Essay About African American Women Discrimination

Since the year 2015 there have been well over 50 black women that have been shot and killed by the police. A survey conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 7/10 black women said that they have had at least one bad encounter with the police, as well as 70 percent of black Americans claim to know someone that has been mistreated by police. As well as over 60 percent of Black women agree to say that they are in fact scared of police. “Women account for less than 4 percent of fatal police shootings, but according to our analysis of the Post’s data, almost 20 percent of the women fatally shot by police are Black, even though Black women make up only around 13 percent of women in the U.S. And since 2015, when the Post first began tracking fatal police shootings, at least 51 Black women have been killed. Half of those women have gotten some national media attention in the 60 days surrounding their death” (AlexSamuelsx5. (2021, May 6). Why black women are often missing from conversations about police violence. FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-black-women-are-often-missing-from-conversations-about-police-violence/). This quote shows how not only are these black women being discriminated against by police and are even being killed by them but as well as the media not making their death known often leaving a lack of responsibility for the officer. Black women are the victims of discrimination due to there race and gender.

Black women are discriminated against like no other. Due to the fact that there both black and a female they often get skipped over in press which leads to their stories never being heard therefore leaving the person responsible for there discrimination having no consquinces. “Black women are often less likely to be associated with the concept of a “typical woman” and are viewed as more similar to Black men than to White women, which may lead to some antiracist and feminist movements failing to advocate for the rights of Black women, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association” (American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Black women are often ignored by social justice movements. American Psychological Association. Retrieved March 12, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/07/black-women-social-justice). This quote provides evidence that in the eyes of the media black women are less of women than white women which often leads black women to be closest to black men which causes issues in the system causing black women to be treated less than equal which leads to them not getting the media attention that other races get.  “They don’t get the media coverage that they deserve. They’ve given so much to the sport, the community and society as a whole and their value is undeniable.” As she put it, the lack of attention on Black women athletes sends a signal about who is valued — both figuratively and financially” ( Time's up message to media covering black women athletes: #WeHaveHerBack. TIME'S UP Foundation. (2021, July 23). Retrieved March 12, 2022, from https://timesupfoundation.org/times-up-message-to-media-covering-black-women-athletes-wehaveherback/). This quote is the perfect example of how black women are getting discriminated against due to the lack of attention the media is giving. This proves that not only are black women being treated awful in the real world but as well as due to media the public eye never sees this discrimination which is a bug reason chnage has not been brought upon yet.

Another reason that black women are discriminated against is police violence and the lack of change that has been brought to this topic. Over and over these women are mistreated and stripped of their rights due to the power that the police have over them as well as the lack of attention brought to this issue. “Since the founding of this nation, black women have experienced higher levels of police violence as compared to other women. A report from the Washington Post found that although black women account for 13 percent of women in the U.S., they make up 20 percent of the women fatally shot by the police and 28 percent of unarmed killings” (The current state of Black Women, police violence, and what we are doing about it. YWCA USA. (2021, February 17). Retrieved March 12, 2022, from https://www.ywca.org/blog/2021/02/17/the-current-state-of-black-women-police-violence-and-what-we-are-doing-about-it/). This explains that even though black women make up such a small group they are one of the most mistreated group taking up a large position of unarmed shootings as well as a fifth of women shot dead by the police. Even though this race has been discriminated against since the start of the United States, it's only recently that Americans are starting to notice the problem which is a large reason that these numbers are so high since no one was getting held accountable for their actions. “Since 2015, police have fatally shot nearly 250 women. Like Taylor, 89 of them were killed at homes or residences where they sometimes stayed” ( Marisa Iati, J. J. (2020, September 4). Nearly 250 women have been fatally shot by police since 2015. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/investigations/police-shootings-women/). This quote shows that black women will be mistreated no matter where they are, if they are in what they believe to be a safe environment could turn out to just not be true and could be a part of the over 250 women who lost their life in a cruel and unfair way.

However, there are people who believe that black women are not being mistreated due to their race and gender. Due to the reason events attention is starting to get brought upon the issue where these black women are getting bigger and better opportunities. “YWCA’s We Deserve Safety Report, annual Stand Against Racism efforts, and Until Justice Just Is campaign have been pushing for renewing the call to end criminalization of women and girls of color, documenting the racial profiling and police abuse to women of color, including police brutality in our analysis of racism as public health crisis, and providing resources to communities and organizations to root out injustice and systemic racism. To uplift and empower black women, it is essential for folks to join us in the fight to dismantle the abusive power structures which keep black women from thriving” (The current state of Black Women, police violence, and what we are doing about it. YWCA USA. (2021, February 17). Retrieved March 12, 2022, from https://www.ywca.org/blog/2021/02/17/the-current-state-of-black-women-police-violence-and-what-we-are-doing-about-it/). This explains some of the support and empowerment that these women have been able to gain including job opportunities as well as being able to have the opportunity to thrive in society. As well as society wants to see young black women thrive there have been more opportunities to further their education. “African-American women who live in the United States can find many sources of funding to pursue a college education through scholarships and grants. Many of these scholarships are granted specifically to African-American women” Free scholarships for African American women. RSS. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://www.scholarshipsforwomen.net/african-american/). This is one of the many examples of black women being given new opportunities to better themselves. These scholarships and grants being given to them is opening the door for these women to empower not only themselves but to become strong and independent which as well spreads a great message to young black girls.

Black women are the victims of discrimination due to there race and gender. This is supported through recent events that have brought this to everyone's attention. The death of breonna taylor shined light on an issue of disrciminartiuon that has been happening since the start of the United States. These Women face discrimiantion from the media by not letting Black women who were the victims of disrciminationstorys be told. As well as police officer brutality and the horror that these women have to face being scared that they may not survive police encounters. These women were also declined jobs as well as the ability to further their education due to the fact that they were a black women.