“To bury Black women’s oppression embodied in Black oppression once and for all, we need to transform society.”
Sexual assault, domestic violence, and the like represent facets of women’s oppression. Black women get extra doses. Capitalism’s culture continues to connect to dehumanizing women’s bodies, inferior social women’s status, and looking at women as a commodity.
Women speaking out through social media continue to flush out public figures that sexually harassed and abused women. Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, Republican senatorial candidate Ray Moore and U.S. Democrat Senator Al Franken all have been accused of some form of sexual harassment.
Sexual harassing and abusive behavior take place in the black community as well. Bill Cosby, John Singleton, and Clarence Thomas’s alleged offenses come to mind. In the case of politics or the workplace or the family, or friends, it often comes from an abusive male-dominated power over females connected to capitalism. The workplace is one key venue.
Under capitalism, women are often disbelieved when they charge sexual harassment, behavior, or abuse. Yes, we should believe women. Accusing someone does not mean that the person is guilty.
We need not wipe away hard fought gains that provide a chance for the accused to defend themselves or to face their accusers in the courts of law. Black people continue to fight against kangaroo courts, the “just us” system, and racist stereotypes.
“Women are often disbelieved when they charge sexual harassment, behavior, or abuse.”
Too often black men were accused of raping white women and lynched. The Scottsboro boys’ drama stands out as a classic case. Too often, Black woman were disbelieved, whether men were white, black or green.
No entity or persons should present themselves as judge, prosecutor, and jury. Advocate the presumption of innocence.
Women’s oppression existed before capitalism. Mark the beginning of class society as a starting point. Believe it or not, classes did not always exist as anthropologists such as Lewis Morgan put forth. Friedrich Engels based his writings of The Origin the Family, Private Property, and the State on Lewis Morgan’s premise.
Primitive societies that saw no difference between women and men as equals. In other words, no women’s oppression existed. Factually, women headed wise councils that predated the beginning of class society.
Yes. We need to continue to fight against the sexually abusive behavior. We need to fight for women’s equal pay with men. We need to fight for the right of women to control their bodies.
To bury Black women’s oppression embodied in Black oppression once and for all, we need to transform society. Eliminate profit and greed. Base society on human need and equality. Equally share the wealth.
Grace Campbell and Claudia Jones know what I mean.
Dr. Morgan is a Black, and internationalist activist and scholar. He can be reached at kmorgan2408@comcast.net.
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Dr. Jemima Pierre is a professor in the African American Studies and Anthropology Departments at UCLA.
