The Neutrality Trap

chapter threeintersectionality and social change

“There is no such thing as a single‐issue struggle because we do not live single‐issue lives”

—Audre Lorde, “Learning from the '60s”

All of us approach the conflicts in our lives and the social activism we engage in with both privilege and vulnerabilities. Understanding this is essential to our efforts at both constructive conflict engagement and system change. This requires delving into our own intersectional identity and into the pervasive role of race, gender, and intersectionality in everything we do. Who are we? What are we drawn to? What are our experiences with privilege or the lack thereof? We therefore start this chapter with a reflection on our own intersectionality.

Understanding Our Intersectionality

Jackie: “Don't cross Cummings! It's dangerous there.” That implied (and sometimes spoken) admonition was clear and present at Creighton University, the primarily White institution where we both worked. What was on the other side of the street? North Omaha—Omaha's predominantly African American community.

It turned out that from the standpoint of many of my White colleagues, I should also avoid going to South Omaha, located about 10 miles from Creighton, especially at nights. Historically, South Omaha was known as an immigrant area. In the 1800s many European immigrants came to work in the stockyards and meat‐packing centers. Nowadays the majority of the Hispanic population in South Omaha are Mexicans.

The emphasis ...