3.1 Partie III, Chapitre II
Note 52: Greco: black women tend to monitor
how they look, emote, talk, and behave if they want to fit in and lead at
work.
Note 54: Richardson: adherence to temperance,
cleanliness of person and property, thrift, polite manners, and sexual
purity» These characteristics were linked to religiousness and to the
weekly attendance to church where black women were forced into « corporate
prayer which was a preferred form of civil disobedience.
Note 55 Esposito: Women's lifetime risk of
being killed by police is about 20 times lower than men's risk. Among women and
girls, black women's and American Indian/Alaska Native
167
women's risk is highest; we expect between 2.4 and 5.4 black
women and girls to be killed by police over the life course per 100,000 at
current rates.
Note 56 Gupta: since 2015, nearly 250 women
in total have been killed by police officers, of which 48 -- about a fifth --
were Black, according to a Washington Post database. In that same time frame,
there have been two cases in which officers were charged with manslaughter or
murder in an on-duty shooting of a Black woman, Professor Stinson said. One
officer was acquitted and the other case is still pending. By comparison, there
have been five cases since 2015 in which officers were charged with
manslaughter or murder in an on-duty shooting of a white woman and three of
them resulted in a conviction.
Note 57: Watters womanhood» has
traditionally been equated with « White womanhood,» and the call to
put « woman- hood» above all else has often resulted in the concerns
of White middle-class or upper-class women being prioritized above all else.
While White women obtained the right to vote in 1920, most Black women were
unable to vote until decades later. White women earn eighty-two cents for every
dollar earned by White men, but Black women only earn sixty-five cents to every
dollar. Additionally, around seventy- two percent of trans people murdered in
the United States are women of color Nevertheless, modern feminism often fails
to ac- knowledge these disparities, which can lead to the othering and
exclusion of women of color.Both the Women's March and Black Lives Matter were
founded by women who felt angry, disillusioned, and helpless against a system
that does not equally enforce the political, social, and economic rights of its
members. Women from all walks of life showed up to the Women's March in an act
of resistance against this violence. Yet, women of color are often left
standing alone on their own front lines. The position of the White feminist
movement is clear--all women are expected to be feminist, but not all feminists
support all women. This position must change if either movement is to
survive.Black women also face gender-specific risks from police encounters,
such as an increased likelihood of sexual harassment and assault, thereby
further conflating issues of race and gender. However, even within the Black
Lives Matter movement the victimization of these women is less protested. For
example, although the story of Sandra Bland was widely publicized, there are so
many other unknown Black women who have been victimized at the hands of law
enforcement that a second campaign, #SayHerName, has arisen in response. Both
the Women's March and Black Lives Matter were founded by women who felt angry,
disillusioned, and helpless against a system that does not equally enforce the
political, social, and economic rights of its members. Women from all walks of
life showed up to the Women's March in an act of resistance against this
violence. Yet, women of color are often left standing alone on their own front
lines. The position of the
168
White feminist movement is clear--all women are expected to be
feminist, but not all feminists support all women. This position must change if
either movement is to survive. Black women also face gender-specific risks from
police encounters, such as an increased likelihood of sexual harassment and
assault, thereby further conflating issues of race and gender. However, even
within the Black Lives Matter movement the victimization of these women is less
protested. For example, although the story of Sandra Bland was widely
publicized, there are so many other unknown Black women who have been
victimized at the hands of law enforcement that a sec- ond campaign,
#SayHerName, has arisen in response. The parallel is clear--although Black
women's challenges are exacerbated by police violence, all women share a common
struggle to have their live- lihoods legitimized in this patriarchal
society.
Note 58 Malala Assembly: Black women's
experiences are continuously ignored or sidelined -- and not only within
justice systems. According to ProPublica, Black women in the U.S. are 243% more
likely to die from pregnancy-or childbirth-related causes than White women.
Most complications are said to occur because doctors tend to downplay Black
women's cries of pain. Because these stereotypes are rampant in the media,
doctors may not even see their own biases. Black women and girls are also
victims of increased rates of misogyny and sexual violence. More than 18% of
Black women in the U.S. will report being sexually assaulted in their lifetimes
-- and that just accounts for the women who report. Because Western media
hypersexualizes Black women and girls, Black girls are often seen as women when
we are in our pre-teens. This phenomenon, known as « adultification,»
aggravates the issue of sexual harassment and predatory behavior against Black
girls. Only one in 15 Black women report their assaults because of their fear
of the police and not being believed. And Black women are at highest risk of
any group for experiencing sexual violence perpetrated by police officers.
Note59 Fischer: City politicians boosted the narrative that
sexually profiled women-- consistently marked as Black in media accounts--posed
a threat to the urban economy. For example, in a 1979 meeting with hundreds of
city officials and businessmen, Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson declared that
« hookers' effect on the economy and urban development . . . cannot be
lightly dismissed. We must reckon with the fact that in twenty-first century
cities nationwide, law enforcement authorities and politicians have engineered
a situation where the privilege of « downtown living» depends on the
police harassment, arrest, abuse, banishment, and murder of women--poor, trans,
undocumented, Latinx, Asian-American, Indigenous, and Black. These women may
not be as visible as male victims of police power. But in our overpoliced and
gentrified cities, we bear daily witness to the harm done to them. Luxury
condos, outrageous rents, the « trendiest restaurants and shops»--and
a bloated army of richly
169
funded police to protect this wealth--are at once the stark
proof and perverse erasures of state violence against women.
Note 60 Pasek: intersectional invisibility
provides a framework to understanding how Black women, who live at the
intersection of racism and sexism, may be harmed when their unique experiences
as Black women are not recognized. Black women are considered much more
masculine than their White counterparts. The operative word in defining how
similar to other groups Black women are is more « Black» and less
« women.» The result is that Black women are dually excluded from the
superordinate category of women, and their distinction within the Black
community is erased via underdifferentiation from Black men, in ways that may
carry social and political import. Black women's concerns are addressed within
feminist movements (Goff & Kahn, 2013; Grzanka, 2019), as highlighted by
hashtags such as #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen (Freelon et al., 2018). Likewise,
the underdifferentiation of Black women from Black men may also explain why
movements against anti-Black racism have often been criticized for not doing
enough to address the issues that affect Black women-- not because people
necessarily do not think of Black women as Black people, but because people
think of Black women similarly to how they think of Black men. As a result, a
one-size-fits-all approach to anti-Black racism leaves Black women's concerns
overlooked. Black women face similar rates of racial disparities in terms of
traffic and pedestrian stops, frisks, and arrests. Among Black children, Black
girls face racialized and gen- dered discrimination sometimes at rates even
greater than their male counterparts (Crenshaw, Ocen, & Nanda, 2015), and
Black women and girls are more associated with threat and danger than are White
women and girls (Thiem et al., 2019). These realities speak to how Black women
are doubly victimized: first, by a crim- inal legal system that harms them
dispropor- tionately; then, by social justice movements that, in their foci on
single axes of identity, often fail to fully address the first type of
victimization (Else-Quest & Hyde, 2016a, 2016b).
Note 62: SONG From slavery to the present,
black female bodies have been bought and sold. Even though Beyoncé and
her creative collaborators make use of the powerful voice and words of Malcolm
X to emphasize the lack of respect for black womanhood, simply showcasing
beautiful black bodies does not create a just culture of optimal wellbeing
where black women can become fully self-actualized and be truly respected. It
is only as black women and all women resist patriarchal romanticization of
domination in relationships can a healthy self-love emerge that allows every
black female, and all females, to refuse to be a victim. Ultimately Lemonade
glamorizes a world of gendered cultural paradox and contradiction. It does not
resolve.
170
Note 63 Freeman: Characters and popular
culture icons are often crafted on the negative racial stereotypes of
Mammy--the asexual, happy, obese, dark-black mother figure; Jezebel--the
shameless, oversexual, schemer; and; Sapphire-- the rude, loud, and overbearing
emasculator (Balaji 2010, 2009; Fischoff et al. 1999). These historical
caricatures have been transformed into contemporary distortions: the welfare
queen, who is sexually promiscuous and schemes for money; the video vixen, a
loose woman; and the gold digger who schemes and exploits the generosity of men
(ibid.). Regardless of opportunities for diverse media representation, studies
indicate that women in the videos of male artists, especially hip-hop or rap
videos, are often portrayed unfavorably; typically, multiple women are shown in
provocative poses and revealing clothing and vying for the attention of the
male artist or artists and their entourage (Balaji 2010, 2009; Hall and Smith
2012; Collins 2006). Ward's 2003 content-analysis research suggests that
feature videos by female artists similarly present women in subservient or
oversexualized roles compared to the videos of male artists.
