Ain't I A Woman?
I have to do some public ranting on the subject of race and gender.
If you thought this post was going to be about Sojourner Truth's speech given in 1895 at The Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio-it is not. The title of her speech is just appropriate for the subject on my mind.
In "post-racial" America the same old attitudes about women of color seem to be flourishing. Our worth is always casted in the lesser column when it comes to being victims of abuse or violence. We are not the women who are featured by the MSM when we are missing or murdered.
Those slots are reserved for White females of a distinct class background. The MSM provides a lot of coverage and pushes their stories out front while our stories seem to disappear into oblivion.
I just finished reading a post by Verite Parlant on Whose Shoes Are These Anyway? that made my blood run cold. She has posted a story about a serial killer that has been murdering Black women for 24 years! Can you believe that! I can't even wrap my head around that reality. A killer that has not been caught yet. Are you getting the point of my rant? Two decades have gone by and there is not been an arrest made in this case.
It certainly was a WTF? moment for me as a Black woman. It defies my understanding as to why it has taken sooooo long for this case to be reactivated. Especially since the last murder took place in 2008. Is it just me, or doesn't it seem like there should of been some type of attempt to try and find the killer? Police officials have given a gambit of reasons why this case was kept under wraps. Also too many lame excuses why it has not been solved.
One excuse in particular really made me feel white hot with anger!
The excuse for why no action was taken is...are you ready for this one...The Crack Cocaine Epidemic. This is one of the reasons given during the CNN interview with police officials. Never mind that there was/is a serial killer roaming free. Crack was more important than finding the murderer! WTF? The Crack epidemic has not hindered law enforcement from solving other cases where women have been killed. Why was that a hindrance in working on this case?
You really should jump over to WSATA and read the post by Verite Parlant about the Grim Sleeper. It is information that you need to be aware of-especially if you live in the Los Angeles area. It is information that you need to know and spread the word about. If the MSM isn't going to be our news support and source-then we need to fill that gap.
I have said it before and I will repeat myself, we have got to be the ones who push to gain the type of coverage that will assist victims and families of missing or murdered Black people. Not every crime is due to involvement in illegal activities! Nor is every missing person is a run away!
The MSM is not covering our stories. But they really need to re-consider their stance on this intentional blackout.
4 comments:
Hi Ms Lady Deborah,
First, much thanks for posting this story. It's infuriating to see this level of incompetence by law enforcement.
After reading your post, I visited WSATA's blog and read her post as well.
How does our community combat this indifference from law enforcement?
Why are the murders of African American women (in this case) regarded as not newsworthy by media outlets?
This is just another example of how callously insignificant we're viewed.
I'm really tired of this!
U
Hello, whithout words...it's incredible, the same for women of Ciudad Juarez.
I'm getting private notes that lots of people don't know about this. So, thank you for spreading the word.
One woman on Facebook said the black community needs to wake up itself and stop supporting the "don't snitch/don't tell" practice. I agree, I told, her. But I don't think don't snitch/don't tell is what held up this case. A man called the police anonymously in 1987 and said he saw the killer dumping a body from a van. The police checked out his tips and the van the man saw was used by The Grim Sleeper. The police could have asked for more tips and publicized the crimes if not then then at least four years ago when they knew the murders were the work of one man, but they didn't.
They're saying they want to talk to the 1987 caller now. I could be wrong, but it sounds like they didn't try to find the caller in 1987 even after his tips proved true. Let's hope the caller's still alive and his memory still works.
The van used to dump the body was a church van, btw.
Just read about this over at VP's spot and my blood is boiling! We are not invisible - yet we continue to be treated as such.
Someone(s) need to answer for the "intentional blackout" and we need to keep asking on a much larger scale the question WHY!
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