Description
In this BRCSJ Power Hour conversation, historian Dr. Peniel Joseph sits down with Robt Seda Schreiber to reflect on the transformative force of the Black Lives Matter movement during the 2020 global pandemic. Joseph argues that the convergence of the COVID-19 crisis and the national outcry over the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor created a "game changer" in American politics, leading to a historic level of mobilization. He frames the movement as a "ripples of hope" that transformed local, national, and even global conversations about racial justice, insisting that the specific insistence on Black citizenship and dignity was the necessary engine for a broader democratic renewal.
The dialogue centers on the concept of "intersectional justice," a term Joseph notes has roots in the lived struggle of figures like Bayard Rustin and James Baldwin long before it was formally named in academia. He explains that to be "Black and queer" is to view the world through an "unusual angle," a perspective that challenges the heteronormative and patriarchal structures of the past. Joseph and Seda-Schreiber emphasize that the modern BLM movement is historically unique because it is the first to explicitly insist on leaving "nobody behind," effectively building toward Dr. King’s vision of the "Beloved Community" but with a more nuanced, inclusive understanding of identity that reflects the modern era.
Historical Context
The "Politics of Intersectionality" discussed by Dr. Joseph refers to the framework originally coined by Kimberly Crenshaw in 1989, which examines how overlapping social identities-such as race, gender, and sexual orientation-contribute to specific patterns of discrimination. While the terminology is contemporary, the struggle Joseph describes is a continuation of the radical activism of the 19th and 20th centuries, where figures like Fannie Lou Hamer and Ella Baker challenged systemic oppression from multiple fronts. This conversation highlights how the 2020 protests served as a historical "revolution," forcing a reckoning with the systemic exclusion that has characterized American democracy since its inception.
This interview took place during one of the most "racially divisive" election cycles in American history, occurring just after the 2020 protests had shifted the political landscape. By connecting modern activism to the lessons of Bayard Rustin-a conscientious objector who navigated the "closet" of mid-century respectability-Joseph underscores the long arc of the "intersectional" struggle. The discussion serves as a bridge between the nonviolent revolutions of the past and the inclusive movements of today, reaffirming the BRCSJ's mission to celebrate the radical identities that have always been at the heart of social progress.
Joseph, Peniel. "Interview with Robt Seda-Schreiber." BRCSJ Power Hour, Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, 2020.
