Friday, March 29, 2024

EUR Insight/Time for a Black #Metoo Movement? – WATCH

*Recy Taylor, who died last year at the age of 98, epitomizes the activism of racially and economically marginalized women at a time in history when there was none. In 1944, she was kidnapped and gang-raped by six white men before being left by the side of the road. Instead of looking the other way, as many women in her position would have, she decided to seek justice in Jim Crow-era Alabama. Modern movements like #Metoo owe a great deal to individuals like her who got the ball rolling all those decades back.

Back in 2006, the term phrase was first introduced by African-American sexual assault survivor and activist Tarane Burke in order to raise awareness, specifically for victims from marginalized groups. However, the current movement seems to be progressing without much acknowledgment of this reality and fails to provide sufficient representation of non-white victims. Black women continue to be noticeably absent from both the campaign’s leadership and its general membership.

The history of rape crisis movements in the US is, to a good extent, defined by the struggles of the African American woman against racism and sexism. When looking at the history of the country, particularly before the civil rights movement, the original victims of sexual harassment/abuse/violence are black women. Now that the ugly head of this monster is surfacing for the sake of whiteness, historic amnesia seems to have kicked in and the black woman is forgotten.

There is also a marked difference in how the recipients of these stories of abuses are treated or given importance based on the color of their skin. From all the allegations made against Harvey Weinstein, there is only one made by a black woman, Lupita N’yongo. And while he has kept his silence, for the most part, he chose to quickly refute N’yongo’s claims probably because he thought her to be the easiest to discredit.

There is also a marked difference in how the abuser gets treated based on the type of victims he has left behind. A lot of big names in Hollywood have recently taken a great deal of pounding as the allegations keep mounting. But there seems to be a commonality between these men, their victims were largely white.

On the other side of the aisle, however, are stars like R.Kelly who, despite decades of suspicion, allegations, and videos of sexual misconduct, have continued to thrive. It should come as no surprise that Kelly’s victims were typically black girls and women, who couldn’t draw enough attention as their white counterparts.

It seems inevitable then, that black women would have to galvanize within themselves if they are to break down this system of apathy. They would have to rise and demand that their abuse be counted as abuse and not black abuse. It seems the time for a black #Metoo movement is on the horizon.

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