CBA Record July-August 2021

So far, I have briefly defined intersec- tionality and what the intersectionality approach looks like in practice. Many of us need to unlearn stereo- types and biases accepted by our culture. Admittedly, this is not an easy feat by any means. Nor should we shame ourselves or one another for missteps or mistakes. It is a learning process that can ultimately lead to greater awareness and sensitivity, connection, and compassion. The worst thing, however, would be to do nothing. Education is the beginning. Advocates for applying intersectionality have a simple request: Take what you have learned about recognizing people at the intersection and listen to them. To illustrate why this is important, let’s return to DeGraffenried . The plaintiffs asked the court to recognize Black women under the discrimination laws. Surprisingly, the court felt it had addressed this concern, stating that Title VII did not create a new classification of “Black women” who have a greater stand- ing than Black men. In another part of the opinion, the court declined to allow Black women to “combine statutory remedies to create a new ‘super remedy’ which would give relief beyond what the drafters of the relevant statutes intended.” The court missed the point. The DeGraffenried plaintiffs were not asking for “greater standing” or a higher form of relief for Black women. They asked that Black women have equal standing; not a “super remedy,” but the same remedy. The intersectional approach believes the experts are the people at the intersections. For instance, policy-makers may ignore the pleadings of Black mothers, including mothers of victims of police violence, who want change in their community by real- locating resources to education, child-care,

The CBA Record has initiated a new column, “History Will Judge,” on engaging with the legal community on diversity, inclusion, culture, equity and engagement. The column’s editor, Nina Fain, is Co-Chair of the CBA’s DICE Committee and a member of the CBA Record editorial board.

As we know, courts can be exceedingly slow to change, let alone reflect changes already adopted by society. Lawyers and judges, consciously or unconsciously, tend to rely on their own ideas on what is best, instead of scrutinizing policies, practices, and laws under the lens of intersectionality. Historically, the legal system has accepted the analytical framework that considers bias a one-dimensional issue. Slowly, though, this attitude is yielding to intersectionality, which respects and values life experiences. In the process and over time, intersectionality may well serve to reshape the attitudes, perspectives, and fears that perpetuate bias.

and mental health. Instead, policy-makers may use their own understanding and perception of what makes the community safer, typically turning to enhanced police presence. Who knows the situation and the community’s needs better—policy-makers or the Black mothers. But together, listen- ing to each other, a more effective solution can be tailored. Although our profession thrives on differences of opinion, lawyers and judges usually feel defensive when issues such as race and gender are involved. Still, when people at the intersection describe the injustices they encounter, lawyers and judges need to listen, trust, and amplify their voices and commit to unlearning stereotypes and discriminatory thinking. In her bestseller, So You Want to Talk about Race , Ijeoma Oluo notes that the reluctance to adopt intersectional practices is due partly to keeping one’s advantages and to acknowledging “that your advan- tages may have kept you from first seeing the disadvantages others face.” She sug- gests a fix: viewing intersectionality “as an opportunity to do better and to do more, instead of just an examination of the ways in which these efforts are failing.”

Jus t i ce Mi chae l B. Hyman sits on the Illi- nois Appellate Court, First District. He is the editor-in-chief of the CBA Record and a former CBA president. Stephanie M. Glass-

berg, a 2021 graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago College of Law, assisted in the preparation of this article.

To learn more about intersectionality • Columbia Law School, Center for Intersectionality and Social Policies Study , https://intersectionality.law. columbia.edu/ • Oluo, Ijeoma, So You Want to Talk about Race , Chapter Five, Hachette Books (2018) • Washington University, St. Louis, Intersectionality Self-Study Guide , https://students.wustl.edu/intersectionality- self-study-guide/ • YouTube, TED Talk, Dec. 7, 2016, The Urgency of Intersectionality/Kimberlé Crenshaw , www.youtube.com/ watch?v=akOe5-UsQ2o

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