Last month, Americans celebrated the centennial of the 19th Amendment, recognizing women’s right to vote. This celebration rings hollow — as we hurtle toward the 2020 election — if we fail to learn from the ways that race has been used to fracture women’s efforts toward coalition politics and our collective understanding of our rights. For example, even as Senator Kamala Harris’s historic role as the first woman of color to run for vice president on a major party ticket energizes feminist coalitions, Donald Trump’s divisive manipulation of racial stereotypes seeks to fracture and obscure women’s shared interests.
Last month, Americans celebrated the centennial of the 19th Amendment, recognizing women’s right to vote. This celebration rings hollow — as we hurtle toward the 2020 election — if we fail to learn from the ways that race has been used to fracture women’s efforts toward coalition politics and our collective understanding of our rights. For example, even as Senator Kamala Harris’s historic role as the first woman of color to run for vice president on a major party ticket energizes feminist coalitions, Donald Trump’s divisive manipulation of racial stereotypes seeks to fracture and obscure women’s shared interests.
