What We Can’t See

One specific quote Kimberlé Crenshaw said during her Ted Talk on the urgency of intersectionality, made me think of intersectionality and the issues with race within our country in a completely different way. Crenshaw says, “when there is no name for a problem, you cannot see a problem. And when you cannot see a problem, you pretty much cannot solve it.” This was the issue with intersectionality, people did not realize that the issue at hand was not only race in the United States, but race and gender. I think this quote sums up the way people choose to view sexism and race and culture within America. If we cannot label an issue specifically, then ignorant Americans believe there is no issue at all because it is not placed right in front of them. If an issue is not projected to Americans and placed directly in front of their faces  it goes entirely unnoticed. I love Crenshaw’s Ted Talk about this topic because it not only opened my own eyes to intersectionality, but opened my eyes about everything we as Americans do wrong when it comes to approaching race. I realized in the beginning of the Ted Talk that I too was guilty of not knowing the names of the women who endured police brutality. I blame this partly on the fact that the media never talked about these women, therefore, I was only made aware of men that were enduring police brutality. However, we as Americans cannot only blame the media for our unawareness because it is also our fault for not recognizing intersectionality to begin with.