#ProtectBlackWomen

By Christopher Williams, MPH
Founder, Public Health Liberation

I recently met Dr. Stacy Scott at a Starbucks in Washington, DC. After admiring her handbag embossed with the words, “Protect Black Women” from afar for the better part of 15 minutes, I knew that I had to introduce myself. After wrapping up my conversations, I approached Dr. Scott to ask if I could take a picture of her and her bag. I was elated that she said “yes” without hesitation. I was so delighted that we both shared a commitment to health equity. Like me, she wears many hats - Executive Director of Baby 1st Network and works with the Global Infant Safe Sleep (GISS) Center and National Insitute for Children’s Health Quality. The mission of the Baby 1st Network is to provide educational materials and support to mothers and families to reduce the incidence of Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), as well as services to families who have experienced the loss of an infant less than one year of age. Dr. Scott can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Seeing “Protect Black Women” on Dr. Scott’s handbag resonated with me more deeply and differently than it ever had over the many years that I had known about the movement. I had seen it on T-shirts, on signs at rallies, and a trending hashtag on social media. Part of the fascination that day was because I had never seen “Protect Black Women” on a designer handbag! It spoke to just how important and universal that message was to Black women, women, and the world.

My subsequent research showed that Los Angeles-based fashion designer Blake Van Putten was behind the brand. He launched “Protect Black People” merchandise in 2020 in response to police shootings of Black civilians and began the “Protect Black Women” line last year.

My interpretation of that powerful three-word phase represented historical and contemporary social injustices and exploitation against Black women, as well as an expression of solidarity. The US has long under-invested in and neglected Black women’s health. Growing income inequality, policy violence, and poor program planning and implementation often undermine the progress that is being made even with positive reforms like Obamacare. In fact, the racial differences in life expectancy among women in Washington, DC (where I live and met Dr. Scott) is greater than 10 years - a national embarrassment. Being a public health researcher and community leader, I often found myself imploring local government agencies, especially the public housing authority and city council, to stop policy violence against Black women and families. I editorialized in an online newspaper that I founded, “Vast health inequity in resource-rich DC is morally indefensible. DC has failed to deliver major gains in health justice. Policy violence against African American communities, esp. Black women, must end.” [Source] I have written extensively about how agencies have neglected communities, marginalized community voices, and traumatized communities. The inaugural Public Health Liberation manuscript, which I led, argued, “Mistreatment of women leaders, especially Black American women, and their communities is best understood as re-traumatization considering the legacies of historical trauma against women, Black Americans, and the poor. Women hold the key for realizing the aims of PHL theory and practice to accelerate health equity - that is a central PHL principle.” This manuscript, which was co-authored by a majority of Black women, discussed their struggles on environmental and housing issues.

Perspectives from Black women on the meaning of “Protect Black Women”

Dr. Stacy Scott (pictured above)
”I believe that by protecting Black Women, you are protecting all women. I draw inspiration from the Combahee River Collective Statement (1977), ‘If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression.’ In other words, Protect Black Women is, in fact, taking a targeted universalism approach.”

Megan Thee Stallion: Why I Speak Up for Black Women (New York Times)
”But you know what? I’m not afraid of criticism. We live in a country where we have the freedom to criticize elected officials. And it’s ridiculous that some people think the simple phrase “Protect Black women” is controversial. We deserve to be protected as human beings. And we are entitled to our anger about a laundry list of mistreatment and neglect that we suffer.

Maternal mortality rates for Black mothers are about three times higher than those for white mothers, an obvious sign of racial bias in health care. In 2019, an astronomical 91 percent of the transgender or gender-nonconforming people who were fatally shot were Black, according to the Human Rights Campaign.”

Kia Smith, as printed in the Chicago Defense

1. “LISTEN TO US – It is frustrating when you are trying to explain something, and someone either cuts you off mid-sentence or attempts to reduce you to being dramatic simply because they do not agree. Protecting us means to listen to us, amplify our voices, do not over talk us, empathize with us. Not just the girls and women who are near you but even the ones you do not know.

