Intersection Allies: We Make Room for All

Summary of Book

ONE OF HUFFPOST'S RECOMMENDED "ANTI-RACIST BOOKS FOR KIDS AND TEENS"

FEATURED ON KEYS SOULCARE AS "5 STUNNING VISUAL BOOKS FOR ALL AGES"

[A] celebration of solidarity, allyship, and community...A welcoming resource for conversations about equality and social justice that shows readers how identities are made up of myriad influences.—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

The brainchild of three women-of-color sociologists, IntersectionAllies is a smooth, gleeful entry into intersectional feminism. The nine interconnected characters proudly describe themselves and their backgrounds, involving topics that range from a physical disability to language brokering, offering an opportunity to take pride in a personal story and connect to collective struggle for justice.

The group bond grounds the message of allyship and equality. When things get hard, the kids support each other for who they are: Parker defends Kate, a genderfluid character who eschews skirts for a superhero cape; Heejung welcomes Yuri, a refugee escaping war, into their community; and Alejandra’s family cares for Parker after school while her mother works. Advocating respect and inclusion, IntersectionAllies is a necessary tool for learning to embrace, rather than shy away from, difference.

Featuring gorgeous illustrations on every page by Ashley Seil Smith, as well as powerful introductions by activist and law professor Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, who coined the term “intersectionality,” and Dr. Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, author of Intersectionality: An Intellectual History.

Author Biographies

Chelsea Johnson: As a kid, I was often the only Black girl in my classrooms. Growing up as an “outsider within” my mostly white schools piqued my interest in how race, class, and gender shape social life. I gained the tools to understand my experiences as an undergraduate at Spelman College, a Historically Black College for women in Atlanta, Georgia. It was at Spelman that I became a feminist. After graduating, I began a PhD in sociology at the University of Southern California. My dissertation explored how fashion, politics, and culture relate. I traveled around the world, interviewing women with African roots in South Africa, Brazil, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and the United States about their lives. I now use research to help companies design products with underrepresented groups in mind. When I’m not researching or writing, I enjoy watercolor painting, reading fiction, and eating my way through new cities.

LaToya Council: I was raised in a single-parent, mother-headed home. I would often stare at my mother in awe of her super-shero abilities to manage so many family demands while holding multiple jobs to make ends meet. These memories inspired my vision for a more inclusive world and drove me toward studying socially at Spelman College, where I first learned about the concept of intersectionality. After graduating from Spelman, I studied the inequalities in love sand how race, gender, and class interact to inform relationship experiences from my master’s at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs. I am currently working on my dissertation at the University of Southern California, which examines time use and self-care among Black middle-class couples. Intersectionality and the power of love frame how I do allyship and research. When not researching, I enjoy practicing meditation, cooking and hanging with my cat Mimi.

Carolyn Choi: The Los Angeles Riots were a defining moment in my childhood that shaped my identity as a second-generation Korean American woman. My personal experiences with race, immigration, and gender led me to study sociology and Korean literature at UCLA. After graduating from college, I began community-based organizing at a local non-profit civil rights organization in Los Angeles, which served as my first exposure to intersectional issues facing women in the immigrant community. After earning a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, I entered doctoral study in sociology at the University of Southern California, where I study the issues of migrant labor, human trafficking, and international education. My research has taken me across the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia. In my spare time, I enjoy spreading greater awareness bout the Korean arts through performing pansori, a form of aditional folk music.

Illustrator Biography

Ashley Seil Smith: I grew up one of five girls (and a twin!) in Southern California and Texas. My conservative roots promoted questions about privilege and feminism, which led me to study cultural anthropology as an undergraduate, including ethnographic research on women’s healthy in South India. I eventually moved to New York City and helped launch The Period Store as a vehicle to educate women about all their options for period management, while also earning my MFA from the School of Visual Arts. I not focus solely on art, exploring both figuration (drawings that represent things in the real world_ and abstractions (drawings from imagination that don’t look exactly like things form the real world) to express ideas and tell stories. I embrace all artistic tools and frequently use a variety of media. When I’m not drawing, painting, or print making, you can find me outside being active or caring for my menagerie of adopted senior animal with the help of my husband, Nate.