Patricia Hill Collins, Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment, Routledge, 2002.

The Combahee River Collective Statement, 1977. 
 
Marian Jones, “If Black Women Were Free”: An Oral History of the Combahee River Collective, The Nation,  October 29, 2021.

They Weren't Talking About Representation

Season 1, Episode 7

Hey, friends! In this episode we're talking about Patricia Hill Collin's definition of Black Feminist Thought.

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Before we give you the tl;dr (too long; didn't read) of Collin's Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment, we discuss the Combahee River Collective's landmark statement published in 1977. The statement coined the terms interlocking oppression, identity politics, the notion that when black women get free, we all get free.

We discuss the statement's radicalism, the misconception that black feminism is about representation, Collins and the CRC's distinction between separatism and autonomy, and the evolving nature of black feminist thought over the decades.

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As always, we close out with our half-baked thoughts. The segment where we share ideas we haven't fleshed out, but stand fully behind. You'll just have to listen to the episode to hear those.