FORGING FORWARD: African-American Leadership in the Sexual Assault Movement LIBATIONS RITUAL Ancestor Reverence Smudging Ceremony ANGELA DAVIS
“Black women were and continue to be sorely in need of an anti-rape movement.”
— Angela Davis OBJECTIVES
• Identify, Acknowledge and Celebrate Black Women Leadership in SA • Anti-Rape Movement in the United States (pre-post Civil Rights Movement) • Importance of Culturally Specific Programming for African Americans • African American Specific Sexual Assault Programming-SASHA Center • Service Provisions, Antidotes and Suggestions • Identifying Male/White Women/Other Allies • New and Emerging Black Women Leaders in SA Movement GROUP AGREEMENTS DIVERSITY •Race/Ethnicity •Social Class •Marital status •Gender Identity •Age •Orientation •Religious Affiliation •Gender Non-Conforming PRESENTER’S POSITION
• Expertise and Wisdom • Non-Exhaustive/NOT Comprehensive/Exploratory • Self-Discovery-Survivor Focused • Sexual Assault Specific • Context and Historical Orientation • Third Wave Feminist and Womanist Perspective • Local, Regional, National Figures • Allies-Race, Gender • In search of our Fore-Mothers FEMINIST OR SOMETHING ELSE?
Womanist The AND & BOTH Third Wave Feminism
Alice Walker, a poet and activist, who is Rebecca Walker coined the term mostly known for her award-winning The irony is that these two "third-wave feminism" in a 1992 essay. book The Color Purple, coined the term brilliant minds are mother It has been proposed that Walker has Womanist in her 1983 book In Search of and daughter-estranged still. become somewhat of a symbol of Our Mothers’ Garden: Womanist Prose. the third wave's focus on queer and However, I have used their non-white women. Walker defined a womanist as “Womanish, the opposite of conceptual frameworks and Third-wave feminism refers to several definitions/contexts and diverse strains of feminist activity and girlish…Being grown up…A Black study, whose exact boundaries in the Feminist or Feminist of Color…A woman orientation towards the work history of feminism are a subject of who loves other women, sexually and/or because it has worked for debate, but are generally marked as non-sexually. me. beginning in the early 1990s and continuing to the present. Appreciates and prefers women’s We are girlish too and The movement arose partially as a culture, women’s emotional flexibility omnisexual too and (values tears as natural counterbalance response to the perceived failures of of laughter), and women’s strength. expressions of many things and backlash against initiatives and with varying degrees of movements created by second-wave Sometimes loves individual men, sexually everything. feminism during the 1960s, '70s, and sexually”. '80s, and the perception that women and/or non- are of "many colors, ethnicities, nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds". HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
• United States • Descendants of Slaves • Slavery • Jim Crow and Rape Laws • Civil Rights • Current Challenges • Voice and Visibility • Social Media Movements THE ANTI-RAPE MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES • The movement came about in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when a new conceptualization of rape arose out of second wave feminism and the reevaluation of women's daily lives socially and with regard to the societal institutions with which they interact. Prior to this reexamination, rape had been viewed as a "sex crime carried out by pathological men, who were unable to control their own sexual desires.” • Feminists began to argue something radically different, instead emphasizing the role of power dynamics specifically with regard to the perpetration of rape as a crime committed primarily by men against women. • This updated definition of rape was meant to come from the perspective of the victim. The act of rape was asserted to be a way in which societal gender roles, the way someone acts out either masculinity or femininity, were enforced and the hierarchy of power placing males above females was maintained. • Rape was thus defined as a form of violence used to ensure male power, a form of social control over women and children. • Known as the “anti-rape” or “rape prevention” movement, it was founded with the conceptions that sexual violence and violence against women more generally is a tool of social control used to keep women in a subordinate position to men, and that women need to do something that aids victims of sexual violence to become “survivors” of violence instead of victims. • The anti-rape movement continues today, with growing awareness in the United States' public sphere about the concept of “rape culture” coinciding with the increasing popularity of feminism. BLACK WOMEN LEADERSHIP:
