Janelle Monae’s song “Q.U.E.E.N.” was released on her 2013 album The Electric Lady as the lead single. “Q.U.E.E.N.” discusses issues related to structural oppression and activism that directly relate to critical race theory’s facets of oppression, specifically exclusion, exploitation, and marginalization. This is most evident in Monae’s breakdown at the end of the song, where she states more explicitly the meaning behind the song, which Monae says was written “for those who are marginalized… for people who feel like they want to give up because they're not accepted by society.” The acronym “Q.U.E.E.N.” stands for Queer, Untouchable, Emigrant, Excommunicated, and Negroid, five groups of people who have faced historical marginalization and state violence. …show more content…
This can be seen with voting rights, where even though Americans commonly celebrate Women’s Suffrage as being universally granted in 1920, when the actual amendment passed in 1920 only really included white women, as women of color were systemically disenfranchised immediately after the 19th Amendment