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Black Women Deserve Better

 

With the recent release of the grand jury decision on the killing of Breonna Taylor, protests erupt across the nation. 

 

Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman was fatally shot 8 times while asleep in her own home on March 13.

 

Louisville police officers killed Taylor in what has been said to be a “botched raid” on her apartment. 

 

Only one of the three officers, Brett Hankison, has been charged but not for the death of Breonna Taylor but for three counts of wanton endangerment as he apparently  endangered Taylor’s neighbors while shooting into her home.  

 

Jonathan Mattingly, and Myles Cosgrove the other two officers involved in the death of Breonna have not been charged. 

 

Breonna Taylor has recieved no justice. 

 

Our mission at Mariposa Sisters is to empower women’s wellness internationally, pushing for a stronger, equal and a better future. With that being said, we see the struggle Black women have endured in America and to that we say, Black women deserve better. 

 

For decades Black women have sustained pain, disrespect and neglect in America all of which goes without saying has been unprovoked. 

 

In 1962 Malcolm X said in a speech “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman, the most unprotected person in America is the Black woman, the most neglected person in America is the Black woman,” Malcolm X says this  to express that Black women must be protected.  This powerful quote spoken by Malcolm X still resonates today. 

 

Since the 1990s Black women have been fighting for social reforms and equal rights and to this day Black women continue to fight for their given rights as we see the marches and cries for justice for Breonna Taylor.

 

Black women, including Black trans women have been pushed to the side, denied rights and denied justice. For years now stereotypes, colorism and racism has given the people of America the idea that it is ok to undermine Black women. 

 

Bella, who is an activist who advocates and fights for not only Black Lives Matter but for BIPOC in the LGBTQ+ community said, “The reason Black women are the most disrespected is because of a long history of colorism & racism that has been embedded in our society. I think an aspect of it is the stereotype “angry Black woman” & when people believe in that stereotype, they think it gives them “a free pass” to disrespect us without consequences.”

 

Breonna Taylor’s case is all too familiar, as many Black women in America lives have been senselessly cut short and or brutalized by the police and others who bring upon hate, rasicim and discrimination. From Sandra Bland, Margaret Mitchell, Kayla Moore, Tarika Wilson, Dominique “Rem’mie’ ‘Fells, Riah Milton and countless others, Black women have yet to be protected, respected and granted justice. 

 

 

 

Jordyn Windom who is an advocate for Black Lives Matter Movement and a student at San José State University, said “In regards to Black women being the most disrespected, I think this has a lot to do with people striving for proximity to whiteness and what is deemed successful in white America.”

 

Hearing from voices of women who experience first hand how Black women are treated today and reading the words of Malcolm X spoken in 1962, calls into question when will the justice system serve for all people?

 

Author: Khala Clarke 

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