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Freedom Dreams of Feminism / Robin D. G. Kelley

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Feminism is my politics... Feminism, politics around sexuality, and freedom around sexuality and gender, these are very important aspects of my own politics and the politics of the left I think, because it's an attempt to break through what is a tradition or system that precedes capitalism by a long shot. Right? And again, I don't wanna say it's universal because you have formed a patriarchy in say, West African culture where it's slightly different. It's not necessarily monogamous, it's based on female-headed households within a patriarchal structure. And then you also have situations within all kinds of cultures, indigenous cultures, in which you don't have two genders, right? Iran's a good example. We had multiple genders until the imposition of Western culture said ‘you can't do that, you can't have multiple genders, you have to have two.’ Right? So that's already built in. So feminism is about trying to break out of that and produce a kind of freedom that is fundamental to all of us, even those of us who may not share the same class.

Historian Robin D. G. Kelley returns to This is Hell! to talk about his essay titled, “Buried History: The Death and Life of Donald S. Kelley” Part of a collection of essays called “After Life: A Collective History of Loss and Redemption in Pandemic America." (Haymarket Books).

Robin is a writer and professor of history at UCLA. His most recent book is "Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination"
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/20617…-dg-kelley/

 

Image of Robin D.G Kelley and his grandfather, Rev. Rafe Kelley

 

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Robin D.G. Kelley

Robin D.G. Kelley is a writer and the Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History.

Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination

 

More with Robin D.G. Kelley