PROTECTING BLACK WOMEN 1

The Protection of Black Women

Natajha Tompkins

University of South Florida

PROTECTING BLACK WOMEN 2

Introduction

I believe that black women should be protected more. I believe that black women are at

the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to overall equality specifically in the United States.

For example, black women have to face the racial injustice that comes with being black but also

experience gender equality for simply being a woman. However, I do acknowledge the

discrimination both women and other people of color face. I do not want to put black women on

a pedestal, rather I want everyone to be treated equally.

Quoted from the well-known human rights activist, Malcolm X, “the most unprotected

person in America is the black woman." I originally heard his speech last summer when the

reignition of the Black Lives Matter movement sparked. The movement motivated me to do my

own research about my history. Educational systems are whitewashed because they do not

inform students of the major advancements black people have done especially black women. For

instance, Septima Clark helped African Americans learn how to read and write so they can vote.

I also researched present-day advancements such as the Me Too Movement, where the founder is

a black woman named Tarana Burke.

This belief of mine further developed when I learned black women experience police

brutality and incarceration similarly to black men, yet they do not receive as much support. An

example of this is Breonna Taylor. She was killed by the police in March 2020 but did not

receive global recognition until June. Although black men and allies attended protests, the face

of the Black Lives Matter campaign and protests are run by black women. To be more specific,

black women are the ones who founded the movement.

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Protecting black women became important to me because it personally affects me. My

mom, grandma, aunts, friends, and I are black females. In some way, shape, or form I will face

challenges that my other female counterparts will not have to experience, as well as black men. I

have to work twice as hard to retract the stigmas that come with being a black woman such as

being “ghetto” or “angry”. I am passionate about this topic because I take pride in being black

and I want the best for the people who are like me. The inequality that I am aware of displeases

me, which is why I educate myself and talk about the issue when I get the chance. This belief

plays a role in marketing because many of the professions are male dominated. I may face wage

gaps by my male counterparts while also receiving stigmas for being black. However, I can use

my education to support the black community like the organization Black Women in Marketing

(BWM).

STEM

STEM is a discipline that groups together the academic subjects: sciences, technology,

engineering, and mathematics. Engineers have to be able to comprehend knowledge from the rest

of the sub-discipline which can improve their problem-solving skills. Those skills could be

useful in areas where people are less represented like black women.

First, we must establish the key concepts which engineers follow. Engineering is a broad

sub-discipline however, some examples of concepts are artificial intelligence, machine design,

and mobile communications. Although engineering is its own subject, knowledge in math,

technology, and certain sciences are required to pursue a career in this field. This leads to

competencies of engineering. Engineers have to apply the rest of the sub-disciplines of STEM to

solve problems that are applicable in the world. As well as recognizing other essential concepts

which will help them be creative to solve these problems.

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Engineers would view protecting black women as reasonable. For one there is a small

representation of black women that is STEM let alone in engineering. Black women face the

stigma that women should not be in STEM careers because it is considered a male’s position,

and not to mention it is dominated by white males. Engineers would be able to understand the

issue through accurate statistics of the underrepresentation of black women. This viewpoint

supports the belief of protecting black women. Engineers have a creative mind and have the

capability to analyze world problems such as this. One assumption engineers presume is that

they are concrete. Meaning if there is no evidence then it would be disregarded. Although

evidence is crucial, some testimonies are valid and can lead to advancements. Limiting

knowledge to only hardcore evidence can prohibit growth which is why the strike of Shut Down

STEM took place on June 10, 2020 (Chen, 2020).

Overall, engineers are innovative people who must be insightful to solve issues in the

world. They are required to recognize other concepts of the discipline STEM. Having a variety

of background knowledge will help understand the inequality of black women in STEM. With

their critical thinking, it may lead to a sensible solution.

Social Sciences

As we observe different areas of human behavior in its and social and cultural aspects we

tend to think of sociology, political science, or even education. But these are just subtopics that

follow the umbrella of the discipline of social sciences. Practitioners who are operating in this

field presume that knowledge is socially constructed. With this being in mind, people who are in

this discipline can identify how black women experience intersectionality and how it affects

them as a social group.

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To begin with, workers in the discipline of social sciences value the idea that society is

the external visibility of people in cultural groups who have internal rules such as roles. They

support their ideology with relevant critical social theories. Through these understandings skills

like having awareness for current world problems and how given theories can be applied,

analyzing those social issues, and the ability to perceive events from different points of view are

a necessity.

