Triple oppression

Triple oppression is a theory developed by black socialists in the United States, such as Claudia Jones. The theory states that a connection exists between various types of oppression, specifically classism, racism, and sexism. It hypothesizes that all three types of oppression need to be overcome at once. It is also referred to as "double jeopardy," Jane Crow, or triple exploitation.

Before triple oppression was termed, black female scholars of the 19th century discussed the unique oppressions of black women. As an abolitionist, Sojourner Truth affirmed the struggles she faced as a result of both her race and gender. Truth voiced opposition to the Fifteenth Amendment with the reasoning that more male power would lead to the greater oppression of black women. In a 1867 speech, she said, "...if colored men get their rights, and not colored women theirs, you see the colored men will be masters over the women, and it will be just as bad as it was before." Moreover, suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton stated that black women would suffer from a "triple bondage that man never knows" if they did not receive voting rights when colored men did.Anna Julia Cooper discussed black women's double enslavement through race and gender. Moreover, in 1904, anti-lynching activist Mary Church Terrell explored the unique discrimination faced by black women when she wrote about colored women's discrimination as a result of both their race and gender.

According to scholar Eric McDuffie, the term "triple exploitation" was coined in the 1930s by activist and Communist Party member Louise Thompson Patterson to describe the oppression pertaining to class, race, and gender suffered specifically by black women.

Triple oppression was popularized during a time of transition when the Old Left as a movement was rendered powerless post-World War II. Communism although prominent in earlier years, reached its highest peak in the political atmosphere in the 1960s. The Communist party was made up of immigrant members and foreign and the various coalitions formerly associated with the Socialist Party of America; those workers, many of whom were not fluent English-speakers, made little effort to include Black Americans and their rights even when both mirrored each other. As the Socialist Party was rising, still little effort was made to include many African-American members. Although leaders often were committed against racial segregation, many in the Socialist Party didn’t see the connection to racism and how it affected many in the United States. "Some African Americans dissatisfied by Socialist attitudes and their unwillingness to speak up about racial issues, joined the Communist party; others went to the African Blood Brotherhood (ABB), which was known for being a radical black liberation organization." Communist Party's new concept introduced Triple Oppression focusing on Black women workers. This oppression is shown through, "The most privileged group members marginalizes those who are multiply-burdened and obscures claims that cannot be understood as resulting from discrete sources of discrimination." The party focused on the blatant issues of race, class, and gender while including intersectionality. After much frustration from black citizens and a reformulation of the Communist party, many African Americans joined the party to further the goal of equality. Eventually after World War I and II, the communist party underwent many splits that caused the party to get smaller and eventually disappear. Many groups came out of this including militant power movements like the Black Panther movement.

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