via Flickr
There are a lot of disparities in the criminal justice system that expose racism against Black men in arrests, courts, and incarceration. But it’s not just Black men’s problem, it’s a Black PEOPLE problem - and Black women have been overlooked in this conversation for too long!
Prison Policy Initiative has documented disparities in police stops, searches, and uses of force. Women’s arrest rates have remained steady for decades while men’s have dropped. And from 1999 to 2015 there was a 353% increase in police uses of force against women!
According to the data, “Black women were about 17 percent more likely to be in a police-initiated traffic stop than white women, and 34 percent more likely to be stopped than Latina women.” And “Black women were at least as likely as white men to be arrested during a stop.”
It doesn’t stop there.
Black women are about 3 times more likely to be arrested than white women when stopped and twice as likely when compared to Latinas.
What’s troubling about all this information is that it reveals Black women are seen as more of a threat based on their race alone.
The dangers of policing are not something women in our community escape because of gender. It’s still an issue because of race. Being Black means the same thing across the board no matter your age, gender, sexuality, or anything else!