Specifically, sociologists would agree with the belief of protecting black women through

the perspective of intersectionality. Intersectionality describes different social categories which

can overlap each other and the discrimination that comes with it. Black women have to face

gender inequality as well as the discrimination that comes with being black (Smith).

Intersectionality demonstrate why black women should be protected more. This perspective of

the discipline supports the belief because it addresses many unequal opportunities for black

women for instance, in higher education and equally important, police brutality because of the

color of their skin. A bias that pertains to intersectionality is Oppression Olympics This is the

idea that there is a competition to determine who is overall most oppressed. Black women should

not compete with the idea of who is most oppressed, rather have equal opportunities in general.

In brief, practitioners in social sciences depend on critical social sciences to corroborate

their knowledge of society and how they behave. They use understandings of different social

groups, status groups, and power to do so. These concepts can be applied to the intersectionality

of black women and skills like analyzing the social issue are crucial. Having this awareness is

only a step forward to protecting black women.

Humanities and Arts

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When we think of literature, history, religion, or expressing creativity through objects we

should notice how these subtopics follow under the discipline of arts and humanities. Historians

specifically believe life events that happened in the past result in both societal forces and

individual choices. This leads to the assumption that social history like black feminism played an

important role but was unappreciated in the idea of historical change. With this being mentioned,

practitioners in history are able to critically assess the tribulations of black women throughout

time.

To start off, we must establish the certain skills historians utilize during their field of

work. It is a common understanding that there is not a certain way on how to think about a topic

however, the individual themselves must understand processes on their own with rationale.

Scholars must generate information through primary data collections then successfully

manipulate the information using technology. Additionally, formulate research questions and

gaining evidence to answer them to ultimately make a persuasive argument if needed. These

competencies are then put forward towards their concepts. Humanities concepts include social

movements like feminism or actions such as Americanization. It can even discuss aspects of

social groups, for instance, different cultures or authority within a group.

Historians would assess the belief of protecting black women as valid. This is proven by

the social movement of black feminism. This philosophy addresses the need for black women's

liberation but also includes how black women contributed to the civil rights movement and

women’s movement but did not receive credit where it is due. This viewpoint supports my belief

in protecting black women because history itself discusses the disadvantages. For example,

Malcolm X's famous speech named “Who taught you to hate yourself” covers the topic of how

the most unprotected person in America is the black woman. An assumption within historians is
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the idea of non-biased research is preferred yet, dealing with people’s emotions will include

biases. This subtopic of humanities gives an understanding of the struggles black women went

through and how there are still similar drawbacks. Ultimately, it confirmed the fact history can

repeat itself.

To conclude, historians collect information from primary data collections, preferably

objective, to answer questions and make a judgement. These skills are put to use in social

movements like black feminism. In the long run, if we do not educate ourselves about

the past, we are bound to face the same hardships.

Health Professions

Maintaining health through applications and procedures is a must through the discipline

of health professions. Health professions can span from dentistry to physical therapy.

Specifically, nurses aid communities and take crucial steps to sustain their health. However, this

is not always seen for minorities who do not receive the proper care they desperately need.

Firstly, practitioners in health must understand certain concepts for them to operate

within this field. They must acknowledge that health promotion maximizes the development of

resilience to threats of health, equity of health is the absence of systematic differences in one or

more aspects of health status, and health protection is activities that take place to reduce the

occurrence of situations that are health threats. These understandings are then applied to

specified skills. Practitioners must communicate and migrate errors using information

technology as well as collaborate with health specialists to ensure that care is reliable.

Additionally, provide patient care by coordinating continuous care, relieve pain, listen to and

clearly inform the patient, and lastly respect their different value.
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For the belief of protecting black women, the views of the scholars in health professions

would depend. Many healthcare workers may treat each individual with equal care, as the

concept of equity of health, and their facilities do not discriminate. While other workers may see

the inequality in their workforce. For instance, the occurring problem of infant mortality being

significantly higher for black women than their other female counterparts (Taylor et al., 2019).

The understanding of health protection is supposed to reduce the issue, yet as of today, there is

little to no effort to solve the issue. The concepts in this discipline should be used to sustain

health for black women but this is not always seen. An assumption in this discipline is

policymakers pursue interventions with relevant policies to benefit at an individual or societal

level. This must be questioned because if it was true why black women are dying more during

pregnancy.

