The white man’s president wants to cut all federal funding from Planned Parenthood. 79 percent of patients at Planned Parenthood have incomes at or below the federal poverty level.
As a black woman I’m 43 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white women.
Without Planned Parenthood thousands of other black women won’t be able to receive the regular, affordable breast exams needed to reduce that percentage. The president’s new healthcare bill would cause 15 million people to lose their health insurance over the next ten years. Black women have to jump over several hurdles just to access quality, affordable healthcare which in turn leads to higher rated of unintended pregnancies and abortions.
The president was accused of raping a thirteen-year old girl.
For every black woman who reports her rape there are at least fifteen others who are too afraid to report theirs. 40 percent of black women report that they were coerced into some form of sexual act by the time they turned eighteen.
The president has yet to say anything about the United States having more prisoners than any other country in the world. Meanwhile a disproportionate number of black women are incarcerated, increasing the chance that she will be a victim of sexual violence (inmate rape, sexual abuse and groping during searches). The legal system has a reputation of offering little to no protection due to the stereotypes regarding black women’s hyper-sexuality, which is being used to justify the limited support.
The president did not acknowledge that it was Pride Month in June. The murder rate of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and HIV-infected individuals is at its highest. Trans women of color are at an insanely high risk of being victims of violence and hate crimes. The violence against trans people of color has increased but the media hadn’t caught up. In 2015 twenty-one trans women were murdered, almost all of them were women of color.
Neither of our presidents have said their names.
India Monroe, December 21st, 2016: She was twenty-nine years old.
Noony Norwood, November 6th, 2016: She was twenty-nine years old, killed five days before her thirtieth birthday.
Sierra/Simon Bush, October 22nd, 2016: They were eighteen years old.
Brandy Bledsoe, October 8th, 2016: She was thirty-two years old.
Jazz Alford, September 23rd, 2016. She was thirty years old.
Crystal Edmonds, September 16th, 2016. She was thirty-two years old.
TT, September 11th, 2016. She was believed to be in her late twenties or early thirties.
Lexxi T. Sironen, September 6th, 2016. She was forty years old.
Rae’lynn Thomas, August 10th, 2016. She was twenty-eight years old.
Erykah Tijerina, August 8th, 2016. She was thirty-six years old.
Skye Mockabee, July 30th, 2017. She was twenty-six years old.
Dee Whigham, Juky 23rd, 2017. She was twenty-five years old.
Deeniquia Dodds, July 13th, 2016. She was twenty-two years old.
“Goddess” Diamond, July 5th, 2017. She was twenty years old.
Amos Beede, May 25th, 2016. He was thirty-eight years old.
Mercedes Successful, May 15th, 2016. She was thirty-two years old.
Tyreece “Reecey” Walker, May 1st, 2017. He was thirty-two years old.
Keyonna Blakeney, April 16th, 2016. She was twenty-two years old.
Shante Isaac, April 10th, 2016. She was thirty-four years old.
Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yachu, March 23rd, 2016.
Kedarie/Kandicee Johnson, March 2nd, 2016. She was sixteen years old.
Demarkis Stansberry, February 27th, 2016. He was thirty years old.
Maya Young, February 20th, 2016. She was twenty-four years old.
Veronica Banks, February 19th, 2016. She was in her mid thirties.
Kayden Clarke, February 4th, 2016. He was twenty-four years old.
Jasmine Sierra, January 22nd, 2016.
Monica Loera, January 22nd, 2016.
“To be woman and black is to be magic. Is to be the witch that wouldn’t burn. Is to survive the white men with their needles and nooses and the black men with their hearts in their knuckles. To be black and woman and alive is to be resilient. My very existence is defiance.”
