“The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected woman in America is the Black woman.” These words spoken by the great Malcolm X have never meant more in a time like this. This past week has been a heavy load of injustices, with the trial results of Breonna Taylor as well as artists profiting off of the trauma and slander of Black women in hopes to be protected.
Breonna Taylor did not get the justice that she deserved. We said her name and marched in her honor. Documentaries were filmed, and panels were created using her name and likeness. She received everything but justice. Six months of saying Breonna Taylor’s name, only for the jurisdiction to not mention hers at all. Her murderers were and still are scot-free, with only one of the three even being indicted. Worse of all, he wasn’t even charged for Breonna’s murder— he was only charged for the stray bullets.
Within the same week of the results of her case, the Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez saga continue. After months of silence since the incident this summer, when it was revealed that Tory Lanez shot Megan in the foot following a small gathering, he finally spoke out… with an album. It was already pretty consensus that his career was going downhill since then, but this is the point of no return. With him profiting not only off of Megan’s trauma but releasing this project during the same week that another Black woman did not receive, an inkling of justice really shows Tory as thoughtless and careless as if his physical actions did not show enough. What’s even worse is that Megan went to lengths to protect him and his identity, knowing what could have been the possible outcome otherwise.
Black women do so much to provide for any and everyone they can but are always given the short end of the stick. Whether it’s something as small as giving advice or literally sheltering others from the violence of authority, no one shows up for Black women in return. When people do try to protect Black women, though, they lean more towards those who are conventionally attractive. The way that someone looks should not determine whether to live or die. This is a call to action to protect ALL Black women, not just the ones that may fit into one’s lens of what one should be.