It’s been more than a year since armed white, plain-clothed, Louisville police officers ripped Breonna Taylor’s apartment door from its hinges and began firing. The botched no-knock warrant is reminiscent of the 1969 predawn police raid that killed Chicago Black Panther chairman, Fred Hampton, and defense minister, Mark Clark.
Odds that the unarmed 26-year-old emergency medical technician would survive weren’t in her favor. Breonna’s death is an example the dehumanization of black bodies, proving the centuries-old disregard of black lives, and more specifically, black women
In Breonna’s case, from the bungled early-morning raid to the subsequent investigation into her untimely death, the criminal justice system fell woefully short.
Regrettably, any measure of justice that Breonna’s family might receive in the hands of Kentucky’s first black attorney general, Daniel Jay Cameron, was doomed to fail. Cameron’s ineffective undertaking of the investigation is disappointing, but not surprising to the black community.
Breonna did absolutely nothing wrong, but unfortunately, she became a victim of the broad spectrum of inequality at the core of America’s brand of racism. Similar to many marginalized women of color, Breonna’s rights are dissimilar to those afforded white women under similar circumstances. To be clear, it isn’t speculation; the proof lies in a long and shameful history of victimization, cruelty, and systemic inequality perpetrated against black girls and women.
It seems inconceivable, but contrasting the treatment of black women in contemporary society to Antebellum United States, reveals similarities to when Breonna’s ancestral matriarchs likely suffered unspeakable torment and brutality. More than a century-and-a half after the Emancipation Proclamation, the vestiges of oppression and exploitation of black women continue.
An examination of former president Donald Trump’s repeated verbal attacks on women of color underscores the assault on black women. The abhorrent speechifying targeting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and then-vice president-elect Kamala Harris signifies the explicit waging of war against women of color.
At the crux of the malicious slights is a sinister scheme to vilify black womanhood. Unlike the past, when racist slurs were cunningly-veiled, nowadays, the sneering offenses are in-your-face nastiness that cuts to the quick and meant to appease fanatical, right-wing, racists.
Trafficking in racially-provocative speechmaking is a sport for the former president. When taking a-knee by black NFL players during the National Anthem sparked controversy, Trump’s lashing out was immediate. However, the real purpose was to debase black women. When Trump said, “Get that son of a bitch off the field,” it was quickly dissected by black people to indicate his contempt for black women.
Comments made by Trump during the 2020 presidential campaign referring to Harris as “a monster,” “nasty,” “meanest,” and “most horrible” were an overt effort to diminish Harris’ standing. Now, with vice-president Harris a heartbeat away from the highest office in the land, the demeaning rhetoric likely will continue.
Meghan Markel (who is black on her mother’s side), the Duchess of Sussex’s recent allegations of maltreatment by unnamed British royal family members, emphasizes the global pervasiveness of deep-rooted bias and bigotry against black women. And, among black people, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone surprised by Markel’s accusation.
Anthony Stanford is an Opinion Columnist and author of Homophobia in the Black Church: How Faith, Politics, and Fear Divide the Black Community.