During the video, Kimberlé Crenshaw speaks about various instances where injustice has occurred. This injustice she speaks of revolves around police brutality towards black people. It is well known that numerous instances of this have occurred. For example, the names "George Floyd", "Eric Garner", or "Tamir Rice" may ring a bell for most people. However, as Crenshaw mentions, names such as "Michelle Cusseaux", "Tanisha Anderson", or "Natasha McKenna" may not be as familiar. This is due to the fact that there is not as much media spotlight shown on these cases in comparison to others. Crenshaw attributes this to the fact that these individuals are not only people of color, but are also women. These two overlapping characteristics reflect a term that Crenshaw coins as "intersectionality". This basically means that when a person has more than one minority status attached to them, they become even more vulnerable to the injustices seen in days and years past.
It is a tragedy when there is loss of life. It is despicable when people such as police officers abuse their power. Hearing Crenshaw speak of those black women who lost their lives struck a nerve with me. I felt deeply saddened for them and their families. But also, I felt anger. Those women should not have died. They should still be alive and healthy today. It was the actions of the individual police officers as well as the larger institution who are at fault. This should not be tolerated. Everyone, regardless of race, gender, or anything, should be able to freely live out their lives.
Here is a link to a website that gives information about the number of African Americans that are killed by police officers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/
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