In the fall of 1995, deep in the midst of shaping and developing this Special Issue, several Harvard Educational Review Editorial Board members had the opportunity to hear philosopher and scholar Dr. Cornel West speak at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. They enthusiastically reported back to us that in his talk, West, who is Professor of Afro-American Studies and of the Philosophy of Religion at Harvard, drew explicit and repeated connections between White supremacy, patriarchy, and heterosexism. At the time, we were searching for an article that would illuminate the deep ties between different forms of oppression in the United States. We envisioned an article that would serve as a bridge from the diverse topics represented within this Special Issue to broad systems of power, privilege, and domination. Inspired by Dr. West's articulation of the above issues, as well as by his focus on democratic struggles for liberation, we asked him if he would be willing to be interviewed for our Special Issue.