In this week’s reading of “The Power of Identity Politics” by Alicia Garza, she writes, “One can wake up in the morning feeling empowered–but empowerment is different from power” (186). This statement first confused me until she gave a great example that helped me understand the difference and better understand identity politics. She explained that by saying that we are empowered to decide what we eat for breakfast, but larger forces are actually the ones who hold power because they are the ones who create the options we choose from, or if breakfast is even available to us. She also mentions how the white people of our country and their culture and experiences are what the rest of us are compared to. They are the mold, the initial experiment. “Whiteness, white identity, is a core organizing principle for America.”
In “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina,” Aleichia Williams writes about the first time she had a “race crisis.” She felt as though she couldn’t fit in with the Black students at her school because of her culture or the Latin students because of her skin color. “Even now as an adult I find people are constantly trying to restrict me into a specific mold and identity. My home language is Spanish so this must mean I eat tacos. I have kinky hair so this must mean I bang to Meek Mill. For many, I am too black to be Latin and too Latin to be black.” It is too common to feel that you can only really identify with one part of yourself because of society’s standards. As for topics I’d hope to further explore in this course, I think anything revolving around reproductive rights and abortion is always great to learn about.