Abstract
Despite growing awareness of diversity and inclusion in higher education, many institutions continue to implement policies that address race, gender, class, and disability as separate elements rather than interconnected aspects of identity, perpetuating inequities for individuals with multiple marginalized identities, particularly Black women (Collins & Bilge, 2020; Museus & Griffin, 2011). To address the issue, the researcher developed this project, implemented, and created a four-hour interactive workshop designed to provide faculty, staff and students in higher education with comprehensive understanding of intersectionality and practical strategies for supporting Black women and other individuals navigating multiple forms of marginalization.
The research employed a content analysis approach grounded in intersectionality theory (Crenshaw, 1989), critical race theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995), and Black feminist thought (Collins, 1990). Building on this theoretical foundation, the workshop curriculum traces intersectionality’s historical development from 19th-century Black feminist activism through the Combahee River Collective’s (1977) foundational contributions to Crenshaw’s formal theoretical framework. The four-hour workshop structure strategically incorporates experiential learning activities, case study analysis, identity mapping exercises, and action planning to address both personal awareness and systemic analysis of intersectional oppression in academic settings.
Central to the workshop’s focus is the examination of how Black women in higher education face compounded challenges at the intersection of racism and sexism that cannot be understood through single-axis approaches. These challenges include epistemic exclusion, emotional labor expectations, and navigation of racialized gender stereotypes (Lloyd-Jones, 2009; Settles et al., 2020; Turner, 2002; Williams, 2023). Recognizing the complexity of intersectional experiences, the workshop is created to address the unique vulnerabilities of Black trans women who navigate additional layers of transphobia, creating intersectional experiences requiring specific institutional responses (Duran et al., 2020; Nicolazzo, 2016).
To evaluate the workshop’s effectiveness and design, ten evaluators with diverse backgrounds in education, diversity work, and community advocacy reviewed the presentation materials. Through content analysis of their feedback, several key findings emerged. Evaluators identified strengths in the workshop’s clarity, organization, balanced approach combining theory and practice, and visual accessibility. However, they also recommended important enhancements, including deeper theoretical exploration of intersectionality’s foundations, additional case studies and concrete examples of Black women’s experiences, visual representation of key scholars, and careful consideration of time allocation for the ambitious four-hour curriculum.
The evaluators findings informed refinements to the workshop design, ensuring that the final product effectively balances theoretical rigor with practical application. Ultimately, this project contributes to the development of literature by providing a theoretically grounded, practically applicable model for teaching intersectionality in higher education contexts. The workshop equips participants with tools for recognizing intersecting systems of oppression, understanding Black women’s unique challenges in academic environments, and developing actionable strategies for institutional change. By centering the experiences of those with multiple marginalized identities, this research advances both racial justice and intersectional justice in higher education while addressing critical gaps in existing diversity and inclusion initiatives that fail to acknowledge the complex realities of overlapping forms of marginalization.