Note 64 OKORO: If Black men's psychological
masculinity was undoubtedly restored and their images were improved, Black
females remained pictured in a negative light. Most Black-authored
historiography treated stereotyping as « gender-neutral» and
therefore the persistent vitality of racist myths and stereotypes about Black
women did not fade away.
Note 65 Green: Recent research has shown that
whites are likely to hold these stereotypes especially with respect to issues
of crime and welfare. As political and legislative decisions still are
controlled by white males, these negative biases are often expressed through
policy formation. There is an obvious trend in this society to discriminate
against and deny access to social institutions to African Americans (Jewell,
1993). A 1997 study conducted by Peffley et al indicated that whites who hold
negative stereotypes of African-Americans judge them more harshly than they do
other whites when making hypothetical decisions about violent crimes and
welfare benefits.
Note 66 Fatty: Though the institution of
slavery ended, the steryotypes have persisted. Faced with not only racial
discrimination but gender discriminaton, black women are consistently forced
under the trope of being the `superwoman'. While this may seem like a positive
attribution, the perpetuation of this myth contributes to the harmful mindset
that black women have a higher pain threshold. Seen only as strong and
self-sacrificing, as opposed to vulnerable and emotional, it creates a society
where black women are not only victims to police brutality, sexual abuse,
systematic racism, and gender discrimination, but even to the healthcare
industry. As doctors ultimately take advantage of this tale to refuse them
adequate care, the disparities between overall health and pregnancy related
deaths between black and white women are
171
extremely yet unnecessarily high. When black women give birth,
they are 3-4 times more likely to die than white women. When black woman get
paid they are given just 63 cents compared to every non-white mans dollar. When
black women are victims of sexual assault, only 1 in 15 will report. Yet
despite these statistics the troubles of black women still go unrecognized and
undiscussed, even within the movement itself. Though black women are strong,
for many of them this trait was not chosen willingly. Instead it was forced on
them as a mode of protection. If this is truly a movment for black lives,
then
it is important not to further perpetuate the discrimination
black women face by ignoring them. Note 67 Blain: Breonna
Taylor's story is reminiscent of countless others, and reflects a longstanding
pattern: For decades, black women have been targets of police violence and
brutality. And for decades, their stories have been sidelined in public
discussions about policing. Many scholars point to misogyny to explain the
continued marginalization of black women in mainstream narratives on police
violence. As Andrea Ritchie, one of the authors of the groundbreaking
#SayHerName report explains, « Women's experiences of policing and
criminalization and resistance [have] become unworthy of historical study or
mention, particularly when those writing our histories are also men. Fannie Lou
Hamer who was born in Ruleville, Mississippi, in 1917, and was a sharecropper
who joined the civil rights movement during the early 1960s. « After
learning that she had the right to vote under the U.S. Constitution, Hamer
became active in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, an interracial
civil rights organization. The organization worked on the grassroots level to
help black residents in Mississippi register to vote at a time when only 5% of
the state's 450,000 black residents were registered. In 1963, Hamer and a group
of other activists were traveling back home after attending a voter's workshop
in Charleston, South Carolina. They stopped at a restaurant in Winona,
Mississippi, to grab a bite to eat. The restaurant owners made it clear that
black people were not welcome. Hamer returned to the bus, but then reemerged
when she noticed officers shoving her friends into police cars. An officer
immediately seized Hamer and began kicking her. Later at the police station,
white officers continued to beat Hamer. As she later recalled, « They beat
me till my body was hard, till I couldn't bend my fingers or get up when they
told me to. That's how I got this blood clot in my left eye - the sight's
nearly gone now. And my kidney was injured from the blows they gave me in the
back.
