The story by Aleichia Williams and her experience on being a black Latina is a prime example of Identity politics. She specifies that when she moved from the big city New York to a small town in North Carolina it was a cultural shock for her. Aleichia explains that the Spanish girls in her class did not like her and talked about her in their language, thinking she didn’t know the language. Her classmates couldn’t believe she was latina because of how dark she was. This is what identity politics is, she was hated by a group of latina girls because she was a dark skinned spanish girl. Aleicha instantly realized that she was not only Spanish but black as well. In North Carolina, she had to learn how to identify as two different races. She was placed in a category she had no idea she qualified for. I guess identity politics means to be placed in a category based on one’s race, sex, cutlure, religion, etc. Wherever you go throughout the world, we become a part of different identities. For instance, how Aleichia grew up in New York she was always latina. However, in North Carolina she is considered black and spanish. In the novel about the blonde lady in the bar by Alicia Garica, is a real eye opener about identity politics. The author talks about a drunk blonde in the same bar as her. She makes a comment about how black and white people should just be equal and move on from black oppression. However, Alicia explains that in today’s society everyone, specifically white people don’t try to understand slavery and what the whites did to the black people. They just want everyone to move on and be equal. The author made me realize that we will never truly move on from black oppression for the simple reason that we need to understand what went on. Nobody wants to deal with black history and what we had to endure from white people. Instead of just wanting to be equal, let’s try to analyze and understand it. Topics that I would like to explore for the rest of the semester is bullying, drug use and how it affects children and families. Also I think how broken houses can be passed down through generations. Lately, I think many women have gotten into the idea that men are supposed to provide everything for them. I don’t think that is right, because why work for freedom all these years and liberation from men just to depend on them all over again.

This week’s readings, “The Power of Identity Politics” and “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina”, expanded my understanding of “Identity Politics”.  Identity politics” purpose is to make society fearer, more tolerant and more equal. Alicia explains that even though race, gender and class are socially constructed categories they have major impacts on people’s life especially when it comes to the resources, they have access to.  She mentions that these difficult conversations are need because if not real multiracial and intersectional coalition can’t be built. “Too Latina to Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina”, was really good, very relatable and had my emotions running all over the place. Both these reading is an eye opener and also us to be awoke and remain awoke because this is live, and we need to face what is going on in our society. Last weeks taught us about women’s movement and oppression especially when black and is a female. However, this week’s reading went into dept with real time events and actions of ignorant and a failed humanity. It is very much relatable as I am a black woman and has never had a black hatred experience until now. The reason I personally call it black hatred is because that exactly how I feel about those behaviors (due to one’s skin color).

I would like to expand on less resources being in the Black and Hispanic communities.  I see this in my community everyday especially whenever I exist and return. Comparing white communities to Black/Hispanic Communities it is so obvious of the privileges amongst us. When it comes to fast food restaurants, healthcare facilities and schools. Let’s talk about the crime rate!

Identity politics is defined as the promotion of specific interests and concerns of a minority group with no regard to the concerns and interests of the majority group. However, from the readings, identity politics is seen as something that tries to make invisible power seen (Garza). American conservatives have demonized the term identity politics to keep the powerful or those in control in power and control at the expense of those who are powerless (Garza). The powerful want people to be conformed to the traditions and norms that they deem right and should not be changed. And anyone who tries to identify differently due to personal reasons is wrong and should not be allowed to express themselves. For example, in Aleichia Williams’ story, she identifies herself as Latina, Black, and human (Williams). While in school, they tried to make her choose where she belonged because her skin complexion was black, and she spoke Spanish fluently.

The classification based on class status, skin color, race, and genitalia was created to maintain power and privileges in society (Garza). And that the main reason why people who differ always clash about the differences is that the majority group does not understand the role they play in making the minority experience difference; therefore, it should not be irate them when other people identify differently. People should not be restricted to a specific identity, and everyone’s identity is different. Anyone that does not fit into the traditions and norms of a society should not be made feel any less of a person (Williams). One topic that I would like to see in this class is ¨abortion rights¨