1. EDUCATE YOURSELF & REMAIN TEACHABLE – Some of you want to be educated on women’s experiences, which is cool, but please understand that we are NOT your teachers. Most requests to be taught are facetious at best and do not come from a genuine place. I recommend doing your own research, actively listening, and remaining teachable even when you think you know enough because the truth is– you do not.

2. Check yourself & your friends too – This is possibly the most important. To do this, though, you must have a level of self-awareness that many do not have. It is not enough to be one of the good guys — you must make sure everyone around you is kind too. You cannot be afraid to speak up and call out things, question someone, or reprimand them if need be. Too many of us are dying or getting abused, and far too many remain silent about it. We live in a society that creates safe havens for abusers, and that must stop.

3. NURTURE US – Black girls and women are never given a room just to be. We are expected to be strong for everyone, rarely is the nurture we crave reciprocated back to us. The load is heavy, being both black and female. Our identities are not ones we can take off whenever we feel like it. Whether it is in friendship or romantic partnership, nurture us. Ask how we would like to be supported. Hold our hands, hug us, let us cry.”

Yesha Callahan, as printed on Essence.com

“Social media has shown us that, to some, the call to “protect Black women” isn’t always relegated to all Black women. I’ve noticed that if you’re deemed a “ho,” you’re not eligible for this protection. If you’re a trans-Black woman, you’re not eligible for this protection. You can even see so-called mental health “experts” on Twitter, who also happen to be Black women, join in on the bullying of other Black women when it’s convenient. And these are all sad facets of people and their selective outrage. If you’re going to yell the battle cry “protect Black women,” maybe make sure it’s inclusive of ALL Black women. Not just the ones you favor. The hypocrisy at times can be overwhelming, and admittedly, sometimes we all do our own part in not protecting Black women. I know I have.

Twitter Analysis:
I was inspired seeing Dr. Scott that I wanted to conduct a Twitter analysis of the hashtag #ProtectBlackWomen. Due to Twitter’s recent API changes and prohibitive costs with other websites, my data analysis would be quite limited. I examined data results from the #ProtectBlackWomen hashtag from 4/13/23 - 4/18/23 using Twitter analytics from trackmyhashtag.com. Due to changes in Twitter’s API and payment plans, I was limited to just the previous week for a free analysis. Readers are encouraged to follow the top influencers below.

• Total Tweets - 100

• Total Contributors - 88

• Potential impressions* - 260,645

• Potential reach - 251,403

• Top Influencers (study period)

  • Nicole Lewis, LCSW, LIC @NicoleLewisLCSW

  • Megalyn Echikunwoke @Megalyn

  • DogLover4Dems💙 @Donna_West

  • Teressa L Raiford @TeressaLRaiford

  • Molly Gordon 🍎 healt @shaboom

  • Michelle Jackson @MichLovesMoney

  • Elizabeth A. Bieber #Re @_elizbieber

  • 👑𓉢NoniCafe𓂀☕ @NoniCafe_

  • SoulBot @Blackbiz2020

  • JessTeezn ya! @jessteezn

• Most Liked Tweets

  • 71 Likes - So many things will be offered inside of the membership including support groups, webinars, check ins with therapists, etc. Topics will include stress, anxiety, boundaries, depression, trauma, neurodivergence, etc. #blackwomenmatter #protectblackwomen #BlackWomenMembership… https://t.co/moMg4UjnFP

  • 29 Likes - Tbh, I'm sick of my face. But Jacquea told me little Black kids in Pittsburgh get to feel a sense of pride seeing Black faces not struggling on the bus & billboards, and it made the over commercialization of my pores seem worthwhile... #ProtectBlackWomen

  • 22 Likes- Yesterday it was Rosa parks, Ruby Bridges..etc, today it's #MeghanMarkle ,Kamala Harris…, tomorrow it could be any of us or our daughters or grand-daughters. #fightforMeghan #WeLoveYouMeghan #protectblackwomen

*Message delivered to a user’s timeline, but not an indicate of actual reading of tweet

**Total number of Twitter account that Tweet hashtag has reached