Black Love and Black Power: An Intersectional Analysis of Gender Violence and Political Activism

Abstract

This thesis examines the intersections of political activism and gender-based violence in the Black student body at Duke University. Extensive interviews were conducted with members of the Black student body, as well as faculty members. Racism and sexism intersected in social interactions to produce a rape culture that was perpetuated by sexism in Black Liberation movements. Historical roots to the politically active past of Duke’s Black students in the Allen Building Takeover are explored, as well as gender relationships between Black men and women. Due to the failure to intersectionally view the social positioning of Black women, intraracial sexual violence can be silenced and justified in pursuit of Black liberation.