Intersectional Justice in Libraries

What does a profession centered on justice look like? In this talk sponsored by ALA President Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada, speakers discuss how Intersectionality can address systemic oppression and discrimination. The term, coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, demonstrates how multiple social and cultural identities intersect and impact an individual’s lived experience. Intersectionality examines how inequality based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, class, and other “isms” overlap to create overlapping layers of oppression. This session will define intersectionality, and how it relates to justice, and build a deeper understanding of how it can dismantle systemic, institutional, and structural disparities.