birth Equity Collaborative. Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks)
 Produced and edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine This episode was co-produced by Amarachi Anakaraonye Supported provided by Rebecca Scheckman, Destiny Spruill, and the African American Policy Forum
 Music by Blue Dot Sessions
 Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast