http://youtu.be/ImN6zCJ_BKM
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/08/26/price-blood-ferguson-reproductive-justice-issue/
Since the birth of our nation, Blacks in America have been stereotypically labeled as dangerous to sanction the dehumanizing conditions and violent treatment that white Americans forced upon them. During the centuries of slavery, Blacks were considered child-like animals who were incapable of taking care of themselves. Therefore it was widely accepted that slaves needed strict discipline, often through beatings, for white Americans to maintain control. After the abolition of slavery, black communities continued to live in constant fear of white violence. Black men were lynched across the country for allegedly raping white women. In modern day America, black communities are still plagued by the threat of being the victim of unjust violence. They warn their children, especially the boys, not to appear to threatening and to comply to the law unquestioningly. Yet African Americans are murdered regularly by white Americans, including police officers, for looking threatening or appearing suspicious. In the article “The Price of Our Blood,” Katherine Cross describes the black mother’s fear for the life of her children as a reproductive injustice; however, I believe that it should also be considered a violation of human rights.
The article
addresses the crisis of children of color being killed out of prejudice. Black mothers
are constantly being “denied [their] right to a family [they] could raise in
safety” (Cross). My aunt would always pray when her son went to spend time with
his friends because she feared that the world would interpret his black body as
a threat. The potential dangers that their children may face makes some black
women fearful of having children. These women’s reproductive rights are being
violated because their “choice of whether or not to have a child is coerced by
a terror inflicted on [them] and others like [them]” (Cross). Simultaneously,
their human rights are being violated too. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the
right to life, liberty and security of person.” Those rights are violated when
a person is killed out of prejudice. One’s skin color alone should not influence
our judgment of his character and validate hostile and fatal actions against
him. The black community should have the right to live without fear of how the
larger society with perceive and respond to them.
The article “The
Price of Our Blood” was written in response to Michael Brown’s death and events
in Ferguson. In her poem, “When the Shotgun Questions the Black Boy”
Sonya-Renee Taylor also questions the inhumane violence of white males against
black boys and men, specifically Darrius Simmons, Emmett Till, Amadou Diallo,
Oscar Grant and Sean Bell. Do you agree that a prejudice against black bodies
has led to the vicitmization of black men and children? Do you believe that
this is an issue regarding reproductive rights or human rights?
Sonya-Renee Taylor's poem was extremely powerful to hear. Thank you so much for sharing the video.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to forget how much easier it really is being a white person in American society. This poem is what white privilege is really about—the fact that my mother never had to worry that I would get shot every time that I left the house, simply for my skin color being perceived as a threat to another person.
While I've never thought of the victimization of blacks as a reproductive rights issue before and was initially skeptical, this article and poem helped me to look at the issue in a new light.
Whatever your thoughts are on Michael Brown's murder and the riots in Ferguson, it's pretty clear to see that something must be done about this ongoing issue. It's every Americans duty to ensure that Taylor's closing line— "The only good black kid is a dead one"—is no longer true.
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ReplyDeleteI do not think that this is a reproductive rights violation at all. While African American mothers might fear for their black children's safety, this has most certainly not deterred them from having children. According to the CDC and national census whites have a fertility rate of 1.8 while blacks have a higher fertility rate than whites with a rate of 2.1. Cross says that black's reproduce rights have been violated because their “choice of whether or not to have a child is coerced by a terror inflicted on [them] and others like [them].” However, true this terror is that they may feel, it obviously does not stop African Americans from bearing children. How then, if black Americans are having more children than white Americans, can we say that black reproductive rights are being violated? Does this then mean that because whites have a lower birth rate that white reproductive rates are violated even to a greater extent? This is not a reproductive rights issue simply because blacks have more children than whites. Black reproductive rights have not been violated for the simple fact that they are free to have as many children as they want and black females use that right.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/05/17/explaining-why-minority-births-now-outnumber-white-births/
It is true that African Americans have a higher fertility rate; however, this is due to the lack of access to birth control, which is another reproductive right issue in itself. More restrictions are being put on birth control and abortions making it harder for African Americans to control the number of children they produce. Not only are abortions costly, but they are illegal in many states; therefore women without access in their city or state have to pay for travel and take time off from work. Because African Americans are economically of a lower class, they cannot afford to practice their reproductive rights.
ReplyDeleteSo fertility rate is another reproductive issue separate from the above argument. Its not about the number of children that black women have, but the fear that they have for their children's lives.
I would also consider this issue to be a human rights issue, not a reproductive rights issue. This is because we usually define reproductive rights as focusing on the human body and its reproductive system, not the factors that affect one's family life. While reproductive rights are also very discriminatory toward African Americans (Jasmine's post excellently summarizes this) it is a different topic. I can understand Cross' reasoning, but I feel it is more of a violation of human rights rather than reproductive rights.
ReplyDelete