Letter to Darlene Clark Hine

It is interesting to see the difference in emphasis on lynchings of black men versus the rape of black women. Obviously one kills the person and the other doesn't, but I'm starting to understand how each rape was not an isolated incident, but something that has become systemic and normalized because of the ways in which American society views African American women. The normalization of the raping of black women is largely due to the stereotypes attribute to these women: hypersexual, having no moral compass (being beneath that), promiscuous, and unladylike. All of these things contribute to the ways that we treat black women. One thing I do want to address and question is the respectability politics aspect. Even if all black women were all of those things listed above, would they be deserving of rape? Why is it so easy to justify the rape of black women by saying that they are sexual? Then black women are forced to diminish and hide their sexual selves so much so that women that are overtly sexual are looked down upon, now not just by white people but their black women counterparts too! Why is there so much pressure on black women to do everything right when everything that is being asked of them is simply not possible to do all at the same time?