Reflections on Antiracist Feminist Pedagogy and Organizing: This Bridge Called My Back, Forty Years Later

Abstract

Abstract:Using the collection This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color as a guide, this essay takes up the question of how to perform and teach antiracist feminist organizing in an era characterized by anti-Black police violence. It suggests that the text offers three key frameworks that can guide antiracist feminist organizing in this political moment: bridging, coalition, and home. The essay considers how these analytics are theorized in This Bridge Called My Back and how they are taken up by undergraduate gender studies students. It then considers the intergenerational legacy of This Bridge Called My Back by analyzing the inscription written inside of the author's own book, which was penned by an elder lesbian feminist of color-the author's own godmother. The essay ends by suggesting that This Bridge Called My Back will continue to be relevant as a historical document that narrates the successes and failures of previous generations of antiracist feminist organizing.