#Me Too Movement: Women, Race and Sex

On October 5, 2917 the New York Times published a story detailing decades of allegations of sexual harassment. Mr. Weinstein was the co-founder of Miramaxx and the Weinstein Company. During the past four months actresses have revealed their encounter with the producer and have told harrowing stories of sexual assault, rape, and unwanted attempts to enagage in sex, etc. Hwever, what many people do not know was that the Me Too Movement has its origins a decade ago when Tarana Burke  coined the phrase "Me Too." She founded the movement in 2006 becuse she had experience sexual assault  and wanted to help women and girls, particulalrly women of color, who had survived sexual violence.

Black women have had a history of sexual assault dating back to the enslavement experience and continued through Jim Crow and segregation. One case that is telling was in 1855 when Celia, an 19 year-old enslaved person, hade repeatedly been raped  by slaveowner Robert Newsome. On June 23, 1855 she decided to fight back which resulted in the detah of Robert Newsome. She ws tried, convicted and was hanged for the alleged crime. Rape was an ever present threat to black women then and continued in the 20th century. For example, Racy Taylor , a 24 year old sharcropper, was abfducted and raped on September 3, 1944 by six white men in Alabama. And athough the evidenced was overwhelming, a jury could not indict the accused men.

Hence, we hoped that the #Me Too Movement is inclusive and do not follow the trail of the white feminist movement which has been silent on the experience of African American and Latina women encounters with sexuak harassment.  Remember Ms. Nafissafou Diallo, a Hatian hotel maid, accused Dominique Strauss, former chief of the International Monetary Fund, of attempted rape and sexual assault. Where was the feminist on this case?