This is my rage face.

[CONTENT NOTE: mass shootings and shooters, violent misogyny, rape culture.]

GENERAL NOTES:

First, when I use the word misogyny, by way of definition I incorporate by reference the concept of entitlement. It may be directed to women’s deference, obedience, attention, decisions, bodies, privacy, place in a hierarchy (such as a business), perceived or actual safety (relative to men), and/or umpteen kazillion other aspects that I cannot think of right now on account of the blinding rage. So whatever else its definition may encompass, it encompasses at least some form of gender-based entitlement.

Second, the definition of mass shooting lacks consensus, to put it mildly. Broadly speaking, it requires a single shooter, a minimum of three (or four) victims, which may (or may not) include the shooter, in a public place, in essentially the same geographic location with shots fired close together in time. Again, broadly speaking, it does not include foreign terrorist attacks, or incidental homicides such as multiple killings during a bank robbery.

Interestingly, the common caveat that a mass shooting must occur in a public place means that incidents where a shooter kills his wife, girlfriend, or ex, her children, other family member(s) and possibly himself (odds are 50-50 there) does not meet the definition of mass shooting.

I wonder why that is?

[Read more…]

It’s Day 24 of Black History Month and We Whites Are All Going to STFU and Listen.

URGENT REMINDER: The fundraiser for reopening the National Black Doll Museum ends February 28. If you are able to donate a few dollars please do, and please share the fundraiser link as widely as you can. Many thanks! ☮️ -Iris.

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Every once in a while, mainstream media gets something (sort of) right. For instance, at Today.com I found the inaccurately titled Nine inspiring Black American heroes you might not know about, but should. The phenomenon of erasure is a subject near and dear to my heart, and I’ve given my take on erasure in at least one post in this Black History Month series. Here is another, from the Today article:

Black history lessons in the month of February likely include the teachings of famous Black Americans like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Park [sic], and Jesse Owens. These pioneers have earned their pages in history textbooks, but why is so much Black history missing?

“The reason is simple,” Gerald Horne, Moores Professor of History and African American Studies at University of Houston told TODAY Parents. “Just look at the legislative backlash to Critical Race Theory or the Virginia gubernatorial race. Black history well taught leaves discomfort, which many would prefer to avoid.”

Personally, I prefer uncomfortable truths to comfortable fictions. Embracing the latter is not only foolish, but demonstrably dangerous.

But this post falls in neither camp; it celebrates historic accomplishments by Black people that we whites really should know about. (And if you’re into historic photos, its a little treasure trove.) As the good people at Color of Change helped to remind us yesterday, Black history IS American history.

Below are photos of Black historical figures I had never heard of until now, and short quotes from the Today article where you can go to learn more about them.

1. Harlem Hellfighters

The arrival of the famed 369th Black infantry regiment in New York after World War I. Celebrated in Europe, they faced discrimination at home.
(image: Bettmann Arc via Today)

[Read more…]

It’s Day 23 of Black History Month and We Whites Are All Going to STFU and Listen.

And learn. And then click. And thus help.

I have written many times here about Color of Change, and I have learned so much about what Black people actually need from me by reading their work, and then doing what they ask of me. Today we get to learn and to help Black people by reading, signing, and sharing (if possible), four Color of Change petitions.

But first, I want to share something that we whites (including Yours Truly) clearly need to hear, again and again and again. [Read more…]

It’s Day 17 of Black History Month and We Whites Are All Going to STFU and Listen.

At the intersection of patriarchy and anti-Black racism stands the Black woman. There’s even a word for it: misogynoir. And it’s a necessary word, too, because multiple axes of oppression (like misogyny and anti-Black racism) do not compound each other by simple addition. Instead, they contort and magnify each other in a way that is distinct, and it works a lot more like multiplication.

Can Black women experience anti-Black racism in the same way Black men do? YES.

Can Black women experience misogyny in the same way white women do? OF COURSE.

Can Black women experience bigotry and oppression that is unique to the wholeness of their identities as “Black women”? YESSSSS.

And add LGBTQ+, disabled, or any other axes of privilege/oppression and the harm and marginalization multiply. Again.

There are white feminist women being racists toward Black women in the feminist movement (a well-documented phenomenon since the earliest feminist organizing that unfortunately continues to this very day). And Black men being misogynistic and patriarchal toward Black women (also a well-documented phenomenon).

Misogynoir manifests in too many ways to enumerate here, but one example that comes readily to mind is when police assume a Black woman who is dressed appropriately for warm weather is a sex worker, and they then proceed to degrade, harass, arrest or assault her. (Not that mistreating sex workers is EVER okay, in any context.) The misogynoir lies in the initial assumption: the stereotyping and overt sexualizing of Black women, because they are Black women. The consequence of that assumption is harm to Black women.

