The Impact Of Sexual Assault On African American Women

For generations of African American women, racial terror included the perpetual threat of sexual assault. Sexual assault in the time of World War II was an unavoidable outcome of the war. Many African American women at this time experienced unwanted groping, fondling, kissing, nonconsensual sodomy, rape, and many more aggressive acts. These sexual assaults added to the oppression of African American women during World War II. The women experienced sexual assault in their jobs, homes, and neighborhoods, which made each woman feel at risk during this period of war. The African American women were coerced into having sex due to their loss of control over politics. Most sexual assault survivors experienced a wide range of reactions to cope with
She was raped repeatedly by each of these men and was threatened to be killed if she told anyone what happened. As soon as Taylor was kidnapped, her friends who witnessed the crime went to the local community to give a statement on her behalf. Even with the report, Taylor’s assault was not made a priority and, as a result, her story was not taken seriously. An African American man named Eugene Henderson questioned Governor Chauncey Sparks for the assault of Recy Taylor. In his statement, he asked: “Isn’t Negro womanhood as sacred as white womanhood?” (McGuire 24). However, “Governor Sparks worried about the negative publicity the assault would have on his state” (McGuire 25). This demonstrates how African American women were not a priority to the white men. Although evidence for Taylor’s case went against a grand jury, there was no indictment in opposition to the white men. However, the rapist was identified, and one of the men confessed to the gang rape. There are more sexual assault stories like this during World War II; however, white men were never punished for their crimes. White supremacy was used to take power away from African American women; however, each woman fought back to gain
Reports of sexual assault “flooded into the local and national NAACP chapters” as sexual assault survivors tried to get justice for their assault (McGuire 28). There were numerous people involved in this activism. The NAACP rallied support from communities, African American lawyers, and even Rosa Parks to help trigger an unprecedented outcry for justice. Parks’ duty was to find justice for numerous women like Taylor. Parks interviewed survivors of sexual assault as an NAACP investigator (McGuire 13). This provided mounting evidence used to demonstrate the ongoing sexual assaults committed by white men against African American women. One way Parks brought attention to sexual assault was when she wrote to Chauncey Sparks, the Governor of Alabama, in an attempt to “urge him to use his high office to reconvene the Henry County Grand Jury” (Parks n.p.). Parks, Taylor, and the other African American women who were aware of the ongoing acts of sexual abuse believed that these men should not walk free due to white supremacy. Parks believed that “there is equal justice for all citizens” and not just white citizens (Parks