Strong prejudice against Black women in the U.S.

[Wanderingstars4238]

Mainstream focus right now in the US is on Black men and their problems with our corrupt justice system. While it's great that issue is finally getting so much attention, Black women are not being treated with as much importance.

If the stats I've read are true, more than 2.5 women die at the hands of an intimate partner every day in the US, with African American women deaths doubling that of white women's.

Black women in violent situations get much less protection from the police. And extreme levels of poverty, that many of them live in, always make it harder for a woman to escape a bad situation.

This video explains some of the types of racism and stereotyping that Black women here deal with, too. It's best to hear about Black women's experiences from Black women themselves, not anyone else.

This disparity comes from policing issues. When a woman calls the police for a domestic violence case, if the man is white, he's less likely to be killed by police. Black women fear the stigma of being labeled an accessory to calling the police on their Black husbands/partners/sons. Black women are damned if they do, damned if they don't.

The disparity in maternity care & mortality for black women vs white women in the USA is shocking (& also an issue in the UK)

Yes, it's more than just racial prejudice from the police towards Black women. There are other reasons they can be reluctant to call the cops.

Simarilion -- There are so many reasons poverty and systemic racial oppression cause Black people to die early. A whole book wouldn't cover it all. The fact that healthy food is expensive and junk food is cheap is just one more reason.

The fact that healthy food is expensive and junk food is cheap is just one more reason

That really isn't true.

Thanks for posting - will bookmark to watch later.

Really interesting. Thanks OP. Do you feel any more hopeful with the new President and VP?

I think it is true that healthy food is more expensive. Maybe its different in America but in UK its definatly true.

Watching this makes me realise how rare it is to have things presented from the perspective of black women.

@fakenina

I think it is true that healthy food is more expensive. Maybe its different in America but in UK its definatly true.

I'm in the UK. I still don't believe that. What do mean by "healthy food" ? Fruit and vegetables? I do my food shopping in Marks & Spencer and Waitrose- supposedly the most expensive supermarket. M & S fruit is extremely cheap, excellent quality and often good deals on 2 for 1 bags. A bag of satsumas for example is £1.

Health outcomes in the UK certainly bears serious investigation. In theory there should be no difference given everyone has free access to health care.

Yes! I'm definitely feeling more hopeful with Biden/Harris instead of Trump/Pence (although I've got some die hard Trump supporters in my family who insist the world is gonna end).

When I got very behind on my bills I bought canned food more than anything else, even though I was a health nut and preferred fresh foods. Buying canned foods is what a lot of poor people here do. Unhealthy food is definitely cheaper.

There are various ways that Black people are disadvantaged, and all those factors start to add up. I only mentioned a couple.
There are a lot of sources and data that reveal a bias against Black women receiving health care and dying at a rate higher than other women.

A lot of misogynists think it makes them look progressive to put White women down, pretending they are just out to attack white privilege, as if White WOMEN are the cause of that.
Much of the media does this because of sexism, but I believe it's also part of a push to divide people by race. And definitely to divide women.

Nothing terrifies men more than women of all races banding together in solidarity.
I think part of uniting better with African American women, and other WOC, is to listen to what they have to say and learn more about their experiences.

I follow a group on Facebook called Black femicide US and the admins say there is a huge issue with Black communities being unwilling to call the police on Black men committing violence against Black women and girls.

On Thursday alone, two women were killed while their neighbours listened and did nothing.

Until the Black community values the lives of its women and girls, nothing will change.

@MissBarbary

Health outcomes in the UK certainly bears serious investigation. In theory there should be no difference given everyone has free access to health care.

There is enormous and growing health inequality in the UK, based on postcode, class, region, income disparities etc.

Great points Wanderingstar .

We are much stronger together.

Nothing terrifies men more than women of all races banding together in solidarity.

Lots of truth there, Wandering.

Yy

The struggles of black men are more reported on, taken seriously.

The fact that when it comes to DV etc black women are often abused by black men is... Uncomfortable.

This was what intersectionality was about before it got hijacked.

Good thread op.

The USA has by far the worst maternal mortality rate in the 'West' barely higher than loads of much less rich countries. And it's mainly black women who are dying.

NiceGerbil -- I think that's part of the reason for people ignoring DV against Black women. But that's still making the image of Black men to be more important than Black women's lives.

And there are other factors involved so it doesn't need to reflect on Black men as a whole. Such as the lack of protection from police, and money struggles that make it more challenging for Black women to move away from their abuser.

@MissBarbary have you heard of the term "food desert"?

This is why junk food ends up being cheaper than healthy food. There are loads in the US and a few in the UK.

It always seems to me that 'Black Lives Matter' primarily relates to men. Men relate other men being oppressed and subjugated. If it was primarily about women, the movement would not have taken off in the way that it has.

For info, I'm white and British.

I've watched a few documentaries on Netflix in recent times ( who hasn't?) relating to the abuse of black women by black men involved in the rap and hip hop music scene in the U.S ( & the O.J Simpson trial again...) -and it has always struck me quite forcibly how women who speak out face community shaming or retribution; to the extent that they don't speak out at all. Partly this is to do with the fame and hero status of the men involved, but also it relates to women not letting the black community down.

Women seem to suffer a double whammy. From society at large, but also from their own community. they are supposed to prioritise black men, because they are black, over their own health and well being as women.

Men relate to other men being oppressed.....

Well, I'm really getting fed up with the narrative that biological males are the women most discriminated against.
While Women of Color have their issues pushed to the background. A lot of immigrant WOC here suffer as well.

I just thought of something.

The stats of murder of trans women in Brazil are used quite often to argue that trans women in general are at high risk of violence, murder.

It's often been said that feminists do this as well, saying look at what's going on in xyz to girls/ women of course there's a patriarchy/ issue with male violence. And in the UK women aren't in that boat.

I mean apart from the fact loads of girls and women are having a shit time here just not quite as shit.. but that's not the point I want to make.

Women/ feminists have always taken action. Started charities, donated to charities, lobbied etc etc to get this talked about and more to the point try to get something done.

Has anyone ever asked what the people who raise the stats in Brazil for eg are actually doing to try to help?