As Black women faculty who have watched and shared with students the 2015 film The Hunting Ground, which exposed rape culture and crimes on U.S. college campuses, we are appalled at the lack of attention the case of serial rapist Officer Daniel Holtzclaw has received by the national and higher education media. Officer Holtzclaw raped and assaulted 13 Black women who range in ages from 17 to 58 and received a 263-year sentence. As we rejoice on this verdict, we must ask: Is the rape of 13 Black women not a social justice issue? What does the Daniel Holtzclaw case tell us about racist, sexist silence on college campuses?
In response to this lack of attention, we write this piece to raise the level of consciousness on the conditions of our sisters, daughters and friends who live in a racist-gendered society that continues to dehumanize our existence. When we think about rape culture we often think about White women. The silence behind this case reveals to the world how Black women’s bodies are constantly under attack. At the same time, when social movements like #SayHerName are calling for the elevation of Black women and girls who suffer state-sanctioned violence at the hands of the police, we find it necessary to address why this omission seems to be commonplace in our society.
We are reminded by Kimberle Crenshaw, who challenges the misconception that Black women are doing just fine, and apply her critique to media invisibility and silence. Furthermore, we see how controlling images and tropes of Black womanhood are functioning within a White (or White-passing) patriarchal imagination. Officer Holtzclaw suggests even in his own statements that his rationale for targeting Black women was due to his ingrained assumption that people would not believe these women. His actions and statement are an indictment on our society, a society that makes women go to great lengths to prove they have been assaulted. One survivor, when asked why she did not come forward about her assault, responded, “What kind of police do you report to when it’s an officer?” This question speaks to the embodiment of state-sanctioned power that is manifested through the consciousness and body of this White (or White-passing) male police officer.
In the context of higher education, the misconception is that Black women are doing just fine (due to higher degree attainment when compared to Black males). However, if the violence against Black women is not addressed, then how can we assume or put forward that sexual violence within the college campus is being seen as a social justice or human rights issue. What can we do?
