Week 8 - Addressing intersectionality

I confess that I first learned the term intersectionality shortly after the women's march when I saw groups that I had joined, in the interest of activism, fall apart when the conversation turned to race. The issue was that many wished to focus on the larger women issues and many others, specifically people of color, were not heard when they talked of how addressing women's issues would not necessarily address "black" women's issues or other persons of color. To read in Barbara Smith's interview that even in the 70s, this was a problem, is somewhat disheartening. Despite strides and progress, it feels that there is still so much more ground to gain before we are close to a balanced society. Social activism is emotionally and physically draining to begin with. How do we maintain momentum when such hurdles present themselves. Moreover, how can we know that there is progress?