The #SayHerName Campaign is intended to attract attention to the
police brutality black women have faced as it is often overshadowed in mass
media by the highly covered police brutality cases involving black men. This
campaign became a movement following the release of a traffic stop video from a
police car dashcam in the Sandra Bland case. It is important to note that SHN
is about creating a complete narrative about race-based policing. Say Her Name
aims to ensure that women and girls are not left out of the larger movement of
Black Lives Matter. It is to be noted that SHN isn’t meant to be a distraction
to main discussion, but a more comprehensive look at these complex issues.
SHN has also worked to include black trans women within its
movement, calling attention to the ways in which state violence is carried out
in the US. At his time, it is important not only to discuss profiling and
policing, but also examine how gender and sexuality are impacted by the latter.
It seems to open up a discussion (which we are familiar with) about the lived
experiences of women and the multitude of factors that influence those
experiences. Gender based violence that is also correlated to ‘race’ used in
policing seems to be something inherent within the law enforcement system. The
question is: how can we utilize these experiences and provide a platform for
black women to voice their concerns/ share their stories to inform a solution?
The experiences of these women are essential and must be understood and taken
into account when pursuing a solution.
Thus far, SHN (and other campaigns, movements, and groups) have
organized protests, rallies, and meetings with public officials. However, the
work that needs to be done has to not only come from government policy, but
from a clear understanding of the institutionalization of racialized state
violence in this country. SHN calls for acknowledgment of black women who have
died as a result of police brutality. Nevertheless, it is important to go
beyond that and beyond policy reform. Discussion at local levels have to be
facilitated to meet the needs of potential change. It occurred to me, as a
future development practitioner, how would I approach this situation? What interventions
could be made? What discussions would have to be had for progress to be made
(as a one-size-fits-all solution won’t work)? These questions are difficult and
I don’t have the answers. However, given what I’ve learned from this class I
have a better understanding of how to think innovatively to strive to address
these kinds of issues.
Resource: http://www.aapf.org/sayhername/
Ashley, thank you so much for writing about #sayhername. This movement is so important and it rarely gets the attention it deserves. Similar to the civil rights movement in the 1960's black women have been left out in the much of the discourse surrounding the black lives matter movement. #Sayhername is a great movement that focus on the diversity of experiences of black women.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/2015/10/12/447911196/critics-say-women-are-neglected-by-black-lives-matter-campaign
This lack of attention to the experiences of black women directly connects, at least for me, to body politics. The experiences of lived black bodies are silenced! Yet the bodies of black women are heavily used and displayed in daily culture.
In keeping with my interest in pop culture on this blog I would like to speak briefly about Nikki Minaj. This fall Nikki took on Miley at the VMAs. I will not get to the details of their spat, but i will say that I am all the way team Nikki on this one. Nikki made this comment about Miley:
"The fact that you feel upset about me speaking on something that affects black women makes me feel like you have some big balls. You’re in videos with black men, and you’re bringing out black women on your stages, but you don’t want to know how black women feel about something that’s so important? Come on, you can’t want the good without the bad. If you want to enjoy our culture and our lifestyle, bond with us, dance with us, have fun with us, twerk with us, rap with us, then you should also want to know what affects us, what is bothering us, what we feel is unfair to us. You shouldn’t not want to know that"
Black women influence culture yet they are very rarely given credit for their influence. Their bodies and experiences are pushed aside. This lack of visibility again connects to body politics.
Lets all join the #sayhername movement!
Ashley, thank you so much for writing about #sayhername. This movement is so important and it rarely gets the attention it deserves. Similar to the civil rights movement in the 1960's black women have been left out in the much of the discourse surrounding the black lives matter movement. #Sayhername is a great movement that focus on the diversity of experiences of black women.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/2015/10/12/447911196/critics-say-women-are-neglected-by-black-lives-matter-campaign
This lack of attention to the experiences of black women directly connects, at least for me, to body politics. The experiences of lived black bodies are silenced! Yet the bodies of black women are heavily used and displayed in daily culture.
In keeping with my interest in pop culture on this blog I would like to speak briefly about Nikki Minaj. This fall Nikki took on Miley at the VMAs. I will not get to the details of their spat, but i will say that I am all the way team Nikki on this one. Nikki made this comment about Miley:
"The fact that you feel upset about me speaking on something that affects black women makes me feel like you have some big balls. You’re in videos with black men, and you’re bringing out black women on your stages, but you don’t want to know how black women feel about something that’s so important? Come on, you can’t want the good without the bad. If you want to enjoy our culture and our lifestyle, bond with us, dance with us, have fun with us, twerk with us, rap with us, then you should also want to know what affects us, what is bothering us, what we feel is unfair to us. You shouldn’t not want to know that"
Black women influence culture yet they are very rarely given credit for their influence. Their bodies and experiences are pushed aside. This lack of visibility again connects to body politics.
Lets all join the #sayhername movement!