Visible But Out of Place: Black Women and Gender in Assessments of African American Inequality

In my dissertation, I analyze the ways that leaders of African American social justice organizations use gendered collective action frames in their efforts to interpret and present solutions for social problems that affect African Americans. Previous research has featured pop culture examples and controversial cases-in-point to argue that African American political discourse reflects a male bias that erases the social, economic, and political interests of women of color. In a departure from this approach, my methodology features surveys and semi-structured interviews with 45 leaders of African American social justice organizations, which are theoretically grounded in the work of social scientists that advance empirical intersectional frameworks for studying the existence of male bias and the prioritization of advocacy issues. Findings indicate that black women's intersectional experiences are visible to and clearly articulated by organization leaders, but are used by them as evidence of their gender role non-conformity. Leaders cite this non-conformity as one of the primary causes underlying African American social problems.