ABSTRACT

This chapter examines class as an intersecting dimension within the story of Sojourner Truth and in the reception of the story. The juxtaposition of Sojourner Truth and Alexandra Kollontai as two contrasting proto-intersectional figures functions as a point of departure for an examination of the intertwined legacies of black and socialist feminisms. While there are indeed many intersecting dimensions at stake in each of these stories, I caution against the positioning of Truth and Kollontai as two contrasting figures that each represent a particular intersection. In this juxtaposition, the story of Sojourner Truth can easily be understood a story about the intersection of gender and race and as an American example, whereas the story of Alexandra Kollontai is framed as a story about the intersection of gender and class and a European example. The analysis shows that this simplistic juxtaposition ignores the many different dimensions that are at stake in each story—as well as in their resonances. The chapter thus argues for the importance of telling intersectional stories about the (pre-)history of intersectionality: stories that recognize the multiple dimensions that are at stake in each figure, and in the way the stories have been taken up. Rather than considering black feminism and socialist feminism as two distinct traditions, the chapter points instead to the connections and overlaps between these traditions by highlighting the black socialist feminists who have drawn on the story of Sojourner Truth in their theorizing.