Our entire history is entrenched with the doctrine that Black lives have little to no value.
Black women suffered violent rapes and sexual assault by slave owners and plantation workers, resulting in unwanted pregnancies and being torn from their children. However, the narrative centered around the inhumane treatment of our Black men. Albeit their struggle was real, Black women have continuously been an afterthought. And it remains so.
The hashtag “Say Her Name” has spotlighted Black women killed by police by shedding light on the Black woman’s experience with police violence. Accountability for the deaths of unarmed Black men should extend to Black women and girls. We all remember the deaths of Eric Garner and Mike Brown as the catalyst that brought international exposure to this new phenomenon. Still, the countless numbers of unidentified sisters remain concealed.
Aiyana Stanley-Jones was only 7 years old when Detroit cop Joseph Weekley killed her as she slept during another police raid gone wrong. Dante Servin, an off-duty Chicago police detective, fatally shot Rekia Boyd, 22, in the back of the head while standing on the street with her friends. In both these cases, these officers are acquitted of all charges. Of course, the list can go on, with example after example of a system that is riddled with the never-ending headache of injustice. Through all of this, the deaths of Black women remain invisible.
According to Kimberlé Crenshaw, a professor of law at UCLA and Columbia Law School, Black women have the highest rates of homicide in this country. Our deaths don’t make national news. In 2015, police used a stun gun on Natasha McKenna four times, resulting in her death while she was shackled and in the midst of a mental health crisis in a Fairfax County, Virginia, jail. The whole scene was captured on video but received no national attention. Rarely do we see convictions or indictments of police for killing Black men and Black women. Our lives have value, and public awareness is crucial.
We can’t allow the stories of Black women and girls to go untold. Police reform can only start at the local and state levels. Get out and vote like your life depends on it because it does.
Anissa D. Blair is an Atlanta-based author and blogger with a passion for writing and being a mother and wife. In her blog, “Straight, No Chaser,” she represents everyday women “just trying to cope doing average s—” and covers all topics — from the good, the bad and the ugly of navigating through life’s obstacles and roadblocks, to building and keeping successful relationships while trying to maintain your sanity. No taboo topics here. You can read her work at rollingout.com/anissa/ and follow her on social media @anissadblair on Instagram and @anissablair on Facebook.