Note 68 Murphy: « The movement against
gendered police brutality has a much longer history, however. And a critical
early effort demonstrates why we cannot lose sight of the particular threat of
police violence against black women. Almost a century ago, racialized police
brutality in Washington, D.C., was surging. It included the shootings of 40
black men between the late
172
1920s and 1930s, as well as white officers subjecting at least
29 black women and girls, ranging in age from 15 to 68, to harassment, abuse
and physical violence.» In several cases, the same officers who attacked
black men barged into black women's homes, policed them on the street, punched
them in the face, knocked out their teeth and hurled racial epithets at
them.» « To give one example, in 1936, sisters Martha and Ruth Lloyd,
students at Dunbar High School, were exiting a bus at the corner of Tennessee
Avenue and 14th Street NE. The sisters noticed that a riot was unfolding on the
street and tried to escape the violence. But Officer John Sirola, dressed in
plainclothes, grabbed Martha Lloyd and pinned her to the ground. Both sisters
were arrested, and in the car, Sirola beat Martha Lloyd with his blackjack
because she « sassed» him.» « white police officers
instinctively associated black women with criminality, arresting them at much
higher rates than white women for disorderly conduct, intoxication, enticing
prostitution and during Prohibition, bootlegging. The economic crisis also
threatened white men's dominance, and some white police officers seemed to
relish the opportunity to assert racial and sexual dominance over black women.
Barging into a black woman's home while she was asleep and alone, running a gun
across her stomach and beating her was a display of power. Because of sexist
assumptions, it was an exercise of power not only over black women themselves
but over the men in their lives who could not protect them. As of 2017, black
women were twice as likely to serve time in prison as white women, according to
the Sentencing Project. Time in prisons and jails poses a risk for black women:
In 2015, a state trooper arrested Sandra Bland for failing to signal a lane
change, and three days later, she was dead in her jail cell. And cases of
police rape and sexual assault are an ongoing problem. Even today, the ACLU
reports that in 35 states, police officers can use consent as a defense against
sexual assault of arrestees while in custody.
Note 69 VAWnet: Rape in the United States is
a systemic crisis, even as 60 to 80 percent of rapes go unreported according a
survey by the U.S. Department of Justice.1 Furthermore, when victims do report,
those incidents are systematically undercounted by at least one million cases
by police departments. As scholars and advocates have pointed out, rape and
sexual assault are systemic practices that continue because of the pervasive
acceptance of misogyny and violence against women within which we live and
state officials operate. Sexual misconduct by police officers, or public
officials, is the second most prevalent form of police crimes as noted by a
2010 annual report conducted by the CATO Institute. officers tend to profile
victims whose credibility will likely be doubted, and victims of police crimes
are, understandably, reluctant to report the crime to their perpetrators, the
police. For Black women in the United States specifically, fully accounting for
the ways in which their experiences of sexual assault, or rape
173
more specifically, constitute an act of torture requires
understanding the historical context and institutional legacy of slavery and
the contemporary
burden placed on victims of police sexual assaults. Black
women in the United States face a peculiar form of rape-based torture that has
its origins in American slavery and the state apparatuses that evolve to
protect the interest of the economic elites, white men, and public officials.
As women, Black women were subjected to sex-specific violations such as rape,
forced pregnancies, and other gender-based violations. As Blacks they were
subjected to chattel slavery, as was true for Black men and children, and were
therefore reduced to being viewed, treated, and consumed as property, and not
as human beings. As bodies to produce other enslaved bodies, as flesh to
satisfy their slave master's desires, as slaves to be worked as needed, and as
property to be sold at will, Black women were deemed not able to be raped.
