Imagine you are participating in a conversation with the Combahee River Collective and, in a consciousness-raising group, you read the following article. Using the Combahee River Collective Statement and what you have learned in the past weeks, discuss a black feminist perspective to this issue (In 2-3 paragraphs). How would the Collective approach the issue, especially with regard to privilege, interlocking oppressions, “the personal is political”, and a critique of the limitations of dominant feminist and anti-racist approaches to hierarchies of inequality. What new perspectives might they offer? Be creative…imagine you are sitting at the table with them!
http://www.theroot.com/views/recy-taylor-symbol-jim-crow-s-forgotten-horror
The article addresses an issue that happened over 70 years ago to then a 24-year-old African American woman being attacked and raped by several white men. Recy Taylor’s options were limited after her trial’s jury chose to not indict the assailants. If the Combahee River Collective, a group of determined black feminists, were around in 1944 when this occurred, there first reaction would be to take Rosa Park’s side with other organizations to help fight for Taylor’s case till she received justice.
ReplyDeleteTaylor’s incident faded after the governor of Alabama stated there was no legal way to precede her case. Time went out and her story was forgotten about. The article questions why is Taylor’s story not in history books or talked about today? History recorded of this time period give examples of men being lynched or railroaded into jail, while stories of black women being raped are overlooked and forgotten. The Collective would view this incident as a perfect example of what they are fighting for: to get rid of oppressions interlocking. Why were black women’s suffrages not mentioned nearly as many times as black men’s had been? Both genders were fighting for the same right of being equal to whites. Black women have been struggling with interlocking oppressions for many years now.
Whether the Collective heard about this incident the day it happened, or 70 years later, they would make sure that society was aware of it and what was wrong about it. Privileges of black women have always been less than any other oppressed group. The knowledge of black women’s suffrage is very minimal because people do not talk about it very often, which was one of the Collective’s goals to speak out about black women’s oppression. An important statement of the Collective is “the personal is political,” stating how black women have to go beyond white women’s revelations because they are dealing with race, class, and gender all together. The Collective wants the society to understand the “multilayered textures” of a black woman’s life and Taylor’s story are exactly the examples they strive to share with the society.
Groups like the Combahee River Collective, dominant black feminists, and other groups similar to it with feminists and anti-racists members aren’t recognized positively all the time. Even though it’s been MANY years later since the civil rights movement, the hierarchies of inequality are still stronger in power than people fighting for equality. That is because the dominant groups are oblivious to the oppressed groups and what they have to experience. It is not brought to the dominant groups’ attention of what they are missing and how they are preventing equality among all happening. In the end, the Collective would do everything they could do to make sure Taylor’s incident is known in every state, every county, even every city in the nation. They would want her story to linger in people’s minds for even just a minute after hearing about it, to just educate them in the tiniest bit about black women’s suffrage and interlocking oppressions, would give them justice.
The unfortunate event of what happened to Ms. Recy Taylor is a prime example of all the struggles black women face pointed out by The Combahee River Collective. African American women face oppression in the way of race, sex, and class. Had Ms. Taylor been white, there would have been little to no chance she would have been raped that night. Had she been male, these sick, perverted white men would not have humiliated her. Also, if she had even been a richer black women, her story would have made every paper and been told in the history books we read today. This is a classic sign of the oppression black women face, dating from the 1940s until now.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the consequences for this horrible act are much more severe now, Ms. Taylor’s issue is still being oppressed today. The fact that most people known for the Civil Rights movement are male shows how there is sex oppression in her own race. Everyone knows the story of Emmett Till and his race determined his untimely death by the beating of white men. I am not saying that one story is more important than the other, but there still is the question of did sex determine which story got more national attention? Sex oppression still exists even within races.
Either way, what happened to Ms. Taylor is not right. It was not right that she was brutally raped due to her sex, race, and class. It is also not right that the police voluntarily tried to cover up this despicable crime. As The Combahee River Collective states, only when black women are truly free from oppression, will everyone be free.
Recy Taylor’s event is a prime example of the struggles African American women go through as stated by the Combahee River Collection. Black women are oppressed in more than one way. On e way to address this problem would be to analyze this situation as if Ms. Taylor was a white male. What if Recy Taylor was a Caucasian male? This story would have made every newspaper in America. Just because Recy was black this story was never brought to light. Also because she was a woman this story was never heard. Recy was oppressed in not only race, but sex.
