No More "Me, Too's" {Part 2}
At the recent Golden Globe Awards, the Cecile B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement was received by Oprah Winfrey. In her response, Oprah “preached.” And I mean she really preached! In her remarks, she called forth Recy Taylor, a young wife and mother on her way home from church who was kidnapped in 1944 in Alabama by 6 white men. Taylor was gang raped and left by the side of the road. She reported to the police who, even in the face of confessions from several of the men, never indicted anyone. She went to the NAACP for help and her case was assigned to an advocate, Rosa Parks. The NAACP proceeded to organize a national campaign in support of Mrs. Taylor to no avail.
At the recent Golden Globe Awards, the Cecile B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement was received by Oprah Winfrey. In her response, Oprah “preached.” And I mean she really preached!
In her remarks, she called forth Recy Taylor, a young wife and mother on her way home from church who was kidnapped in 1944 in Alabama by 6 white men. Taylor was gang raped and left by the side of the road. She reported to the police who, even in the face of confessions from several of the men, never indicted anyone. She went to the NAACP for help and her case was assigned to an advocate, Rosa Parks. The NAACP proceeded to organize a national campaign in support of Mrs. Taylor to no avail.
As a white girl growing up in the South in the ‘50’s, I never heard the name Recy Taylor. I didn’t know that a national campaign seeking justice for her had been a precursor to the Civil Rights Movement. She was a key figure in the early search for justice for women who were systematically violated, abuse, and ignored—one of the countless victims of our brutal racist and misogynistic history. Now I can’t not know Recy Taylor. She is one of the heroines of our work on whose shoulders we stand. Oprah’s point is to remind us of the thousands and thousands of women in U.S. history who have been sexually assaulted, some of whom did speak up and got no justice. Until 2011.
In 2011, the Alabama legislature formally apologized to Mrs. Taylor with this action:
“BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, BOTH HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That we acknowledge the lack of prosecution for crimes committed against Recy Taylor by the government of the State of Alabama, that we declare such failure to act was, and is, morally abhorrent and repugnant, and that we do hereby express profound regret for the role played by the government of the State of Alabama in failing to prosecute the crimes.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we express our deepest sympathies and solemn regrets to Recy Taylor and her family and friends.”
At least Mrs. Taylor received some sense of justice, although too long delayed (see Luke 18:1-8).
Recy Taylor died in December, 2017. Her experience and the terrible injustice she experienced have been made into an award-winning documentary, “The Rape of Recy Taylor” which was released last year.
In the words of Kimberle Crenshaw:
“Since violence is used to control women in patriarchal societies, it is important to understand the nature of patriarchy and its relationship to other forms of oppression such as racism, colonialism, heterosexism, etc. Violence against women of color is affected by the intersection of racism and sexism and the failures of both the feminist and antiracist movements to seriously address this issue.”[1]
Yes, violence is the common thread woven through all women’s lives. But also, Oprah called for an organized response and action.
This is what we began to see at the Golden Globes. Perhaps this is the tipping point we have waited for: every woman attending dressed in black in solidarity with #MeToo; Tarana Burke who originated the #MeToo movement was invited as a special guest; Oprah using this platform; awards to movies and series addressing gender based violence; the initiation of the “Times Up” response and the Sexual Harassment Commission which is chaired by Dr. Anita Hill and funded by Hollywood executives and brings some influential people to the table. Perhaps these will move the conversation beyond our individual experiences to an institutional response which can gather women and men committed to changing the culture of the entertainment industry.
It is also encouraging that women in Hollywood are recognizing a solidarity with women who have been addressing sexual assault and harassment for decades, and perhaps the #Times Up response will inspire some of the most influential women to throw their power (and money) behind these existing organizations.
It was no surprise that the Golden Globes event was overtaken by the #MeToo and #TimesUp efforts. This was the perfect time, the perfect venue, and the perfect platform for a highly visible display and a reminder that Hollywood, with all its flaws, also, at its best, is a window into our culture with the potential to educate and to change minds and hearts.
For those of us whose work has focused for decades on faith communities addressing (or failing to address) sexual and domestic violence, it is also powerful now to see the #ChurchToo and #SilenceIsNotSpiritual social media movements take the outrage, pain and shame of abuse to the doorsteps of our faith communities.
Oprah’s vision is the day which she suggests is on the horizon (please God, let it be so)— the day when there will be no more “Me-Too’s”. The question I set before us is what would an unvarnished, institutional response look like in our churches, synagogues, sanghas, and mosques? What would that vision look like in our faith communities?
Stayed tuned for Part 3.
Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune
www.faithtrustinstitute.org
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[1] Crenshawe (1994) Intersectionality, Identity Politics, & Violence Against Women of Color
No More "Me Too's" - Part 2