Within the lesbian community I am Black, and within the Black community I am a lesbian. Any attack against Black people is a lesbian and gay issue, because I and thousands of other Black women are part of the lesbian community. Any attack against lesbians and gays is a Black issue, because thousands of lesbians and gay men are Black. There is no hierarchy of oppression.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the interconnectedness of identity and oppression among marginalized communities.
Audre Lorde's quote speaks to the intersectionality of race and sexual orientation, highlighting that experiences of oppression are not isolated to one aspect of identity. She argues that attacks on any marginalized group resonate with other groups facing similar struggles, underscoring the idea that solidarity is crucial in the fight against discrimination, and that understanding the complexity of identity is essential in addressing social justice issues.
In practice
During a pride event, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of intersectionality in LGBTQ+ advocacy.
The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.
There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.
There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.
I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.
I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.
There's always someone asking you to underline one piece of yourself - whether it's Black, woman, mother, dyke, teacher, etc. - because that's the piece that they need to key in to. They want to dismiss everything else.
If you want to understand your parents more, get them to talk about their own childhood; and if you listen with compassion, you will learn where their fears and rigid patterns come from. Those people who 'did all that stuff to you' were just as frightened and scared as you are.
Just to be clear, Ray Rice was not fired for beating his wife. He was fired because a video of him beating his wife was released.
How was she to tie herself to a man without permitting him to imprison her? And was there some means of acquiring things without those things possessing her?
You want to give me chocolate and flowers? That would be great. I love them both. I just don't want them out of guilt, and I don't want them if you're not going to give them to all the people who helped mother our children.
It is not healthy when a nation lives within a nation, as colored Americans are living inside America. A nation cannot live confident of its tomorrow if its refugees are among its own citizens.
We're [parents]) always bluffing, pretending we know best, when most of the time we're just praying we won't screw up too badly.
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