ReplyDeleteThe main question in the article is why did this story never get any attention or thought? Many of incidents involving black males got much more attention than the black females. Why were the females getting oppressed and the males not? During this time every African American was fighting towards the same goal. This is exactly what the Combahee River collection was fighting for. The men were receiving privilege over the women therefore causing interlocking oppression.
This example of Recy Taylor is a perfect example for the Combahee River Collection. This shows the interlocking oppression of the African American race along with the deep oppression of black women. Although the black men were getting oppressed during this time, they were still getting little respect due to their stories getting published then and now.
The Combahee River Collective cited one of the goals of black feminists as to be recognized as human; when the reality that sexual oppression is an issue that black women face in their daily existence is ignored or belittled, the human experiences and struggles of these women are being dismissed. Taylor’s rape can be treated as a case of interlocking oppressions as it is an issue of classism, sexism, and racism. Her rape is an example of the personal is political in that the rape that she experienced was not her fault, but the result of the systematic oppressions of sex, class, and race. Taylor admits that she “should have talked more” about her rape when it occurred, but how could she share her experiences with a Jim Crow era world? She lived during a time when victim blaming was practically a national sport; she had no outlet for her feelings of shame over the crime that was inflicted upon her body. She was alone in a world that ignored her existence.
ReplyDeleteThe Combahee River Collective committed itself to fighting against the manifold and interconnected issues of racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression. Recey Taylor’s rape is one story among many others in a long line of sexualized crimes that went unacknowledged during the Jim Crow era. These incidents of sexualized violence against black women are vital to our understanding of racial politics and African-American lives in the time of the civil rights movement. When the stories of black women who were the victims of racially-fueled sexual violence are dismissed or ignored, or worse, when they are made to feel ashamed because of such violence, their rights to racial justice and human dignity are stripped from them. Instead of displaying an all-encompassing view of the struggles that took place during civil rights era by including black women’s struggle against sexual violence, the focus of the civil rights movement has become limited to a struggle between black men and white men.
@lauren P.
ReplyDeleteI liked your statement about the hierarchy of inequality, and I think that Recy Taylor's rape is a prime example of "the dominant groups [being] oblivious to the oppressed groups and what they have to experience". Just as whites have the privilege of ignoring the struggles that blacks face, white feminists have the privilege of ignoring the experiences of black feminists, or of deeming their experiences irrelevant when they are in truth more relevant to the struggle for all-encompassing social justice. Black women's oppressions are numerous and systematic and provide them with a unique understanding of interlocking oppressions and a perspective that makes them equally (if not better) equipped to tackle issues of social justice.
@ btparr
ReplyDeleteI liked the fact that you addressed the truth that Recy Taylor's story "would have made every newspaper in America" if she had been a white male. It can also be assumed that Taylor's trial would not have been tossed aside without resolution if she was a white male. We must acknowledge that the way that Taylor's case was handled is connected to the issues of racism, sexism, and classism.
@mctitle
ReplyDeleteI really like how you imagine what would happen to Taylor if she were actually apart of each oppressing group that is against her. In all the years we have taken history in school, the only civil rights movement famous story repeated acknowledge of a black woman is Rosa Parks. Every year I studied this era, there would be a new little side story of a black woman’s suffrage, but never is there a consistent role of teaching about how black women impacted the movement or incidents they had to go through. All the horrid stories of beatings generally related back to black men. It’s important for black feminist today to speak out about these issues, if even they happened 70 or more years ago. The society should know what they had to go through. The society should understand the interlocking oppressions black women had to face back then and still today.