Before reading these two texts I didn’t know what identity politics was in all honesty. I knew people identified with different things and there was communities and safe places for their identity. However I didn’t know the term was ‘politics’. In the text “The Power of Identity Politics” written by Garza she explains how identity and power goes hand in hand. Power affects identity and vice versa. Identity affects our everyday life whether we notice it or not because it goes hand in hand with power. In the text she stated how all experiences in the United States are shaped with the identity of whiteness. This affects every other identity in the United States because then everyone else is seemed as the non norm. “For people who are not white, this can be incredibly alienating_never seeing people who look like you in fashion magazines, not being able to get makeup that matches your skin tone.” (Garza 187) When the written explains the difference between being empowered and power it reminded me a lot of how predominately BIPOC environments/neighborhoods may not be cared for much as a white area. This can include types of foods available , health facilities or even protection from the police. The second text “Too Latina To Be Black , Too Black To Be Latina” Written by Williams explain the identity crisis she had and still continues to face growing up. This text really reminded me of how we discriminate even in our own community. This text proved to me that some people expect you to fit the stereotypes of the community you identity with like many people believed that since she speaks Spanish she must be Mexican or she must eat tacos. I topic I would like to explore is Feminism in Islamic countries. We know how feminism is perceived in the United States but I would find it interesting how other countries deal with feminism.

The Combahee River Collective developed the term “identity politics” when they realized that the women’s movement didn’t really represent black women, Black freedom movement only focused on the liberation of black men and queer black women were neglected on both fonts. This demonstrated how liberation based on one’s identity was more significant and powerful rather than fighting for someone else’s struggles. It is easier to accept the status quo if it doesn’t affect you personally and you have no stakes either way. This sentiment is echoed in Garza’s The Politics of Identity when she highlights how she has witnessed white people’s ideologies of “not seeing color” as a reformative action against the oppression of people of color. For them, it is easy to not hold on to their identities as white people because they are considered the norm, the default, the standard of a Christian American Society. People of color, whose daily interactions are carved by the societal perceptions of their identity, don’t have the same luxury. You can’t say “I identify as a human” when you’re racially profiled because of your race, deemed inferior because of your gender, verbally (and physically) abused because of your ethnicity, sexuality etc. When our political, economic and social systems are founded on disparity based on identities, rejecting “identity politics” not just undermines the effects of oppression, it also obstructs the efforts being made to bridge the gap.

One might argue that identity politics is counterproductive, that separating ourselves based on our identities won’t help us in unifying ourselves. However, they fail to understand that this idea is solely for the benefit of the oppressors, for their convenience and comfort. True equality can only come when we accept the difference in our identities, and understand that these differences do not warrant difference in treatment. If we look at William’s Too Latina to be Black, Too Black to be Latina, we can see that as a kid she never identified with a specific group, but that didn’t stop society from trying to fit her in a specific mold, or consider her a deviant because she didn’t. She had to engage in identity politics at a young age, when she didn’t even know what it meant. Furthermore, identity politics doesn’t mean limiting yourself to one aspect of your identity, it doesn’t segregate us into different groups. Rather, it helps us recognize the intersectionality among the groups and can help unify us on the basis of the multifaceted nature of human identity.

I have enjoyed every single topic we have discussed in this class. I know there’s still so much to learn and it’s hard to pick one but if I had to, I think I would want to read articles that discuss how the patriarchal society pits women against each other in the guise of rewarding the “deserving”, when in reality we all share the same fate.

This week’s readings, “The Power of Identity Politics” and “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina”, furthered my understanding of identity politics on a more personal level and also, gave me a better understanding of how the adage, “the personal is political”, and the movement that came along with it, wasn’t inclusive to all women. As Garza stated in chapter 12 of her book, “Black women could not and still cannot afford a women’s movement that sees gender oppression only through the lens of white women. This has been an underlying principle of Black feminism—the notion that the experiences of black women are unique and complex and must be seen as such to achieve the goal of eradicating those differences”. When we first learned about “the personal is political” a few weeks ago, I thought it was truly inspiring to see women come together and rally against those who oppressed us into fitting the molds they wanted to squeeze us in, but after these two past readings on black feminism, it was disheartening to learn that this wasn’t the case. To better understand the definition of identity politics, one of Garza’s statements stood out to me: “Thus, identity politics is the radical notion that your worldview is shaped by your experiences and history and that those experiences will vary in relationship to the power a group or an individual has in the economy, society, and democracy”. This statement, or definition rather, also goes hand in hand with what Aleicha Williams was saying in her reading Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina. Similar to the white girl at the bar in Garza’s reading and the Hispanic girls in Williams’ reading, people tend to separate people into “boxes” that have nothing to do with who they truly are without realizing they are being offensive. People often do not notice how big of an impact their words can have on someone and it happens too often than not.