WOWbyChar (Words of Wisdom), University of Washington student, and public speaker.
Let's Talk About Black Women: Justice For Breonna Taylor!
It has been five months since the murder of Breonna Taylor (26); an emergency medical techician from Louisville, Kentucky. Ms. Taylor, like most Black women, was a daughter, friend, sister, co-worker, and significant other. For me, the murder of Ms. Taylor is a reminder of the mistreatment of Black women nationally and internally. Nationally, meaning within the United States, Black women and girls are misdiagnosed, suspended from school, terrorized, and abused at an alarmingly disportionate rate in comparison to their white counterparts. Internally, meaning within the Black community, Black women are silenced, overshadowed, unprotected, and dismissed due to the negligence of Black men and toxic masculinity. To clarify, the institutionalization of racism has disturbed our community since we set foot on American soil in bondage. However, our endless fight to sustain as a people is unmatched, but the spaces in which Black women occupy to support Black men are not reciprocated. Although justice has been served for our brother George Floyd, a father who was murdered by a police officer who positioned his knee on Floyd's neck for approximately eight minutes, our sisters (Breonna Taylor, Charleena Lyles, and many others) have yet to be honored in the courtroom. Scholar Kimberlѐ Crenshaw coined the term Intersectionality in 1989. In short, Crenshaw's theory highlights the experience of non-white women consisting of racism and sexism; these characters calls for increased encounters with discrimination. Today, this theory has elaborated concepts including race, gender, finance, and sexuality. Black women, specifically during the Civil Rights Movement, were focused on the freedom and civil liberties of Black people. Differing from their white counterparts, Black women simply did not have the privilege to fight in the Women's Rights Movement when their sons, husbands, and fathers were being lynched. Furthermore, this is why it should never be questioned when one shouts "protect Black women". Black women should never feel inadequate in the eyes of Black men when they too put their lives on the line for the freedom of Black people. I questioned writing this article, until I thought the evening I left a rally in the Central District held on June 5th at 23rd & Jackson. I began to leave the gathering and heard Black teens and adults uttering "hey king" or "hey queen". How can we expect our reality to be understood by strangers if we do not address these matters ourselves!
