Throughout the chapter, “The Power of Identity Politics” from Alicia Garza’s 2020 book goes into detail regarding the explanation of identity politics, how it was created, and why it is present throughout society. After reading the chapter, I’ve learned that identity politics is both simple and complex due to identity politics being demonized by American conservatives. The term “identity politics” comes from the last period of the civil rights and is used as a way to describe the experiences of people who are not white, heterosexual, cisgender men. Identity politics is a way of describing what it means to live outside exactly as what has been defined as the “norm” in the United States. As we know, throughout the United States, whiteness and white culture has been the main domain of America, meaning that white culture is the control and the norm which everything else is compared to. In the chapter Garza states, “Identity politics was developed by Black feminists who refused to be defined personally or politically by a set of standards that were not their own.” This describes who created identity politics; Black feminists created this because they wanted to focus on their own oppression which is embodied in the concept of identity polticis. Black feminists want to be identified by their own identities not based off the norm identity of America which is predominantly white. Black feminists wanted to seperate their racial identity and depict their worldview based on their experiences and history that promotes their own specific interests and concerns without regard to the interest or concerns of a larger political group.
Throughout the reading, “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina” by Alechia Williams goes into depth about Williams’ own experience as a Latina and Black woman with a darker complexion. Williams describes her experiences throughout school to be uncomfortable, biased, and stereotypical as people judged her based off her dark skin, unknowingly aware that she is also mixed with Spanish. Williams states, “I’m learning to embrace every aspect of my identity and not let small minds put me in a box that just doesn’t fit. I’m Latina. I’m Black. Also, I’m human. No one can take that from me.” This powerful statement by Williams single-handedly depicts how she does not see herself as one type of identity but as multiple; therefore, the ideology that people have to put others in a box based off their skin tone, race, or background is improper and just simply incorrect. I learned throughout this reading that in the end Williams would rather be seen as just a human being rather than being put in a box that others labeled her as. I think this goes back to identity politics because in the end the people who are not a part of the control group; the people who are not white and do not come from white culture do not want to be intertwined with white culture but want to be seen, heard, and grouped as they are.
A specific topic I would like to examine more throughout the remainder of the semester in class is the stories of women of color and how they have navigated their lives and identities throughout society. (If that makes sense).
