A few people have asked about one or more of these things and how they work so I wrote down some thoughts.
Black intersectional feminism and decolonization aren’t optional stances. Together they address the complexities of systemic ableism, sexism, and racism, anti-indigeneity, imperialism, colonialism, poverty, class, land, property, prison abolition, cultural theft, exploitation and capitalism, providing a map to areas of need and a course of action respectively. Informing and informed by the principles of Anarcho-communism, the centering of these struggles in tangible ways should form the core of our focus and efforts.
A.I.D. (Anarchism/Intersectionality/Decolonization) Feedback Loop
1. Anarchism-this is the first filter we will apply to a set of conditions in order to arrive at a course of action. Anarchism is now understood to encompass all anti-racist, anti-authoritarian, anti-state, anti oppression etc struggles but the core tenets of anarchism (anti authoritarianism, anti statism, horizontalism, decentralization, mutual aid) are presented in a uniformly colorblind (read “yt”), universalist manner. Universalism as conceived by those locked within the yt identity construct can never truly be universal, and it could be argued that the urge to universalize phenomena is itself a protective mechanism of the yt identity construct. In any event, anarchism gives us the rough blueprint for the outcome we want and pitfalls to steer clear of. Anarchism is the ideal. It’s one size fits all. Next, we have to compare the ideal to what we actually see. To do this we need a tool with which to analyze the material conditions more closely. That tool is Intersectionality.
2. Intersectionality- Our second filter is intersectional analysis. Intersectionality/black feminist identity politics grew out of a desire to reconcile Marxism with the unique experiences of black women. Like old school anarchism, Marxism provided a rough blueprint for the structures of class struggle under simpler conditions; the most oppressed were in the position to see that it needed a serious upgrade.
Intersectionality is a microscope. It allows us to analyze any given situation on structural, multidimensional level and steer to the locus of the most compounded oppressions. In this way, we can attack the monster closer to the source and through the perspectives and leadership of the intersectionally oppressed, especially black women, provide adequate aid to the largest swath of people, starting with those who need it most. Intersectional analysis is indispensable in conflict resolution, resource allocation, navigating interpersonal relationships, and representation to name just a few areas of applicability. It should be apparent that while intersectional analysis certainly chips away at the colorblind flatness (yts would call it “elegance”) of barebones anarchist and Marxist doctrine, anarchist and Marxist analysis are better for it; in fact, intersectional analysis dovetails nicely with the concepts of anti-hierarchy and need and ability in anarchism, and arguably does double duty by reconciling Marxism with Anarchism.
Now that we’ve analyzed the conditions through an intersectional lens, we must decide on a course of action. That course of action is the path of Decolonization. Decolonization is anarcho-intersectional praxis.
3. Decolonization- Decolonization is our third analytical filter, our praxis, and our immediate material goal all in one. Through analysis of the material conditions, we have seen that the only remedy is complete abolition of the existing structures of oppression. We have seen that the relationship between oppressor and oppressed and the planet is intolerable, untenable, irreconcilable, and unreformable and to make room for the world we want to see, the dream of a world which isn’t built on our oppression, we have to sweep away the old one. This is the meaning of decolonization. Decolonization isn’t a return; we can never return. What’s left is to take what is ours now and build the world we want to live in now. We do this by any means necessary. We refuse to perform for the yt gaze or provide more free labor to oppressors. We learn our history. The validity of the yt identity construct (the “norm”) is called into question, ridiculed and mocked. Our own identities are celebrated in their multiplicity. All accepted norms are questioned and placed in a decolonization context. These are decolonizing imperatives that arise from the ontological needs of the oppressed. Decolonization isn’t a polite or abstract process; to the oppressor, it’s rude, inopportune, adversarial,contrary, mean, emotional, unintelligible, etc. To the oppressed every drop of scorn heaped on the oppressor in our name is a show of love. Decolonization demands fearlessness beneath the yt gaze. Decolonization is a constant practice, requiring a radical posture. Full Decolonization is militant, often bloody. Like anarchism, true Decolonization implies an end to all oppression through the destruction of unjust hierarchies, only without the abstract detachment.
By now, our filters have skewed the picture of our anarchist city on the hill. The edges are blurrier, the walls have revealed some cracks. The world we wish existed is far in the distance. The real world has thrown us a few curveballs in addition to capitalism and simple exploitation (racism, sexism, ableism, racial power dynamics, etc) to contend with, things we have to attack structurally as well before we can begin to have the world we want. Different times, places, and populations have different material conditions and we need to meet people where they are and work with the tools that are at our disposal.
We de-universalize Anarchism when we Decolonize Anarchism.
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“Decolonization never takes place unnoticed, for it focuses on and fundamentally alters being, and transforms the spectator crushed to a nonessential state into a privileged actor, captured in a virtually grandiose fashion by the spotlight of History. It infuses a new rhythm, specific to a new generation of (human), with a new language and a new humanity. Decolonization is truly the creation of new (humans). But such a creation cannot be attributed to a supernatural power: The “thing” colonized becomes a (human) through the very process of liberation”-
Frantz Fanon
Resources:
Ain’t I A Woman, Sojourner Truth
The Woman’s Role in the Community of Slaves, Angela Davis
The Combahee River Collective Statement
Structural Intersectionality, Kimberle Crenshaw
A Marxist Case for Intersectionality
The Wretched of the Earth, Frantz Fanon
Burn Down the American Plantation, RAM
Afrofuturist Abolitionists of the Americas 