Although the concept has existed since the 19th century, law professor Kimberle Crenshaw coined the term in 1989. "Cultural patterns of oppression are not only interrelated, but are bound together and influenced by the intersectional systems of society. Examples of this include race, gender, class, ability and ethnicity."
Recent events surrounding the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and countless other black youth and men have once again provided an opportunity to raise our consciousness, and require us to not only examine the oppression and social injustices experienced by individuals, communities, and movements (i.e. the feminist movement, anti-racial movement, LGBTQAI movement, etc.) but also the often complex intersectionality of identities.
Intersectionality generally refers to the multiple marginalized identities of an individual. For example, black + woman + differently-abled or LGBTQ + differently-abled or LGBTQ + impoverished, or any other number of combinations. However, it is reasonable to expand our examination and understanding of intersectionality to include both the character and nature of individual movements and how those movements intersect. How does addressing the injustice in Ferguson address or impact the injustices faced by the LGBTQ community and other communities?