Many Americans have witnessed the dramatic, intense and shocking video of several unarmed Black teenagers at a suburban pool party being held at gunpoint by a McKinney, Texas, police officer. The youngsters were subjected to a string of profanity-laced tirades being hurled toward them.
While the entire chaotic spectacle was troubling, the most disturbing situation of the incident was seeing an officer throw a 14-year-old Black female teenager less than half his size to the ground, place his entire body on her, hit her, handcuff her and yell at her to shut up. One can hear the unarmed, bikini-clad girl crying, “I want my mother. He hit me.” The officer in question, Corporal Eric Casebolt, has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
While police mistreatment of Black people has long historical roots and is nothing new, the fact is that the larger society (as well as much of the Black community), has a tendency to focus on violence or issues that plague Black men. Let me make it clear, there is no doubt that Black men, particularly economically disadvantaged and lower-income and minimally educated Black men, are far too often the victim of horrendous police brutality. Moreover, Black men are more likely to be the victims of police brutality and misconduct (though the rate for Black women is increasing).
The fact is that Black women are becoming increasingly vulnerable to police misconduct, violence, marginalization and gross misrepresentations in the media. While most of us have heard the names of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Jordan Davis and Freddie Gray, many people are not as familiar with the names of Rekia Boyd, Renisha McBride, Aura Rosser, Kayla Moore, Tanisha Anderson and Carolyn Sue Anderson. Each of these Black women were the victims of brutality at the hands of police. While there was some degree of focus given to these tragedies, the level of outrage did not rise anywhere near the level of attention centered on their male counterparts.
It is no secret that Black women have been routinely disrespected and misrepresented by the mainstream media. The images of loudmouthed, finger-pointing, confrontational, single-parenting women have been too often eagerly showcased. In fact, when perusing through Internet comments discussing the pool party incident, numerous people have made the argument that the young lady probably “mouthed off at the officer” or was at fault in one way or another. Reading these “blame the victim” comments enraged me even further. The fact is that it is not a crime to backtalk or question a police officer!
Black women have long been depicted as oversexed and manipulative Jezebels. So-called reality type programs such as The Real Housewives of Atlanta and the former Flavor of Love and other related type of TV series more than often promote the worst and often grossly distorted images of Black women. Such stereotyping begins as early as elementary school, where young Black girls are quickly ascribed with characteristics that label them as abnormal and different from other girls, and, in particular, White middle- and upper-class girls. Like their Black male younger brethren, they are not seen as young girls, but rather are viewed as having traits that most people would associate with adults.
Another example of this sort of alarming degree of indifference and double standard toward Black women was the case of Atlanta mega preacher Eddie Long a few years back. At the time, the then immensely popular minister was accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct with several teenage boys. The case was settled out of court and had a detrimental impact on Long’s ministry.
