Attacks On Kamala Harris, Sonya Massey Are Attacks On Black Women

It’s been a weird run since Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the Democratic Party’s hopeful presidential candidate when President Joe Biden pulled himself out of the running.

A less than stellar debate against his then-Republican opponent, Donald Trump, maybe the impetus for his decision, as well as an urge at the behest of “we the people” and members of his political party. Biden attributed his departure to “saving democracy.” In less than a week, Harris’ campaign has raised over $200 million to aid her plight to the whitest house and administration in the land, according to Politico. This is a monumental accomplishment for anyone, much less a Black woman. Historically, Harris has done what no male candidate has been able to. 

But as the late great Notorious B.I.G. once said, “More Money, More Problems.” 

A variable that is not mentioned in Biggie’s equation is misogynoir—as it pertains to Madame Kamala, who has received verbal attacks centered around her gender, race, sexuality and ability. The first Black female, vice president of the United States, has been called an incompetent, d–k-sucking whore, b—h who ain’t really Black by white men, white women and Black men who are all deeply invested in paternalism, patriarchy and the annihilation of Black women. Alec Lace, a white schmuck, was extremely comfortable referring to Harris as a “DEI hire” and called her the “original Hawk Tuah girl” on a nationally broadcasted Fox News show. During an online interview, Judge Joe Brown, a Black schmuck, who called her a “witch,” accused her of “f–king her way to the top,” and said she “used to be a frat whore when she was at Howard … and she ain’t black.” A panel of backwoods white women from Wisconsin were given the privilege to discuss and disparage Harris’ competencies on an MSNBC news program. One of them had the audacity to call her an “idiot.” 

And nan one of them could critically justify any of these attacks. 

Despite the excellence Black women exude in various professions, it’s often assumed they are unqualified and are tokens in high-ranking positions. For example, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the first Black woman to serve the United States Supreme Court. After years of service and ascension within the justice system, Brown’s detractors made futile attempts to diminish her qualifications. Old white men tried feverishly to undermine her acumen and intelligence during her confirmation hearing. Political nimwit Sarah Palin, who mouthed the words “refudiate” and “misunderestimate,” fixed her lips to say, “I don’t think [Brown] is right for the Supreme Court,” and that “[Brown] did not have the most basic, fundamental answers to the most basic, fundamental questions being posed to her, of her, from those on the Hill, and it kind of shocked me that she seemed so ill-prepared to be able to answer a simple question like, what’s a woman? Y’know, our first, second and third graders can answer that one. And that took me aback.”

Make it make sense. 

And then there’s Valerie Jarrett, who was dubbed Obama’s “yes-woman with scant policy experience and credentials” all because the Democratic Party did poorly during the 2014 midterm elections. The foul-mouthed and morbidly gross Roseanne Barr even juxtaposed Jarrett to an ape—unprovoked. 

Tell us the honorable El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz was right about the longstanding degradation of Black women without telling us that Black women are the most “disrespected,” “unprotected” and “neglected.”

These instances wouldn’t be the first time a Black woman is called out her name and everything but the child of God. Nor will it be the last. Black women, for the most part, are the world’s proverbial punching bag. We are reminded of this every day at every age and stage in our lives, even worse, at times, by those—in our lives—who purport to love us. Forty-seven percent of all women are psychologically abused through humiliation, insults and name-calling in their lifetime. Black women, however, receive more aggressive treatment at a higher rate of 57%. These statistics pertain to aggression from folks women deal with intimately. The digital era ups the ante. According to Glitch, a UK-based charity that is devoted to nixing online abuse, of almost 1 million online posts surveyed, the majority of highly toxic posts are directed at Black women, with “b—h” being the most common and “slut” being a close second—and seemingly the words of choice to degrade and shame woman they can’t quite control—or fuck. 

Shabazz made his bold statement about the state of Black women in 1962, and 62 years later, affixing the word “murdered” seems apropos. 

Sonya Massey—God rest her soul—was shot point blank in the face by a poor excuse for a human posing as a white cop. Massey called the police for her own safety and, after their arrival, called on Jesus to rebuke one cop’s sinister soul. This public servant first joked with Massey in her own living room, then came at her sideways for tending to a pot of boiling water in her own kitchen. That coward pointed his “service” weapon at Massey, who cowered to the ground, and pulled the trigger, ending her 36-year-old life. And if snuffing out her life wasn’t wild enough, that Neanderthal called the innocent Black woman he just killed a “crazy b—h” over her own dead body. 

Misogynoir knows no bounds. 

Sean Grayson told the world he hates Black women without actually saying he hates Black women. 

There’s a perpetual war on Black women. Each intentional and random act of violence against us, both physical and verbal, feels dangerous, depraved and personal. 

Y’all. Hate. Black women.

Say that—but leave us TF alone.