Introduction
The epilogue explores the contributions of Audre Lorde to the first historically Black Spellman college and the community of women worldwide. Guy-Sheftall (2009) traces the relationship of Lorde with the educational institution and narrates how her works of literature and activism in the LGBTQ+ and feminist fields have changed the modern society. I find the example of the author very inspiring since she proved that well-written ideas and passionate approach to activism could change the reality of oppression.
Something About the Subject Makes it Hard to Name
In this reading, the author examines the phenomenon of racism not merely as an issue but a systematic, institutionalized, and cultural phenomenon that is hard to eliminate. Yamato (1990) classifies racism onto four categories depending on the awareness of the oppressor. Yamato (1990) also states that although many people today believe that organizing a workshop or debates is enough for fighting racism, it is not going to lead to a substantial change. I think that this attitude is right because the straightforward approach is not going to eliminate the structuralized inequality and internalized hatred that need to be addressed in a multidimensional way.
Invisibility is an Unnatural Disaster: Reflections of an Asian American Woman
In this reading, an Asian American female author explains her journey to being acknowledged as discriminated minority. Yamada (1981), an American citizen of Japanese descent, stresses the importance of addressing the phenomenon of internalized oppression. She claims that while people harm one’s identity externally, this oppression can be normalized in a victim’s mind. This observation is interesting since racism is rarely addressed from the internal point of view and needs to be eliminated similar to the structural inequality imposed by others.
The Ideology of Colorblindness
The text explains what colorblindness means in terms of race and the global issue of racial oppression. It also elaborates on why this approach is not a viable option for fighting discrimination. Guinier and Torres (2007) argue that colorblindness is based on the idea that race is nothing but the color of one’s skin rather than a set of cultural, ethnic, social, and economic peculiarities. From that standpoint, racism should be confronted as a personal problem, an individual illness, rather than a social inequality. Like the author, I find this strategy unreasonable since racism is not merely discrimination on a skin color basis, but a social problem that needs to be addressed on a bigger scale.
Verbal Addressing
The reading provides insight into the “Big Terminology Question,” or how people from South America verbally address their heritage and descent. Martinez (1998) argues that the question of what Mexican and people from other Latin American countries should be called is controversial since the area is surrounded by a complex history of colonization and oppression. This debate shows that race and ethnicity are terms that are highly connected to one’s history and culture and are not isolated phenomena that can be generalized or depolarized.
Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference
In this chapter, Lorde addresses the importance of recognizing the race and its issues not as a singular fact determined by one’s skin color, but a set of numerous other factors. Lorde (2020) argues that in the fight for gender equality, women of color are often left out as activists emphasize sex over class, income, ethnicity, race, and culture. These differences should be acknowledged, and only a multidimensional approach to inequality will overcome the global scale of oppression.
References
Guinier, L. & Torres, G. (2007). The ideology of colorblindness. In C. A. Gallagher (Ed.), Rethinking the Color Line: Readings in Race and Ethnicity (pp. 143-149). McGraw Hill.
Guy-Sheftall, B. (2009). Epilogue. Bearing witness: The legacy of Audre Lorde. In R. P. Byrd (Ed.), I Am Your Sister: Collected and Unpublished Writings of Audre Lorde (pp. 253-260). Oxford University Press.
Lorde, A. (2020) Age, race, class and sex: Women redefining difference. In J. Benjamin (Ed.), Race and ethnicity: difference and decolonization (pp. 97-102). Kendall Hunt Publishing.
Martinez, E. (1998). De Colores Means All of Us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century. Southend Press.
Yamada, M. (1981). Invisibility is an unnatural disaster: Reflections of an Asian American woman. In C. Moraga and G. Anzaldua (Eds.), This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (pp. 35-40). Women of Color Press.
Yamato, G. (1990). Something about the subject makes it hard to name. In G. Anzaldua (Ed.), Making Face, Making Soul (pp. 20-24). Aunt Lute Books.