Black Women Are Not Permitted to Use Violence in Self-Defense

Defenders of “Stand Your Ground” laws often cite a woman’s right to shoot her attacker or rapist as a rationale for broader gun regulations. This is especially the case since the fatal shootings of Black teenagers Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis in Florida cast the “Stand Your Ground” laws under public scrutiny.

However, Marissa Alexander of Florida is facing a possible 60-year sentence for reportedly “standing her ground,” even though no one was hurt in the incident. Alexander says she fired a warning shot at her abusive husband, but according to a new analysis of FBI homicide data, her race may be a reason why she has not been granted equal protection under the law.

The analysis, prepared by the Urban Institute of Washington, D.C., was based on national data of homicide cases that were found “justifiable” on the grounds that deadly force was appropriate.

Among cases nationwide where a woman killed an adult man, white women who killed Black men were most likely to be declared justified in 13.5 percent of the cases, the data found. By contrast, just 2.6 percent of white women who killed white men, and 5.7 percent of Black women who killed Black men were found to be justified.

Leaking a Sex Tape Doesn’t Work Well For Black Women

Back in the 1980s, legendary actress, beauty queen, and NFL Today’s first Black female presenter Jayne Kennedy, found herself embroiled in one of the first celebrity sex tape scandals. The reportedly stolen VHS of Kennedy and her then-husband Leon Isaac Kennedy nosedived the sports broadcaster’s career and she disappeared into obscurity.

Rapper Eve recruited the FBI after she found herself in the middle of a career-threatening scandal involving a sex tape with her then-boyfriend Steve J. Eve says the leaker attempted to blackmail her for a large sum of cash. She called the incident “hurtful,” said the controversy left her scarred, and noted “sex tapes weren’t ‘hot’ like that” a decade ago.

In 2010, actor Laurence Fishburne’s daughter, Montana, declared she was entering the porn business to help make a name for herself. She found out the hard way that the same rewards of clothing and perfume lines, TV shows, and millions of dollars bestowed upon celebrities Kim Kardashian, Pam Anderson, Paris Hilton, and other white women was not available for her. Fishburne only earned $60,000 for her efforts, received no profit from the sales of her popular tape, and today cautions young women against going into the business.

Love & Hip Hop Atlanta star Mimi Faust also released a “hardcore” sex tape with her boyfriend Nikko Smith. It remains to be seen if she will become an exception.