police brutality and women of color
Women Of Color Speak Out On Police Violence
Activism surrounding the murders of Michael Brown and Eric Garner have leveraged the discussion of police brutality against people of color into a nationwide discourse. This is a crucial step toward justice. However, often lost in the narrative of this movement is the specific violence faced by women of color. Despite the critical role women play at the forefront of activist efforts, their devastating losses often go unacknowledged.
To draw attention to this issue, we reached out to women to give them space to share their thoughts and experiences.
Here’s what they said.
We must not ignore or downplay the dangers that Black women, including trans women, face at the hands of police officers.
Black women are insisting that our stories, too, become part of the national conversation around policing and safety.
Though the very foundation of American policing is rotten with colonialism and anti-Black racism, there are remedies that we can fight for today.
The trans community knows that police violence against us is a deadly serious issue. The problem is that nobody else knows that.
The names and stories of women killed by police rarely stick in the public consciousness.
While other kids heard fairy tales and nursery rhymes, I heard stories about racially-motivated police violence.