Rosa Parks ROSA PARKS Ms. Parks took meticulous care in her role as secretary for the NAACP. She was not merely a note-taker. She took a great interest in many of the civil rights cases that crossed her desk, and became particularly concerned with egregious rape cases. One such case was that of a black woman from Rosa’s father’s hometown, Abbeville, Alabama. The woman had been “kidnapped on her way home from church, forced into a car at gunpoint, stripped naked, and gang-raped by six white men.” Rosa monitored the case closely, and when the county jury failed to indict the men, she pushed the NAACP to the Alabama governor to convene a special jury. However, her efforts were for naught: the men were never found guilty. Nevertheless, Rosa stayed strongly focused on upholding the rights of African Americans and continued to fight for justice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8A9gvb5Fh0&feature=youtu.be http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/29/rosa-parks-essay-rape_n_912997.html ROSA PARKS
• Civil rights historian Danielle McGuire said she had never before heard of the attempted rape of Parks and called the find among Parks' papers astounding. • It helps explain what triggered Parks' lifelong campaign against the ritualistic rape of black women by white men, said McGuire, whose recent book "At the Dark End of the Street" examines how economic intimidation and sexual violence were used to derail the freedom movement and how it went unpunished during the Jim Crow era. • "I thought it was because of the stories that she had heard. But this gives a much more personal context to that," said McGuire, an assistant professor of history at Wayne State University in Detroit. Her book recounts Parks' role in investigating for the NAACP the case of Recy Taylor, a young sharecropper raped by a group of white men in 1944. DR. BETH RICHIE
Beth E. Richie is The Director of the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy and Professor of African American Studies and Criminology, Law and Justice at The University of Illinois at Chicago. The emphasis of her scholarly and activist work has been on the ways that race/ethnicity and social position affect women's experience of violence and incarceration, focusing on the experiences of African American battered women and sexual assault survivors. Beth Richie, director of the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has been named a senior adviser to the National Football League’s policy group addressing domestic violence and sexual assault. CONDENCIA BRADE
• Condencia Brade is the co-founder and Executive Director for the National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA). SCESA is a Women of Color led non-profit committed to ensuring that systems-wide policies and social change initiatives related to sexual assault are informed by critical input and direction of Women of Color. As a national advocacy organization, SCESA utilizes a multi-strategy approach of leadership enhancement and support for Women of Color; advocacy and support for organizations by and for Communities of Color; as well as technical assistance, training and systems advocacy regarding sexual assault in Communities of Color.
• Condencia has worked on issues related to sexual assault for years. Specifically, she has worked to address sexual assault as it impacts Communities of Color, Children, Teens, Students on Campus, immigration and economics. TONYA LOVELACE
Tonya Lovelace recently lead the exciting and successful spin-off of WOCN, Inc. from the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence effective September 30, 2014. As CEO, she oversees the overall operations and programming of WOCN, Inc., generates funds for new initiatives, and provides vision and direction for the national training, technical assistance, programming and support provided to WOCN, Inc. constituents and colleagues by staff, Board, and consultants across the country.
Tonya draws upon two graduate degrees, a former role as adjunct instructor for several accredited universities, and close to 19 years of direct service, advocacy, systems change, project development and management, and national, state, and local anti-oppression and cultural competency training experience within the anti- violence against women movement. Tonya is located at the Harrisburg, PA home office. FARA TANIS
• Farah Tanis is an ardent human rights activist and advocate, has over 16 years of experience leading social justice movements, grassroots initiatives and organizational development and is currently the Executive Director of Black Women's Blueprint. She serves as Almoner for the Havens Relief Fund which provides emergency grants in New York City. • Tanis currently serves on the Board of Directors of Right Rides which ensures women’s safety in public spaces and serves on the Board of Haki Yetu meaning "Our Right" in Swahili, which works with survivors of Rape in the Congo region of Africa. • She is on the Advisory Board of the New Americans Leadership Project which prepares immigrants for civic leadership, political participation and to hold political office. Tanis recently served as National Conference Coordinator and on the Host Committee for The Anita Hill Twenty Years Later: Power, Sex and Speaking Truth Conference. SALAMISHAH AND SCHEHERAZADE TILLET
In 1997, Scheherazade Tillet learned that her older sister, Salamishah, was a rape survivor. Seeking to help Salamishah heal from sexual violence, Scheherazade turned to photography and began documenting the various stages of Salamishah’s recovery. At the end of the project, the sisters teamed up to write and direct, “Story of a Rape Survivor” (SOARS), a multimedia performance that brought Scheherazade’s photographs and Salamishah’s story to life.
