Unforgettable Differences & the Intersection of Race, Gender and Class

Race, gender and class are social constructions carved by people and power. The three are dynamic on their own. However, they are often experienced under similar conditions of oppression. Even today, they network and intersect in ways that maintain, reproduce and reinforce inequalities, often with the help of stereotypes, philanthropy and leaders who exploit differences instead of similarities. In spite of major changes, fear of difference continues to haunt our social and cultural spaces. This shapes identities and experiences, sometimes under extraordinary instances of psychic, physical and economic violence. This Matrix Map will provide opportunities for you to explore how the African-American experience offers one analytical framework for surveying the interconnected nature of race, gender and class as systems of difference. Also, it reveals the ways these constructions have formed a symbiotic permanence that is always open for alteration but never eradication.