Several parallels can be drawn between the shooting of Michael Brown and the sexual abuse of these black women. One: they occurred within 20 days of each other. Two: they concerned serious forms of discriminatory violence. And three: they demonstrated the epitome of police brutality. Nonetheless, the shooting of Michael Brown received disproportionately more public attention than the sexual abuse of these black women. This begs the following question: why?
The answer is that black women endure dual discrimination.
The interaction between different forms of discrimination, formally known as intersectionality, leaves black women subject to both racism and sexism.
Due to the fact that many turn a blind eye to the detriments of racism, minorities suffer. Due to the fact that the sexual abuse of women is often viewed as an uncomfortable or unimportant topic of discussion, women suffer. When these two forms of discrimination merge, an entire country can overlook a tragedy of mass proportion.
Unfortunately, the U.S. has done so on multiple accounts. Listed below is a non-comprehensive list of black women killed by police officers in the past decade:
Aiyana Jones, 7, was killed by a Detroit police officer while sleeping on her father’s couch.
Tarika Wilson, 26, was killed by a Ohio police officer; he infant son was injured
Yvette Smith, 48, was killed by a police officer in Texas while unarmed.
Eleanor Bumpurs, 66, was killed by a police officer in the Bronx.
Kathryn Johnson, 92, was killed by a police officer in Atlanta.
These instances of fatal police brutality did not produce nationwide rioting, and yet involved the death of arguably innocent humans at the hands of law enforcement. That being said, unreported police brutality toward black women should be a topic of grave concern for all Americans. How many black women have been senselessly beaten, sexually exploited, or killed by police officers? Most importantly, how many of these acts of police brutality have been swept under the rug and/or ignored by the general public? If an entire nation can overlook the sexual abuse of ten black women by a police officer, it can surely overlook any and all police brutality shown toward black women. Truly, the dual discrimination black women endure may make them the most frequent targets of police brutality.
Michael Brown received little justice prior to, and at the hour of his death.
Will a black woman receive even less justice?