Black women were thought to not only lack the capacity to make morally sound
decisions but they are made to bear the blame for their own abuse. This racist
logic further implies that this deficient capacity and animalistic quality
function to entice their perpetrators, which means Black women seek out their
own rape and sexual exploitation, and therefore cannot be raped because they
wanted it--it's in their nature. Furthermore, Black women could not be raped
because they were not legally people, but rather property. The Women's Prison
Association (WPA) cites that 93 out of every 100,000 white women were
incarcerated in 2008 while the number for Black women is 349 out of every
100,000. Although the Black population is 13 percent of the entire population
of the United States, meaning around half of Black women make up 6.5 percent,
Black women comprised 32.6 percent of the female prison population. white
policeman by the name of Daniel Ken Holtzclaw in Oklahoma City was charged in
August 2014 on sexually assaulting, raping, stalking, fondling and exposing
himself to at least eight Black women, who are between the ages of 34 and 58,
during traffic stops while on duty. According to reports, Holtzclaw targeted
these women because he profiled them as drug users, prostitutes and sex
workers, women whose credibility will be called into question. Given that all
these women are Black and at least one is not in fact a sex worker or drug
user, and none fit the typical age profile, Holtzclaw profiled these women
precisely because of their Black female identity. Despite the admission of
investigating officers that there might be more victims, Holtzclaw was released
on a mere $500,000 bond after having an initial $5,0000,000 bond.» This
incident shows how little attention is given by both the media and the court
when it comes to black women and how white policemen can get away with
accusations that black men or black women cannot. Even when it comes to
policemen raping black women, the statistics
174
show that « Despite the facts that 22 percent of Black
women and 50 percent of racially mixed Black women experience rape in higher
amounts when
compared to white women, 20 the long-standing legacy and
continued devaluing of Black women as legitimate victims of rape and assault
generally compound Black women's continued victimization and likelihood to get
a conviction against a police officer no less.
Note 70 Brunson: Feminist scholars suggest
that young Black women are far from immune from negative experiences with the
justice system. Girls are more likely than boys to experience juvenile justice
interventions for relatively minor offenses (MacDonald and Chesney-Lind 2001),
and African American women and girls receive more punitive treatment than their
white counterparts (Bush-Baskette 1998; Miller 1999; Visher 1983). Moreover,
research suggests that Black women crime victims are less likely than white
women to receive police assistance (Robinson and Chandek 2000). African
American women and girls receive more punitive treatment within the justice
system than their white counterparts. For example, the contemporary « war
on drugs» has led to unprecedented levels of incarceration among Black
women (Bush-Baskette 1998). Research on the adjudication of delinquent girls
suggests that African Americans are disproportionately placed in detention,
while whites are more likely to be tracked into treatment-oriented programs
(Bartollas 1993; Miller 1999). Visher's (1983) groundbreaking study was the
first to demonstrate how gender and race intersect to shape police/citizen
interactions. It was long assumed that the police treat women in a «
chivalrous» manner, providing preferential treatment in arrest decisions.
Visher (1983, 5) challenged this assumption, suggesting instead that «
chivalry exists ... for those women who display appropriate gender behaviors
and characteristics.» Drawing from data on police/citizen encounters, she
found that older, white, and deferential women received more leniency than
other women. Younger women received harsher treatment, and African American
women were significantly more likely to be arrested than white women or men. In
fact, they faced arrest at rates comparable to those of African American men.
The police are more likely to arrest younger African American women than white
women (Visher 1983) but little research has examined other discretionary
aspects of policing for young women. Girls' accounts most closely paralleled
those of boys when they were in young men's company and thus tainted by the
suspicion applied to young men. In addition, girls who reported participating
in serious delinquency described being stopped by the police. Ironically,
though, they were typically stopped for curfew or truancy violations rather
than for their involvement in criminal offense. Young women often described
being stopped at night. In addition, many young women expressed specific
concern about the lack of police responsiveness to crime victims in their
175
communities. They displayed deep pessimism about police
efforts to protect community members, especially women from crime. The police
are more likely to arrest younger African American women than white women
(Visher 1983) but little research has examined other discretionary aspects of
policing for young women. Girls' accounts most closely paralleled those of boys
when they were in young men's company and thus tainted by the suspicion applied
to young men. In addition, girls who reported participating in serious
delinquency described being stopped by the police. Ironically, though, they
were typically stopped for curfew or truancy violations rather than for their
involvement in criminal offense. Young women often described being stopped at
night. In addition, many young women expressed specific concern about the lack
of police responsiveness to crime victims in their communities. They displayed
deep pessimism about police efforts to protect community members, especially
women from crime.
Note 71 Savali: According to Dr. Treva B.