In 2003, the Tillet sisters co-founded A Long Walk Home, Inc. (ALWH), the only organization in the country that uses art therapy and the visual and performing arts to end violence against women and girls. Through national and local programs, multimedia performances, summer and after school youth institutes, campus trainings and workshops, ALWH has educated over 100,000 survivors and their allies to build safe communities and end gender violence. REV. REANAE MCNEAL
• Reanae McNeal, is an international performing artist, award-winning playwright, inspirational speaker, lecturer, oral herstorian, storyteller, performance art poet, musician (she plays over 15 different African instruments),cultural/social activist, and survivor. She is the founder and president of Imani Revelations and Beauty For Ashes Ministries. Miss McNeal is the Honorary Board Member of the National Sexual Assault Resource Center. • Reanae has toured extensively internationally and here are some of her highlighted international trips. Reanae has participated in a political Roma and African-American exchange under the East/West program of the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. AISHAH SHAHIDAH SIMMONS • Aishah Shahidah Simmons is an award-winning African-American feminist lesbian independent documentary filmmaker, television and radio producer, published writer, international lecturer, and activist based in Philadelphia, PA. She is presently an adjunct faculty member in the Women’s Studies and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Studies program at Temple University where she teaches under/graduate courses, which examine the her/histories and contemporary realities of cisgender women and/or LGBTQ people in all of their diversity. • In 1992, she founded AfroLez® Productions, an AfroLez®femcentric multimedia arts company committed to using the moving image, the written and spoken word to address those issues which have a negative impact on marginalized and disenfranchised people. • An incest and rape survivor, she spent eleven years, seven of which were full time, to produce write, and direct NO! The Rape Documentary. This award- winning, internationally-acclaimed, groundbreaking documentary explores the international reality of rape and other forms of sexual assault through the first person testimonies, scholarship, spirituality, activism and cultural work of African-Americans. NO! also explores how rape is used as a weapon of homophobia. NORTH CAROLINA CASA
Tracey Wright National Resource Sharing Project/Iowa, Washington, North Carolina
Lavette Kelly Johnson Althea Hart Mississippi CASA Campus Judicial TA Monika Johnson Hostler Robin Colbert Debra Evans Executive Director Associate Director Operations Director Indira Henard Sherelle Hessell Gordon The North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault is an inclusive, DCRCC statewide alliance working to end sexual violence through education, Coalition and Programs advocacy, and legislation. RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP
Academics who have contributed to the Black Anti-Rape Movement Dr. Carolyn West is an award-winning author and Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington. A gifted public speaker, she writes, trains, consults, and lectures internationally on intimate partner violence and sexual assault. Dr. West is devoted to creating inspirational material to empower domestic violence/sexual assault survivors during their healing journey, delivering keynote addresses, conducting workshops, and customizing innovative training material to educate and equip professionals with the skills to provide culturally sensitive services. http://dev.vawnet.org/resource-author/carolyn-m- west-and-kalimah-johnson ARTS AND CULTURE
Artists who have contributed to the black anti-rape movement Mahogany Jones Mahogany Jones is a lyrical force, hailed internationally for her work, as a recording and performance artist, arts advocate, community activist and educator. Named the only four time undefeated Champion of BET’s 106 & Park “Freestyle Fridays” in 2001, Jones set about establishing herself as an emcee with a cause appearing on over 30 albums and gracing stages with such greats as Gil Scot Heron, Talib Kweli, KEM, Rah Digga, India.Arie, The Roots, Jessica Care Moore and many others. 2012 marked the transition of Jones into an international artist when she selected by the U.S. State Department to serve as an official Hip Hop Ambassador to 5 nations in Africa. She has since served in Iraq, Kurdistan, Sudan, Brazil, and Haiti. The native New Yorker is also a writer-in-residence for Detroit’s largest literary arts education nonprofit, InsideOut and is a facilitator of hip-hop based prevention programming with the non-profit, The Yuinon. Denim Day Detroit LITERATURE FICTION/NON-FICTION