I have been privileged and honored to know and to work with Black women over the course of my time living in New York, and even more fortunate to count some Black women as my friends.* While they face not only sexism and anti-Black racism but their twisted cousin, misogynoir, in everyday life, my respect, empathy and anger on their behalf only continues to grow, as I do.

WAIT. Now I owe you all an apology! All of that^ was a way-too-wordy prelude (from the white woman who is supposed to be S-ing TFU and listening!) to introducing perhaps my favorite historical figure ever, a Black woman. It just felt necessary to emphasize this context in which she lived her life, because it makes her all the more extraordinary for being who she was, and doing what she did.

Her name is Florynce Rae Kennedy. A.k.a. Flo.

Florynce Rae (“Flo”) Kennedy
1916-2000

[Read more…]

It’s Day 16 of Black History Month and We Whites Are All Going to STFU and Listen.

I’ve written, quoted and shared petitions from Color of Change many times here. Today we’ll listen to their statements about anti-protest laws being passed all over the country. Apparently criminalizing Black voting just doesn’t go far enough; obviously Black voices need to be criminalized, too.

Criminalizing protest was always going to be the next step on the fascist/conservative agenda. First, members of the Bush-Cheney war criminal cabal avoided exposure to protests at their public appearances by designating “First Amendment zones.” People could protest there – and only there – safely away from the possibility of crossing into any executive branch criminal’s line of sight or earshot.

Bu that just didn’t go far enough for the fascists and conservatives. Why would they stop there? It’s not like there was a concerted media push to expose “First Amendment zones” for the (very likely unconstitutional) sham that they were, much less any appetite to sue the administration and consequently lose precious access to Big Willies in the government and military throwing glamorous parties and running exciting wars. Since no one stopped them at the point of “First Amendment zones,” OF COURSE they’re going farther and outlawing protest outright.

This should teach us all something important about what really scares powerful public officials and America’s owners, whom they so ably serve. Which, in turn, illustrates why we so badly need more, bigger and louder protest movements.

Nationwide general strike, anyone?

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Iris, our right to protest is under threat.

It’s been nearly two years since millions of people around the world took to the streets in historic numbers for what became the longest, largest, and most sustained movement to stand up for Black lives.¹Our persistent, loud, and clear voices, as well as organizing efforts were instrumental in obtaining a modicum of accountability for George Floyd.

Since then there have been over 100 anti-protest bills proposed across the country! Thirteen of those bills have been passed,² and in 2022 already, several bills have been newly introduced or re-introduced.³

Some of the anti-protest laws proposed and passed actually grant immunity to drivers who run into protesters with their cars or use force against a protester like how Kyle Rittenhouse did!

But Iris, we cannot be stopped and we cannot be silenced. From the March on Washington to the Black Lives Matter movement, protest is an essential tool for our freedom and we will fight to protect it.

Join us in demanding the Department of Justice defends our Constitutional right to protest.

Iris, these laws, often backed by organizations affiliated with police unions, are an attempt to criminalize free speech, punish those who speak up for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, and offer specific protections for counter-protesters who harm us.⁴ In fact, police unions have advocated for anti-protest bills in 14 states, and bills proposed in at least 9 states include sponsorship from current or former law enforcement officers.⁵

Here’s just a sampling of some of what we’re up against:

Several laws include provisions that would strip people of public benefits, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and unemployment benefits, if they are convicted.⁶ These laws are trying to punish people by taking away their ability to feed and house their families!

A Tennessee law would make it a felony for demonstrators to camp at the state Capitol. The result? People would lose their right to vote.⁷

In Florida, Oklahoma, and Iowa, laws grant immunity to drivers who run into protesters with their cars.⁸

A proposed bill in Indiana would ban anyone who was convicted from getting a state job or running for elected office.⁹

And laws in states like Georgia include provisions that would create civil immunity for a “volunteer” who uses or threatens to use force against a protester.

Iris, the Department of Justice has the power to make an impact by condemning these laws and supporting legal and advocacy efforts to fight them.

As history has shown us, where racial justice protests flourish, anti-protest laws follow.¹⁰

It’s time we break the cycle of silencing and criminalization by demanding the Department of Justice fight for our right to protest.

Until Justice is Real,

Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Malachi, Megan, Ernie, Palika, Ariel, Madison, Trevor, Erick, Ana, Kristiana, McKayla and the Color Of Change team

REFERENCES:

1. Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in US History (PAYWALLED): https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html

2. US Protest Law Tracker https://www.icnl.org/usprotestlawtracker/?location=&status=&issue=&date=custom&date_from=2020-05-01&date_to=2022-02-02&type=

3. US Protest Law Tracker: https://www.icnl.org/usprotestlawtracker/

4. It’s not just voting: Legislators have introduced 100 state bills targeting protesting (PAYWALLED): https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/13/its-not-just-voting-legislators-have-introduced-100-state-bills-targeting-protesting/

5. New anti-protest laws cast a long shadow on First Amendment rights: https://publicintegrity.org/politics/new-anti-protest-laws-cast-a-long-shadow-on-first-amendment-rights/

6. Minn. lawmaker proposes revoking convicted protesters’ student loans, food stamps: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/minn-lawmaker-proposes-revoking-convicted-protesters-student-loans-food-stamps-n1264549

7. Tennessee legislature cracks down on protesters, making it a felony to camp overnight outside Capitol: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/12/tennessee-passes-law-targeting-protesters-makes-capitol-camping-felony/3354879001/

8. G.O.P. Bills Target Protesters (and Absolve Motorists Who Hit Them (PAYWALLED): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/us/politics/republican-anti-protest-laws.html

9. G.O.P. Bills Target Protesters (and Absolve Motorists Who Hit Them (PAYWALLED): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/us/politics/republican-anti-protest-laws.html

10. Arresting Dissent: Legislative Restrictions on the Right to Protest: https://pen.org/arresting-dissent/

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Just FYI, here are some other stories I could have written about today:

Washington Post, Breaking News email alert:

Home buyers in Black neighborhoods were disproportionately squeezed as investors bought record share of homes in metro areas in 2021

Last year investors bought nearly 1 in 7 homes sold in America’s top metropolitan areas, the most in at least two decades. An analysis of 40 major metro areas reveals unequal levels of investor activity, with Southern cities and Black neighborhoods disproportionately affected.

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New York Times: New York Today email newsletter:

Ignored by the media and pushed aside by the police, families and supporters of Black women are building their own missing persons operations online.

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New York Daily News online edition:

Proposed elementary school merger stirs debate over race, education in East Village

A proposed merger of two Manhattan elementary schools with sharply differing student demographics and enrollment numbers is stirring up debate over race, gentrification and education in the East Village.

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Day 1 of Black History Month 2022 (Lori Teresa Yearwood) is here.
Day 2 (Mallence Bart-Williams) is here.
Day 3 (Emmett Till) is here.
Day 4 (A Tale of Two Citizens) is here.
Day 5 (Trayvon Martin) is here.
Day 6 (Franchesca Ramsey) is here.
Day 7 (National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and the Black Aids Institute) is here.
Day 8 (extreme racial disparities in marijuana arrests) is here.
Day 9 (Summer of Soul/1969 Harlem Cultural Festival) is here.
Day 10 (current and historic racist domestic terrorism, Steve Phillips/Democracy in Color) is here.
Day 11 (Gee’s Bend Quilters) is here.
Day 12 (egregious anti-Black (& anti LGBTQ+) behavior at a NY State high school is here.
Day 13 (Erin Jackson, 1st Black woman to win Olympic gold medal in speedskating) is here.
Day 14 (Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions) is here.
Day 15 (racial inequities in spiking vehicle death rates during the pandemic compound and are compounded by other racial inequities, and The New York Times buries the lede) is here.

It’s Day 10 of Black History Month and We Whites Are All Going to STFU and Listen.

I’ve been noodling around with an idea for a post about the infamous 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 (and all the other Klan bombings of homes and churches in that city that garnered it the name “Bombingham”), in light of the recent spate of bomb threats against Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). No bombs have been found on these campuses (yet). But the history of 1960s Birmingham can teach us something important, and highly relevant today. Because we know what happens after bomb threats: bombs happen.

But then I got this email today from author, political leader and civil rights lawyer Steve Phillips, the founder of Democracy In Color:

Democracy in Color is a political media organization focused on political strategy and analysis at the intersection of race and politics.

We create and elevate content that influences public opinion and steers political behavior towards a more progressive and inclusive country. Using research and data-driven analysis, our multimedia content lifts up the voices and issues of the multiracial, progressive New American Majority and includes a podcast, articles, reports, and social campaigns.

I recommend signing up for their email newsletter, which is always informative and provides links to additional great content. Today’s newsletter is no exception, as you can see for yourself below. I’ve posted it in its entirety not just because it’s exceptional content – though it is that – but because Steve Phillips wrote that post I wanted to write, only far, far much better than I ever could: