By Sikivu Hutchinson
What is Black feminism and intersectional feminism and why are they relevant
to girls of color in South Los Angeles? How do they disrupt white supremacy and what can younger Black, Latinx, indigenous and Asian American feminists learn from older generation feminists of color and vice versa? What
does it mean, as bell hooks says in her book Feminism
is for Everybody, that, “[we’re] socialized from birth on to accept sexist thought and
action…[and] in order to end patriarchy we need to be clear that we are all
participants in perpetuating sexism”?
Youth leaders debated and spoke to these questions at the
recent Future of Feminism youth leadership conference at Cal State University
Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). Sponsored by
the Women’s Leadership Project, the L.A. County Human Relations Commission and
Media Done Responsibly, the conference featured youth-facilitated workshops,
videos, presentations, and a musical performance by women and girls of color
from across Los Angeles County. Students
from Dorsey High School, Gardena High School, Fremont High School, Diego Rivera
Academy, Carson High School, King-Drew Magnet High School and Miguel Contreras
Learning Complex attended the conference.
The event was emceed by WLP alumni and former foster care youth Clay Wesley (WLP 2009,
Mount St Mary’s University, 2018) and Drea Wooden (WLP 2017). The conference kicked off with a WLP-produced
video on sexual harassment and sexual violence prevention, spotlighting the
perspectives of youth from the 2016 cohort at Gardena High School. The video was
followed by a student panel on the #MeToo movement featuring WLP students and
alumni from Gardena, Dorsey, and King-Drew.
Students Imani Moses (WLP 2011), Lizeth Soria (WLP 2012), Marenda Kyle
(WLP 2014), Shania Malone (WLP 2018), Cheyanne Mclaren (WLP 2019) and Lidia
Colocho (WLP 2019) discussed the marginalization
of black and Latinx girls in mainstream representations about the impact of sexual
harassment and sexual violence in school communities. The panelists also challenged straight cis
young men to step up as allies in the fight against normalized sexism, sexual
harassment, sexual violence and rape culture on school campuses.
College community partners and high school youth
conducted workshop presentations on sexual violence and homelessness, Black
feminism, gender justice and labor organizing, countering “fake news” and
disrupting criminalization in communities of color. Students from the GSA Network, Media Done Responsibly, Peace Over Violence and the WLP
alumni network presented social, racial, and gender justice youth leadership work
that they have been doing at partner schools for the past several years. Former WLP intern and CSULB graduate Marlene
Montanez presented on the advantages of union organizing and involvement for
women and girls of color, drawing from her experience as an undocumented
student activist for the Future Undocumented Educational Leaders (FUEL)
group. Peace Over Violence students from
Miguel Contreras Learning Complex discussed the intersections of sexual
violence and homelessness vis-à-vis risk factors and challenges that confront
sexual violence survivors of color.
CSULA students from Media Done Responsibly examined the pervasiveness of
right wing political propaganda in mainstream news and its impact on
representations of women of color. WLP
students from Gardena, King-Drew, and Dorsey presented their work on Black
feminist cultural politics, the #Say Her Name movement, and strategies to
counter victim-blaming, victim-shaming and misogynoir in sexual violence and sexual
harassment directed toward Black girls. Fremont High
School’s GSA Network conducted an exhibition game on the structure of the
school-to-prison pipeline and its disproportionate impact on LGBTQI, queer and
gender non-conforming youth of color.
The conference concluded with a powerful performance
by internationally acclaimed electric guitarist and producer Malina Moye. Moye discussed her experience as a homeless
youth living on the streets when she first moved to Los Angeles at the
beginning of her career. She encouraged students
to pursue their dreams and aspirations in resistance to the sexist
expectations of the dominant culture.
Youth participants also received books on the lived experiences of girls
of color by feminist authors Iris Jacob (MySisters’ Voices), Yesika Salgado (Corazon)
and Mahagony Browne (Black Girl Magic). In July, students participated in follow-up
Black Feminist and Feminist of Color Institutes that brought youth leaders together
with adult mentor artists, educators, entrepreneurs and health practitioners
from across L.A. Using hooks’ book Feminism is for Everybody as a stepping
stone, youth addressed public policy around abortion rights, college access for
undocumented youth, underreporting of rape and sexual assault in communities of
color and ending targeted searches of black and Latinx students in the LAUSD.
WLP classes and peer education outreach resumes at partner campuses in September.
