Definition and Example

Critical race theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term intersectionality to explain how different identities such as race, gender, or sexual orientation overlap when applied to any given individual and inform layered experiences of discrimination and injustice. For example, black women experience discrimination because of their gender, and then again because of their race. White women may experience discrimination because of their gender, and black men may experience discrimination due to their race, but black women uniquely feel discrimination due to the intersection of their multiple identities. Crenshaw argues that to fully understand the unique experience of black women, we must acknowledge and examine the juxtaposition of multiple identities. That recognition is the first step toward achieving social justice and equality.

White Lady in the Wagon

In The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Jane's intersectional identity as a black woman is exemplified in her conversations with two white women. Shortly after the slaves have been freed, Jane and Ned happen upon a group of former slaves escorting a white woman in the wagon. Her whiteness affords her the privilege of believing she can protect the black children. It is also worth noting that either an editor or Gaines went through a typescript draft and changed every reference from "white woman" to "white lady," further elevating the white woman's status. In the novel, the white lady begs, “Y’all come back with me...I’ll treat you right” (30). Fearing the black children’s fate on the roads overrun with patrollers, the white lady attempts to save them, adding, “I never beat my people” (29). Her whiteness affords her the naiveté to assume that black children under her care will be safe from white men who would otherwise do them harm, so better off than on their own. The white woman’s denial of the continued existence of the Secesh further exemplifies her inability to fully relate to the fears of former slaves. When Jane mentions the massacre of Big Laura and their traveling companions from the day before, the “negroes” with the white woman “started looking a little scared” (28). Their race doesn’t afford them the luxury of denial. The white woman assumes a proclamation of freedom is enough to ensure the goodwill of all white people. Jane’s experience as a black woman provides the knowledge of it being an appearance of freedom complicated by resentful white people’s ill intentions.

Amma Dean

Later in the novel, when Robert Samson’s wife Amma Dean becomes concerned with her son Tee Bob’s interactions with the Creole school teacher Mary Agnes, she asks Jane about their relationship. Jane’s honesty and advice are not accepted by Amma Dean, as she too is naive about reality. Jane claims, “I told her I thought Tee Bob loved that girl, but I was sure she didn’t love him...and get her away from here as soon as possible” (181). Amma Dean pauses, “patted her bosom...drawed breath” (181), giving Jane the indication that she is considering her opinion, but ultimately denies its plausibility. Amma Dean’s whiteness affords her the benefit of denial, showing she can’t comprehend Tee Bob denying the privilege of his race by falling in love with a black woman. Jane’s experience with the reality of not having racial privilege and seeing situations for what they truly are is an uncomfortable truth that Amma Dean is unwilling to accept as a white woman. While Jane and Amma Dean have both experienced discrimination as women, Jane’s experience is compounded by being a black woman and is inherently different from Amma Dean’s gendered experience. Amma Dean’s survival as a white woman involves turning a blind eye to the indiscretions of powerful white men, a habit she refuses to acknowledge when it compromises the fate of her own son. Jane’s survival as a black woman requires acknowledging the painful truths of simply existing in a white man’s world and adapting to its limitations. 

Jane’s Multiple Identities

Jane’s survival throughout the novel results from her ability to accept and adapt to her environment, a response she doesn’t veer from until the end of the novel when she defies Robert’s demands for her and the other former slaves to return home. She is constantly raising leaders, grooming Ned and Jimmy to lead the black community, but never stepping into a leadership role until the end of the novel. The intersectionality of her black identity and her female identity potentially discouraged recognition of her leadership abilities. She often recognized black men’s abilities; even as they were discriminated against for being black, they were elevated for being men. Jane’s experiences throughout the novel showcase the unique intersectional challenges for a black woman in a white man’s world.