Leave Black-Ass Womxn Alone
Welcome to the 76th installment of This Black-Ass Life. This week, with Tory Lanez deciding to blame alcohol for the reason he shot a human being, we decided to get into why Black women like Meg experience disproportionate risk of domestic violence. Content warning that this newsletter will discuss abuse and assault of Black women.
We promise our Other Things, music rec and text from a Black-Ass parent are lighter if you want to skip straight there. ❤️
Don’t forget: We've managed to grow this list thanks to y'all forwarding to friends so please keep it up! Forward this link to subscribe to five friends. And send us topics you'd like to see covered, texts from your Black-ass people, and any Black-ass anything from around the world and web.
I. The Facts
Statistically, Black women and non-binary people in America experience intimate partner violence at staggering levels. Domestic violence/intimate partner violence is the number one health issue facing Black women. Intimate partner violence is one of the leading causes of death for Black women ages 15 to 35.
Black women make up 8% of the population but 22% of homicides that result from domestic violence. 22% of us have also experienced rape.
Over 40% of Black women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, with 53.8% of experiencing psychological abuse and 41.2% experiencing physical abuse.
BLACK WOMEN ARE 2.5x MORE LIKELY TO BE MURDERED BY A MAN THAN WHITE WOMEN.
The uncomfortable truth that we have to wrestle with as a community is that these killings are often perpetrated by intimate partners and are overwhelmingly intra-racial.
The statistics are even more alarming for Black trans people. According to a study, between 31% and 50% of trans people have experienced dating violence in comparison to 28% and 33% of the general population.
“Black trans women are particularly vulnerable because they face multiple kinds of discrimination. Not only are members of this community trans, but they are also Black, women and often poor.” - Beverly Tillery, Executive Director, NYC Anti-Violence Project
Why does it matter?
Even if you are famous and rich with access to more than the average person, as a Black woman, you are still at risk of violence.
Tory Lanez tried to blame alcohol for why he SHOT Megan Thee Stallion, who felt compelled to defend her humanity, why she didn’t deserve to be shot (as if that is a thing) and share evidence of her injuries.
Halle Berry has openly discussed experiencing abuse in multiple relationships with one instance being so bad that her eardrum was punctured leading to permanent hearing loss.
Read this recent profile of her in Variety.
Ray Rice and countless other NFL players have committed or been accused of violence against women, especially Black women.
We won’t link to it, but we will never forget how comfortable the media and people generally were in sharing the photo of Rihanna’s bloodied face after Chris Brown assaulted her.
Black women deserve to not bear the burden of protecting Black men. Black women deserve peace. Black women deserve safety. Black women deserve better. Black women deserve everything.
What can my Black ass do?
Donate to, if you can, or help spread the word about The Mental Health Fund for Queer and Trans People of Color.
Read this: We All Failed Oluwatoyin Salau. All of Us.
Find information and resources for support at The Hotline.
ll. Other Things
Don’t take financial advice from Clifford Harris.
In honor of Sunday night’s Patti-Gladys Verzuz, here is a LOVELY Auntie Jams playlist.
End times are here. Blacktress and Will Smith pictured in. the. same. room.
Y’all need to have been let Killer Mike go.
Ruh roh! T.I. got caught up in a fraud scheme.
Kelis’ baby is here! In case you missed it, here’s a great profile on her that came out earlier this year.
It’s Kaavia’s world. So get behind her or get out the way, and don’t forget the pizza.
Our Black-Ass song(s) of the week (Mitu):
Usher is here with Bad Habits, and I am grateful for it!
Things we are looking forward to / things we are not looking forward to:
I (Jumoke) look forward to these cooler early autumn breezes.
I (Mitu) look forward to Fall Harvest Hallmark movies, a favorite escape.
lll. Text from a Black-Ass Mama
Nate is my (Mitu’s) family’s dog and my parents are convinced that he can understand them when they speak. Also, he can open doors now.
Stay Black, thrive and watch Auntiechella! We’ll hit your inbox next on September 28.