July 27, 2014
The War on Black Women
By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
(TriceEdneyWire.com) – As I have stated before, my friend Dick Gregory likes to say, "When White America gets a cold, Black folks get pneumonia." Evaluating America's "War on Women" through the lens of this statement, the negative outcomes that the "evil forces" of this nation visit upon Black women is unjustifiable and disheartening. If we take the time to observe and remember, the evidence is clear.
Because she has been the subject of my past writings and discussions, most of you are aware of the struggles of Marissa Alexander in Florida and her fight from unjust prosecution, but do you remember Renisha McBride? She was the nineteen year-old woman shot in Dearborn Heights, Michigan on November 2, 2013. She was shot seeking assistance after her involvement in an automobile accident. Tragically, the home from which she sought assistance was the residence of a man who could not see beyond her race. Instead of by the Good Samaritan, Renisha was "greeted" with the response of a Charles Bronson "Death Wish" vigilante.
Theodore Paul Wafer, 54, opened the front door of his home and fired his 12-gauge shotgun through his screen door into the face of Renisha, killing her. First media reports state Wafer's alleged belief was that his home was being invaded. This argument begs the question, "Why would you open your front door to an intruder instead of calling the police?" His argument would hold greater logic had he waited for her to actually break into his home.
Wafer has been charged with second degree murder and his "legal" guilt or innocence will be decided in a court of law, but observers suggest that Wafer's defense will use the intoxication indicated in Renisha's autopsy to drag Renisha's personal character through the mud holes of every negative characterization and stereotype attributable to Black people.
More recently, two Black American jurists have fallen victim to the "open season" that apparently exists on Black women.
79-year old Judge Arnette Hubbard was taking a smoke break outside the Daley Center in Chicago and was attacked by 55-year old David Nicosia. He took issue with Judge Hubbard smoking too closely to him and yelled at her to "move Rosa Parks!!!" He then slapped and spit on her. Judge Hubbard followed her assailant while calling for assistance and was slapped and spit upon a second time. Fortunately, sheriff's deputies arrived and took Nicosia into custody where he was charged with four counts of aggravated battery and a hate crime. Bail was set at $90,000.
Less overt than the attack on Judge Hubbard, the attack on Judge Tracie Hunter demonstrates comparable racial animus and maintenance of a juvenile justice system used as a tool of racial oppression. Judge Hunter is the first African American woman elected as a juvenile court judge in Cincinnati. Her election results were not clear, but, after lengthy legal wrangling, she was seated.
Judge Hunter's primary reason for running for election was to reverse the trend of injustices suffered by children in the Hamilton County juvenile justice system - 80% of whom are Black children. Refusing to support practices that enhance the "school-to-prison pipeline" and violations of the civil, constitutional and human rights of juveniles, Judge Hunter is embroiled in a legal battle with Hamilton County Republicans and their efforts to strip her of authority in favor of the judge she defeated in her election.
Whether an attack on Renisha McBride's character, personal or institutional attacks on jurists or the increasing political and personal attacks upon our First Lady, we must not ignore or forget them. We must fight the opponents of our sister's security because what they comfortably do to one of us can easily be done to any of us.
(Dr. E. Faye Williams is President/CEO of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. www.nationalcongressbw.org and www.efayewillilams.com. 202/678-6788