A Voice at the Table

Why Black Womxn?
This research seeks to bring the Black
womxn’s narrative to the forefront of
the design profession. While the urban
planning and design field faces an uphill
battle in diversifying its practitioners—
current action must work beyond
just diversifying the bodies but rather
also diversifying our thinking, values,
and processes towards planning
and design. This research proposes
that intersectionality serves as a key
framework for how we approach
design for more inclusive and equitable
outcomes.
Intersectionality, n.
The interconnected nature of
social categorizations (i.e. race,
gender, class, sexuality) that
create interdependent systems
of oppression, domination, or
discrimination
The design and planning professions
have a lot to learn from Black womxn and
the intersectional frameworks they are
conditioned in through their daily global
existence. Black womxn’s narratives
consistently consider multi-layered
systematic challenges, yet their voices
are consistently unheard.
Across society today, with the exception
of hypervisibility for commodification,
Black womxn remain underrepresented
and rendered invisible through various
lenses—in the physical realm, media,
historical representation, and beyond.
This ongoing invisibility and silencing
stems from the failure of discussion
around intersectional frameworks
to adequately recognize the levels
of oppression imposed marginalized
identities. Black womxn, especially Black
trans womxn, have constantly been
at the frontlines for racial and gender
justice, but have been the last in order to
both be recognized for their labor and to
reap the benefits of their efforts.
This research was inspired by the
breadth of Black womxn leaders in
the Roxbury community as artists,
organizers, and entrepreneurs who
are at the forefront of advocacy for the
betterment of their community through
each of their respective work. While
this research is specific to Roxbury, we
recognize the interconnected themes
and labor Black womxn contribute to on
a grander scale in communities across
the United States and globally.
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