The Double Whammy |
I am the one percent. Last semester, a student asked me to take a photograph holding up my pointer finger. When I asked why, she had informed me that I represent the one percent of the students at Roger Williams University who is African American. In addition to being black, I am a woman. Women, although are the majority gender, are still treated as inferior. This blog serves as a tool to explain for my multiple identities, how they intertwine, and the damage of their (mis)representation in American media. |
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NotesWhite Man’s Burden is a 1995 film that analyzes the prevalence of racism in America through a cultural reversal between the positions of blacks and whites. In the film’s closing moments, Louis Pinnock (John Travolta) is wrongfully killed by the police. This helped raise awareness about police brutality that black Americans are often victim of. Yet, there are tangible instances of these injustices in 2012 due to these prejudices. On March 21, 2012, Rekia Boyd was at Douglas Park in Chicago when she was shot and killed by officer Anthony Cross. One could simply label this as an incident but is one of many. Rekia’s brother Martinez Sutton states, “My sister Rekia Boyd was murdered—murdered on the street by an off-duty detective. Now the family has a lot of questions, but we are not getting answers. Nothing whatsoever. Now, a dog has seen more justice than my sister. We are waiting for the investigation to be finished. But an officer was dismissed because a little dog got killed by another officer’s dog. What does that tell us about the quality of Black life in this city? My family feels disrespected. We are outraged. And we are still looking for answers.”
