Community Organizing and Intersectionality in Public Health Work

Public health projects typically relate to people within broad community identities, but different communities can overlap, and individual health is more complex than a singular identity. Community organizing, which is “the practice of listening to, and mobilizing people to make their community a better place,” is often fundamental to successful community-based efforts. While community organizing can support people in all communities and need not be limited to people in minority groups, people who carry marginalized identities often face greater struggles in achieving good health. Healthy People 2020 describes that social determinants like “race or ethnicity, sex, sexual identity, age, disability, socioeconomic status and geographic location” can all influence people’s access to non-polluted air, clean water, nutritious food, safe housing, quality education, and comprehensive health insurance coverage. With many demographic factors playing a role in health, the interaction between personal identities and social realities is important to truly meet people’s needs when working with communities.

As people's lived experiences are highly complex, the nature of identity is more than a mere sum of parts. Warren et al (2021) explain the concept of “intersectionality” as the idea that people can carry multiple identities at once, and “oppressive systems intersect to marginalize people in different ways.” Social determinants impact people’s experiences to varying degrees based on the different combinations of personal characteristics. The LGBT Movement Advancement Project highlights that many people who identify as LGBTQ+ also identify as members of other minority groups, such as the disability community and/or the BIPOC community. The Center for American Progress reports that 20% of LGB African-American adults have diabetes, which is a rate that is 2.5 times higher than the rest of the African-American population, and 4 times higher than White LGB and heterosexual individuals. Similarly, the National Disability Institute points out that “across all racial/ethnic groups, households with a disabled working-age householder have lower net worth, compared to households without disability ($14,180 versus $83,985)” and “households with householders who are Black and disabled have the lowest net worth.” Such figures highlight the way in which different aspects of identity can impact health risks differently in different groups, which is consistent with the work of Warren et al (2021). To help reduce disparities between groups, cross-movement mobilization can help to bring groups together to achieve better outcomes for all people in a given community.

Intersectional organizing is a strategy that centers the experience and leadership of people who are affected by multiple systems of oppression. While the capacity to sustain subgroups of marginalized identity can be a challenge because of funding structures and resource limitations, embracing intersectionality as much as possible is important to ensure the greatest possible access for individuals in different communities. When intersectionality is not given space in organizing strategies, people with specific overlapping identities may fear being marginalized by larger movements that do not embrace nuances within subgroups (Warren et al, 2021). A lack of sensitivity to the experiences of people in different groups may also lead people to feel excluded in spaces that should be supportive. As described in a piece by the Muscular Dystrophy Association, LGBTQ+ spaces may be more inclusive of people with different bodies, but people can also feel increased pressure to meet standards that reflect the stereotypes of different identities. A piece by a disabled queer writer also explains that access can be a significant challenge as many LGBTQ+-friendly venues and events are not designed with disability in mind. In a similar vein, spaces that are designed to support disabled people may not be supportive of LGBTQ+ identities, which can force people to have to choose between parts of their identity. While intersectional organizing is not simple, and scholarship on the most successful ways to facilitate an intersectional approach is limited, allyship across groups is critical for all members to feel truly supported within community. Cross-movement mobilization plays a key role in supporting solidarity in public health efforts to ensure that health is accessible and within reach for all.

Resources

1. What Is Public Health? | Johns Hopkins and What is Public Health?

2. Disparities | Healthy People 2020

3. What is community organizing?

4. What Is Community? An Evidence-Based Definition for Participatory Public Health | AJPH | Vol. 91 Issue 12

5. 4 Lessons Learned from Public Health and Community Organizer Partnerships | by Human Impact Partners | Medium

6. PUBLIC HEALTH SPEAKS

7. Evolving Intersectionality Within Public Health: From Analysis to Action - PMC

8. Health Disparities in LGBT Communities of Color - Center for American Progress

9. Intersectional Organizing and Educational Justice Movements: Strategies for Cross-Movement Solidarities | The Assembly A Journal for Public Scholarship on Education | University of Colorado Boulder

10. An Intersectional Examination of Disability and LGBTQ+ Identities In Virtual Spaces

11. LGBT People with Disabilities

12. Life at the Intersection of Disability and LGBTQ - Quest | Muscular Dystrophy Association

13. A Lack of Accessibility in Queer Spaces Crushes Community Pride

14. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/style/americans-with-disabilities-act.html

15. Race, Ethnicity & Disability | National Disability Institute

16. BIPOC Outreach Toolkit - ABLE National Resource Center

17. 8 Ways to be a better ally to LGBT Disabled people | Stonewall

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Author

Ashira Greenberg (she/her/hers) graduated with her Master of Public Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Following her graduation from Columbia University, Ashira also received CHES certification. Ashira is passionate about child, youth and family health with an interest in improving healthcare and educational experiences for all young people. Ashira is especially committed to advocacy and health promotion on behalf of youth with physical disabilities, chronic illness and complex health needs. Ashira has been involved in a variety of advocacy-related efforts as part of her local disability community for over 10 years.