Jackson Free Press

In this article on TheRoot.com, Melissa Harris-Lacewell talks about a public discussion that took place in a church in Brooklyn, NY - a discussion of the touchy subject of intra-racial rape in the black community.

I witnessed something truly astonishing on Monday night: a public discussion of black women's experiences of sexual violence at the hands of black men. It was an intergenerational group of black men and women, gay and straight, survivors and perpetrators, all grappling with the legacy of rape and race.

The experience was unusual because black people rarely talk about sisters being raped. We talk about all kinds of things: trivial, critical, humorous, serious, political, painful and frivolous. But as we observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, I am reminded that there are things we don't talk about.

We are silent about black women as victims and survivors of sexual assault by black men.

In African American communities rape narratives are not women's stories. They are men's stories. Rape is tied to the historical legacy of white terror. Strange fruit hanging from Southern trees has led to a legacy of disbelieving women who report sexual violence and intimidation.

Black women raped by black male perpetrators often remain silent because they are alone. They don't want to confirm white racial stereotypes; their own families and communities tell them to shut up; they have little reason to think that authorities will take their cases seriously; they fear the devastating ramifications of a manhunt in black communities if they are believed; and in the history of lynching white women have been adversaries, not allies, on the question of rape.

Recovering from rape is burden enough without having to shoulder this vicious legacy.

If you read the rest of the article, you will see the culmination of black women and men working together to openly address this issue. If we were to have this discussion nationwide, what sort of impact do you think it will have on the black community? How do you think it should be done, and what do you think should be on the agenda?

Previous Comments

ID

117986

Comment

I personally think that only good things can come out of this conversation. The amount of African American girls with which I work who have been raped is ASTOUNDING. What is even worse is when they present with problems that require therapy, the rape is never mentioned. Usually several sessions will go by until someone, in passing, mentions "Yeah, she was raped about eight months ago." To which I always ask, "And, um, so WHEN did these other behavioral problems present?" Most often, the answer coincides with the rape. When I attempt to educate parents (especially mothers) that this is the cause of the issues, I often get a statement that sounds like, "Well, it happened to me twice when I was growing up and I got over it. She's going to have to just get over that." The problem is so widespread some families with which I've worked just see it as a "non-entity"...almost as a part of growing up.

Author

Lori G

Date

2008-04-11T11:55:56-06:00

ID

117987

Comment

Here's a radio interview with a woman who both survived rape trauma & wrote a book about it

Author

Izzy

Date

2008-04-11T12:16:53-06:00

ID

117988

Comment

When I attempt to educate parents (especially mothers) that this is the cause of the issues, I often get a statement that sounds like, "Well, it happened to me twice when I was growing up and I got over it. She's going to have to just get over that." That is the kind of friction that seems too common between mothers and daughters of all races. The mother thinks that if the daughter doesn't react to a bad experience the same way she did that the daughter is weak.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-04-11T12:22:27-06:00

ID

117989

Comment

Statistics show that at least 25 percent(that's a very very conservative survey) of the women that each one of knows in this industrialized and so called modern society have been sexually abused. At least 75 percent of the time that abuse is perpetrated by a family member or "friend". This is not strictly an African American issue(not that anyone said it was). Girls from all socio-economic, racial and cultural backgrounds are under attack. I tend to believe that there may be just more matter of fact openness about in some communities. (Very sad indeed when nothing is being done to help these young women) How the problem manifests itself is culturally different. There might not be acting out but there will be some sort of destructive behavior like bulimia, cutting, drugs, addiction to bad relationships...the list goes on and on.

Author

msgrits

Date

2008-04-11T12:23:04-06:00

ID

117990

Comment

The first person I knew who talked about being raped was a Jewish young woman, a friend from Roslyn Heights, in New York City, who went to live on a kibbutz in Israel and was raped by an Israeli soldier. The second was an Irish girl from Limerick who was raped by her father from when she was 2 to 12. My daughter's 24. Sometimes, when she calls and says she's going to walk in town by herself to the movies, it keeps me up all that night. I taught art in a maximum security prison and came up on the street. I know who's out there.

Author

willdufauve

Date

2008-04-11T14:39:06-06:00

ID

118615

Comment

Rape was a word that never happened when I was in high school until there was a rape/abduction of a girl by a stranger when we were 18. It was more than a decade ago. 13 to be exact. Granted there were concerns or threats of prosecutions of statutory rape, but among people that "we knew" being high school students that "never" happened. Guess what.. It happened. It happened a lot. It was either date rape or family attacks. Just never talked about or reported. At college, I was shocked to find out the sheer number. I would estimate a full 40% of my female friends had been sexual abused, raped or attacked. Almost all by "boyfriends" against their will. I would say 98 percent was "boyfriends" or a guy I hooked up with at a party that "went too far" Race is not the main factor. Generally there are odds. Girls are preyed upon by people that know that either know the girl will not tell or they think they are above and can treat that way. Also they think or know they can get away with it. The abuser is a male that thinks they are entitled or can dominate the female, for any reason. From my female friends the reason nobody pressed charges because 1. Small town/I dated him/Nobody would believe me/I asked for it/well we did kiss..Mix these up they all can be combined 2. Seen violence against women or children and have been conditioned to think violence is acceptable. 3. a culture of shame. Sad but most attack the victim if the victim does comes forward 4. Parents said just put it behind me... 5. (sadly but true) Law enforcement said "It will be your word against his" and "you will have to testify" True and accurate There are cultural reasons as well If there is extreme poverty things change. At extreme poverty society truly reverts back to hunters gatherers, there is violence/acceptance of violence. Things that are not normal become normal, such as thirteen year olds "dating" 44 year olds and nobody seeing an issue since he provides As an attorney I see the worst of human kind. I will say the death penalty is improperly applied and needs to be suspended for a large review, and is usauly applied to those that have the least chance to beat the penalty. However, if my daughter ever suffered what one of my clients daughters did at the hands of several males, I would stay strong in my opposition to the penalty..... Too quick too impersonal.

Author

AGamm627

Date

2008-04-15T23:26:15-06:00

ID

118618

Comment

I agree that race is not the main factor in occurrences of rape, but are some cultures less likely to discuss it than other cultures?

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-04-16T08:58:47-06:00

ID

118619

Comment

where are the arrows on this thread?

Author

Izzy

Date

2008-04-16T09:01:11-06:00

ID

118621

Comment

Do you mean the arrows that take you to the top or the bottom of the page? Maybe you should bring that up in the 3.0 thread.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-04-16T09:06:36-06:00