• Lori S. Robinson- I Will Survive (New York: Seal Press, 2002) • Charlotte Pierce-Baker, Ph.D.-Surviving the Silence (New York: W. W. Norton& Company, 1998) • Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (New York: Random House, 1969) • Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1970) • Gloria Naylor, The Women of Brewster Place (Penguin, 1985) • Ann Petry, The Street (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.,1946) • Sapphire, Push (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996) • ntozake shange, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf (San Lorenzo, CA: Shameless Hussy Press, 1975) • Alice Walker, The Color Purple (New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982) EXERCISE-GROUP DISCUSSION
Identify, Discuss Acknowledge… African-American Women (Micro/Mezzo/Macro Levels) Diasporic Blacks in the US and Abroad… What kind of anti-rape work are they doing? Arts, Activism, Advocacy, Service Provision, Research, Literature Organization Affiliation? Challenges? Successes? How can we celebrate and support their work? SASHA CENTER: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO SEXUAL ASSAULT TREATMENT
Using Non-Traditional/Traditional Methods and Techniques to Help Our People Heal… THE SASHA CENTER STORY
• Founded in 2010 • Culturally Specific Programming • Exchange between Helper and Survivor-IMPORTANT! • Survivor Focused • Listen and let them teach us • Survivor Lead • If it works for them, who are we to deny them? • Survivor Informed • Provide opportunities for criticism and feedback • Non-Traditional and Alternative Modalities • Practice, Leadership, Methodology SASHA CENTER’S MISSION
To promote and increase healing of sexual assault by using alternative/non-traditional techniques for women of color communities with a special emphasis on African-American women, thereby eradicating the fear, shame, guilt as well as any barriers associated with being sexually assaulted through culturally specific peer educational support groups and prevention strategies. SASHA CENTER’S GOAL:
More specifically, We want to create a world where African American women are safe, sacred and revered at all times and in all circumstances. Also, to increase awareness, provide resources, educate the public, increase justice and visibility for all survivors in Southeast Michigan. CULTURALLY CENTERED WORK
• Culture shapes an individual’s experience and response to trauma.
• Culture shapes the advocate’s response to survivors and themselves regarding acceptance and responsibility.
• Culture shapes access to other services that might be crucial for the advocate. • • Your own culture will impact the extent to which you seek healing alternatives and how well you respond. • Examples… PROGRAMMING • Non-Traditional/Traditional Support Groups • Primary Prevention Workshops • Poetry Performances/Spoken Word Events • Wall of Hope-Art Project • Healing Tent-Space Creation • Drumming Circles • Urban Farming in Detroit • Knitting Groups • Yoga, EMDR, Dance • Goddess and Orisha Study SASHA CENTER ACTIVITIES…
• TBTN-Detroit! • 7th Annual on Friday, April 10, 2015 6pm @ Marygrove College! • Community Discussions • HIP Series Every Wednesday @ SASHA Center 6-8PM! • ALL MALE Panel Discussion on DV in October • Detroit Bike Tour, Urban Gardening, Hula Hoop Group • Community Based Support Groups • MCEDSV, WCSAFE, FIRST STEP, PATHWAYS ACADEMY… • Workshops and Trainings Nationally-SISTAH CIRCLES • Detroit Lions NFL Relationship Safety Training • NBA Gender Based Violence Training and Consulting TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS
• Building Trust in our Community-MLK Homes Public Housing • Black Consciousness Raising and Awareness-Positive Black Identity • Funding and Justification • Religion vs. Spiritual Practices • Cultivating Leadership • Non-Traditional Leadership • Heterosexism and Homophobia • Intra-Racism • Vision, Voice and Visibility-Partnerships/MOU’s ANTIDOTES FOR SERVICE PROVISION •Events as Therapeutic and Cathartic •Walk-In Groups •Community Engagements •Fundraising Events •In-Store/Salon Promotions ALTERNATIVE MODALITIES AT SASHA CENTER
• Ancestor Reverence/Spirituality • Meditation/Chanting/Drum Circles • Massage/Safe Touch Therapy/Reiki • Crystals, Water and Sage • Eating A Well Balanced Diet-Urban Farming • Exercise-Cycling/Walking the City with Survivors • Art, Poetry and Story-Telling Projects • Empowerment • Accountability ALLIES
Neil Irvin- Men Can Stop Rape
Mary Keefe MCEDSV
Paula Callen MCEDSV NEW AND EMERGING
• Social Media and Survival RESOURCES
• http://blackfeminism.library.ucsb.edu/soc_hist.html • http://blackfeminism.library.ucsb.edu/soc_pol.html • http://praxisinternational.org/files/praxis/files/Rural%20Project/2%20A%20Brief %20History%20of%20the%20Anti-Rape%20Movement.pdf • http://msmagazine.com/blog/2014/08/08/a-brief-history-of-sexual-violence- activism-in-the-u-s/ • http://www.wcsap.org/working-survivors/sexual-assault-program- management/management/history • http://www.wocninc.org/ • http://sisterslead.org/ • http;//sashacenter.org/