What happened to Recy Taylor is repulsive, and I guess I never realized how bad African American women were treated. If a white woman had been the individual gang raped in this situation, it would be on the cover of every newspaper, every magazine, and I guarantee the men would get severely punished, as they should have. Because it was an African American women, the government decided to shrug it off, assuming there are much more important issues to be dealt with. Setting somebody's trial aside is lessening their importance and belittling them, which is exactly what The Combahee Collective River Statement aims to change. They state their shared belief that "black women are inherently valuable, that our liberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else's may because of our need as human persons for autonomy." Being treated like a human also comes along with being able to have a fair trial, just like every other citizen, especially when you are the victim. The Combahee Collective River Statement would have definitely had a lot to say about Recy Taylor's situation, and they would have made sure something, if anything, was done about it. Even if they weren't able to punish the rapists, they would have spread news of the event all over the country. Allowing people to realize the seriousness and the true sickness of this situation would have enabled them to take a step and get more supporters. They ignored her rights, and I personally believe the government was probably more worried about their reputation then of Taylor's justice. This case is primarily related to all aspects of oppressions, and while they have always been linked together, we will never truly gain freedom if we allow these doors to remain closed.
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ReplyDeleteAs mentioned by The Combahee River Collective, one of the goals of black feminists is to be recognized as humans; when the realism that sexual oppression is a concern that black women suffer with on a day to day bases is unnoticed, the human practice and struggle of Black women are being ignored. Recy Taylor’s rape encounter is a key instance of the struggles Black women go through as affirmed by the Combahee River Collection. Black women are oppressed in more than one way. The fact that I am just finding out about the Recy Taylor incident is a depressing one. If Recy Taylor’s was a white woman I ‘m sure she would have received nationwide notice, even if she was male she would have got more attention, Because of the color of her skin she and her gender she never received justice.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I would like to ask The Combahee River Collective is does ignoring the struggles of Black women achieving their goals of being recognized as humans? I’m confident the answer would be no. Being a woman was harder in the mid-90s, and it still remains hard in some ways today. One way is being oppressed in not only race, but gender as well. Things to this nature, is precisely what the Combahee River collection was fighting for. The men were and still are in some ways receiving privilege over the women therefore causing interlocking oppression.
The Unnoticed story of Recy Taylor getting know attention is what The Combahee River Collective stands for. This is also an example of interlocking oppression of the black race alongside with the profound oppression of black women. The Combahee River Collective goal of being recognized as humans will only take place when equality takes place or in other words, only when black women are truly free from oppression, will everyone be free, noted by The Combahee River Collective.
@Amanda Harrison
ReplyDeleteI like the ending stating an important goal of the Combahee River Collective: black women will be recognized as humans the day equality takes over the world. But the only way equality will take over the world is a little bit at the time, but each step closer is really important. That's why if all oppressed groups worked together and didn't neglect each other in some instances, equality for all would come quicker. The fact that black women have to deal with not only sexism, but also racism and classism, goes unnoticed by the white feminists. They don't understand all the more trouble black women have to experience than them. Same with black men back during the civil rights movement--they didn't understand that black women had to not only deal with racism but sexism as well. You say, Taylor's story is a good example of that and I definitely agree. It shows how interlocking oppression for black women has been going on for way too long now.
This story of Recy Taylor's rape was literally devastating to read. This article along with the Combahee River Collective article we read last week strongly emphasized the extreme oppression that African American women face in multiple different categories including: gender, race and class. The fact that these oppressions still exist today make me think how terribly Recy Taylor must have had it seventy years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Taylor's assaulter was never pursued, that no one was ever charged with raping Taylor goes to show how absolutely outrageous the oppression of Black women used to be.
A question raised in the article is why hasn't Recy Taylor been in any history books? Good question. Why? Well, because this rape, along with hundreds of other rapes(at least), were ignored, swept under the rug and NEVER talked about. Well, in order to move past these oppression, they need to be talked about. Taylor's story needs to be in history books across the country. People need to know the extent to which this oppression took place and they need to understand the struggles that African American women faced. Many of these women, like Taylor, are still alive today; we can begin to make a difference by showing people, like Taylor, that we know what happened, we care about what happened and we are using those tragedies to finally take action and move forward.
@sc.thomas I never thought about how public a white women's rape would have been 70 years ago but your post really got me thinking! Yes, white women were definitely above African American women in social class, equality with men etc, BUT I am not sure if their rape's would be posted on every street corner. (I don't know for sure) 70 years ago, all women faced major oppression; publicizing the rape of any female would give power and recognition to women and take away the power from men. Without power and the sense that men offer protection, rather than them creating a reason for women to be protected, the system that keeps men dominate would be upset! I do however believe, more attention would be given to a white womens rape case than an African Americans.
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