The Powerful Origins of “Identity Politics”
This past week, the amazing Barbara Smith was on a few podcasts (Millenials are Killing Capitalism most notably linked here) and was discussing her life’s work. After writing two essays this summer, one for The Nation and one for the Boston Globe on dismantling white supremacy, I was fortunate enough to learn about her work this summer and the groundbreaking Combahee River Collective. The Black feminist group based in Boston wrote one of the most powerful statements that encapsulated their vision for activism and fighting for specifically Black women, lesbians in particular. As of known record, this statement holds even more significance because it is the earliest known usage of a phrase that has polarized political discourse this generation: “identity politics.”
When I first was introduced to the term, initially I saw nothing wrong with the idea of having politics and awareness of your identity informing your policy positions. But as I grew to hold stronger left-leaning political views, I began to despise the idea of such a concept. I saw how identities were weaponized by the political establishment, pandering for our Black votes, and how it was also utilized to unite the right under white supremacy. I grew to have a very, very disturbing anti-identity politics stance where I would get upset at anyone who tried to bring it up as legitimate. Yet, amidst all of this, I…
