What is meant by the following quote?: “We might use our position at the bottom to make a clear leap into revolutionary action.  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.”

According to how I interpret the quote, action is needed to combat the economic marginalization, racial oppression, and gender oppression that black women face, which places them at a low level in all respects. Then, this action would destroy all types of structural racism, systematic oppression, and oppression that aided in the domination of white men at all levels. Regardless of their personality, black women want to be represented at all levels so that male supremacy, stereotypes, and oppression—including prejudice towards black men—can be ended.

What does the Combahee River collective mean by “identity politics”? How do you see this operating in Paris is Burning?

Black feminist battle against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression was made clear by “identification politics.” “Identity, politics” is a concept that personifies the black feminist drive for social injustice. Black, queer, trans, and gender nonconforming persons share their struggles, prejudice, and rejection in “Paris is Burning.” By establishing a group they call “ball” where they may acquire confidence, flaunt their talents, and express how they want to be viewed in society, they show that they are resilient. It reveals how identities that are crossed strongly affect and mold one another and revolve around the fight for freedom and survival.

What do race and gender have to do with capitalism?

Black people are forced to work while others are temporarily viewed as doubly valuable tokens at the white-collar and corporate level due to institutional racism because capitalism is an economic and political system in which people of different genders and races control a nation’s trade and industry (CRC.). In the capitalist system, uneven rights, power, masculine superiority, and exploitation of the weak are created. The marginalized group strives to escape capitalism as long as men may still advance to positions of power in the workplace and women are more likely to hold low-level employment. The system is repressive and interrelated, and addressing the issues with capitalism, patriarchy, and other systems is the only way to end systematic oppression.