Lindsey, an assistant professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at
the Ohio State University, this kind of gender-exclusive narrative is all too
common. « Prevailing narratives around Black violability and anti-Black
racial violence pivot around Black men and boys,» said Dr. Lindsey. «
Both historically and contemporarily, when many people working towards racial
justice around the issue of racial violence, the presumptive victim is a Black
male. From lynching to police brutality, the presumed victim is a Black male.
Therefore, Black women and girls are viewed as exceptional victims as opposed
to perpetual victims of anti-Black racial violence. Our narratives around
racial violence, unfortunately, have yet to evolve into ones that are gender
inclusive. Black Victim=Black Male.
Note 72 LAW: Aiyanna Jones, age seven.
Eleanor Bumpurs, age 66. Pearlie Golden, age 93. Yvette Smith, age 47. Kathryn
Johnston, age 92. What do these women have in common? All were killed by
police. All were Black women. While we're directing our outrage (and rightfully
so) at the individual police who have killed these men, the police departments
that have created a culture in which Black lives are seen as dispensable, and
the power structures that allow these killings to continue, let's not forget
the other people affected by police violence: women and trans people of color.
Gender is not a separate discussion from profiling and policing,» said
Andrea Ritchie, the director of Streetwise and Safe, at a panel on policing and
gender in May. Streetwise and Safe is a New York City organization that works
with queer youth of color who experience criminalization. Ritchie frequently
works with people who have been stopped under the New York Police Department's
infamous Stop and Frisk system, a policy that allows police to stop and search
anyone they deem suspicious. Although the practice is purportedly color-
176
blind, the police overwhelmingly target young people of color,
particularly black and brown men. But Ritchie frequently hears stories of
police violence from people who do not fit our perception of who gets
victimized by police brutality, like women and trans people of color. She
recounted that one young woman was stopped by the police, ordered to remove her
newborn daughter out of the stroller and place her on the dirty sidewalk while
the police searched the stroller. The police found nothing
illegal in the stroller. In another instance, during a stop
and frisk, a police officer searched a young woman's phone, copied her number
and began sending her text messages which have grown increasingly threatening
and violent. In yet another instance, four young women--ages eight, nine,
thirteen and sixteen--were stopped. None had anything illegal, but police took
them to the precinct where they were held until their mother arrived to pick
them up. But even in or just outside their own homes, women of color aren't
safe from police violence. Two incidents this summer demonstrate times in which
police have assaulted women in or just outside their homes. Less than two weeks
after they came under fire for killing Eric Garner using an illegal chokehold,
New York police placed a woman who was seven months pregnant in a chokehold
before arresting her. Her crime? Grilling in front of her own house. One week
later, New York police--responding to an unrelated 911 call--yanked a woman out
of her apartment and left her in the hallway topless for several minutes.
Shortly after midnight on May 16, 2010, seven-year-old Aiyanna Jones was
sleeping at her grandmother's house when she was fatally shot by police who
raided the wrong apartment. On the second anniversary of Aiyanna's death,
police forced their way into her family's new home, verbally berating and
physically assaulting them. According to family members, this is not the first
time they have been harassed by police since Aiyanna's killing. Home also
wasn't a safe haven from police violence for 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston
either. Johnston was inside her home in Atlanta, Georgia, when police broke
down her door during a drug raid. Johnston fired a single shot at the
intruders, hitting none of them. In response, police fired 39 shots, killing
her. Finding no drugs in her house, they planted three bags of marijuana, which
they later admitted during trial. Police violence--particularly against people
of color--isn't just a problem in Ferguson or in Detroit or in New York City.
Police violence, particularly against people of color, is systemic. But women
who have been brutalized or killed never become as well-known; their names very
rarely stick in public memory and never gain the same traction as Eric Garner
or Michael Brown.
Note 73 Shabazz: In Berkeley, police killed
Black women like Anita Gay (2008) and Kayla Moore (2013).
177
Note 74 Urge : Women are dying and are not
immune to the police brutality that is taking place across the country. Just
two weeks ago, 37-year-old Tanisha Anderson died after the police slammed her
on the pavement outside of her home. The Huffington Post covered the ties
between RJ and Ferguson and listed the names of « Yvette Smith in Bastrop,
TX; Eleanor Bumpurs in the Bronx; seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones in
Detroit; Tarika Wilson in Lima, OH»; all women who were killed by the
police.
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