Rhetoric, Intersectionality, and Black Women in Pittsburgh

In this book, Tahirah J. Walker provides an analysis of how Black women in Pittsburgh navigate the public sphere through an examination of the ways that intersecting identities shape discourse, silence, and reclamation. The author draws from historical events, personal narratives, and community case studies to take a deep look at the intersectional marginalization, resistance and transformation journeys of Black women in a city deemed most unlivable for them. Walker amplifies unique presentations of language, silence and reclamation as they are negotiated via race, gender, and class. The book serves as testimony to the way intersectionality is turned on its head in Pittsburgh to create spaces of love and freedom through fearless speech (parrhesia), strategic listening, and community engagement practices. At its heart, this project is a love letter to every Black woman who has lived in Pittsburgh and asked herself why, affirming that while so much research exists on the struggles of being a Black woman in this city, it is equally important to recognize the innovations and triumphs.