As a dark skinned woman living in the Caribbean who's been gifted with young genes, I've had to learn how to navigate agesim, sexism and racism at the same time. This particular mixture of "isms" sends the same message in three different ways.

Agesim says "children are to be seen and not heard".
Sexism says "women are to be seen and not heard".
Racism says "black people must know their place" (their place being quietly standing close to the door at the back of the room, line or bus).

In essence, society screams to me: "your voice, wants and needs do not matter!"

This message is by no means unique to me, as it is common across most combinations of "isms". But it is important to notice how this message of self denial, along with the other message of external knowledge being more important than knowledge of self, creates a dangerous mindset that blocks us from being fully human.

My keynote speech below raises important questions about the hierarchy of learning and the need to include the "self" when advocating for human rights. As too often we deny our humanity while fighting for the humanity of others, which is unsustainable.