“Ain’t I a woman?”: a historical and contemporary analysis of state-sanctioned violence against Black Women in the United States

ABSTRACT

Alarming statistics show that Black women in the United States (US) are disproportionately more likely to be killed by the police, and more likely to die during childbirth than their counterparts. However, despite growing attention to incidents of police killings and pregnancy-related deaths of Black women, there has been minimal effort to historically situate these inequities in the contexts of state-sanctioned violence. Coverage of these deadly medical and law enforcement encounters remain limited in mainstream media – reinforcing the lack of concern and institutional protection for Black women. This article examines the current plight of police violence and reproductive harm against Black women in the US, and contextualize these racial and gendered disparities using a Black Feminist Thought perspective. The authors provide implications for maternal health, law enforcement, and mass media to expose and eradicate state-sanctioned violence against Black women. Future research is needed to interrogate and expand the concept of state-sanctioned violence.

KEYWORDS:

• State-sanctioned violence
• Black women
• medicine
• policing
• Black feminist thought

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no relevant financial interests or conflicts that relate to this research.

Notes

The authors recognize the historical inconsistencies related to the transcription of Sojourner Truth’s ‘Ain’t I A Woman?’ speech. However, the speech – in its complexity – symbolizes a necessary critique of the racist, patriarchal oppression faced by Black women in the US. Therefore, we reclaim the use of the speech’s title to bring forth a radical call to action surrounding the state-sanctioned violence against Black women.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no financial support for this article.

Notes on contributors

Betty L. Wilson

Betty Wilson, PhD, MSW, LMSW is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development at Washington State University. Her research focuses on the trauma-related impacts of police violence exposure. Her secondary research areas include the design and implementation of community-based interventions to improve mental health wellbeing, and justice-centred curriculum development. Her primary email address is [email protected].

Julisa Tindall

Julisa Tindall, LISW-CP is a PhD student in the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina. Her research focuses racial healthcare equity, Black maternal health and mental health, and racial prejudice and discrimination in health care. She is particularly interested in the ways these topics intersect to identify opportunities to increase access to high-quality maternal health care services and promote racial healthcare equity for all women. Her primary email address is [email protected].

Denetra Walker

Denetra Walker is an Assistant Professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on how social justice and race issues are covered in journalism. Specifically, she focuses on the experiences of marginalized and underrepresented journalists in the digital age, social justice, activism, police shootings, maternal health, and has a growing interest in racialized mis/disinformation. Her primary email address is [email protected].

Angela M. Smith

Angela Smith, MSW is a PhD candidate in the School of Social Work at the University of Alabama. Her research focuses on the lived experiences of Black college students exposed to police violence encounters. She is especially interested in the ways in which these events impact mental and public health outcomes. Her primary email address is [email protected].