In the end, nurses promote health, prevent diseases, and help patients cope with illnesses.

They apply understandings such as accessibility of health and health promotion to apply it to

certain competencies. Being able to work in interdisciplinary teams, utilize informatics, and

employ evidence-based practice is critical in this field. Although these skills and understandings

are significant, they are not always applied which is how inequality occurs. Ultimately, the end

goal is to seek equality in health care for black women and the first step is to address the

problem.

Business

As we participate in exchanging, purchasing, and making a profit from goods we tend to

forget the importance of the discipline, business. Those who engage in business can span from

accounting to real estate. Practitioners are required to keep up with relevant trends in order to
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respond to external forces efficiently. However, there are uncontrollable forces minorities have

to undergo such as black women.

First and foremost, like all the other disciplines, there are concepts that each scholar

follows. Out of several concepts a few that workers in business utilize are understanding the

variable costs, choosing how to compete with other businesses, generating future value through

capital expenditures, and a plan to grow a business over time. These notions are then applied to

essential skills. Working in the discipline of business is quite complex so skills like evaluating

business processes to ensure quality results, implement strategies to manage information, as well

as apply these strategies to ensure a successful business are critical.

Particularly in economics, they would agree upon the belief of protecting black women.

This is because the idea of the income gap is growing which affects minorities. Scholars would

be able to analyze how a wealth gap leads to fewer assets for black people especially black

women. This is why there are multiple campaigns that inform others to support black women in

business. This discipline supports the belief because there is an awareness that addresses

inequality. A bias in business can be relying on big corporations instead of giving the smaller

businesses an opportunity. This objective illustrates the need to protect black women other than

in social rights. The discipline of business amplifies the necessary acts that needs to take place

for equality.

To sum up, scholars in business are influenced by outside factors which contribute to the

necessity of having crucial strategies. The skills are equally as important as the concepts used to

run a successful business. Having the required knowledge will help analyze certain issues that

pertain to business like income gaps. Moving forward with this problem can overall benefit the

businesses of black women.

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Identified Weaknesses

After viewing different disciplines there are gray areas that scholars may look at for this

belief. Practitioners in each perspective can question the necessity for the improvement of

protecting black women. In the STEM discipline, some may ask if there are any statistics to

prove more protection would be effective. With this in mind, as soon as there are advancements

for black women there will be clear data in areas such as graduation rate in higher education,

fewer deaths in hospitals, and more women owning property. For social sciences, there are

questions regarding the ability to pass a law that protects one race. Established acts have been

passed to protect black women and girls yet, we must question their effectiveness since

continuous discrimination still occurs. This debunks the idea that they have been protected by

previous laws. Additionally, would be the belief everyone should be protected equally. Black

women should not be put on a pedestal like previously stated. If everyone was protected equally

this would not be a prominent social issue. In humanities and arts, scholars may ask why black

women do not have protection. The belief is to amplify the idea black women should have equal

rights and opportunities as their female counterparts and other races. It does not disregard the

actions that are already in place to protect them. In the discipline of health professions, questions

like protecting a certain group can not be achieved in the medical field and that there are health

acts to care for minorities. The whole idea in the medical field is to promote health to patients.

Practitioners are protecting their health by aiding them to their best ability. Likewise, the health

acts in place should be re-evaluated to help reduce the deaths of black women. Lastly, business

practitioners would want to know who would pay for the protection of a single race. Protection is

not always physical. Meaning protection could be having the same morals for each individual
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regardless of race or gender. As well as the perception minorities have the same economic

opportunities as everyone else. If this was true, there would not be economic wage gaps for black

women. Black women earnings are fare behind compared to white males and females (AAUW,

2021).

Conclusion

To summarize, attention should be brought to this to better the future for not only black

people but specifically black women. Future generations should not deal with problems black

women experience today. Equal opportunities in areas like healthcare, education, entertainment,

or in the workforce are the end goal. To limit gray areas, the belief of protecting black women

should be altered to black women should be treated equally like everyone else whether it is

morally, socially, or financially. Nevertheless, the struggles that are faced today, are only steps

forward to see a change that lies ahead.

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References

AAUW. (2021, July 15). Black women & the pay gap. AAUW.

https://www.aauw.org/resources/article/black-women-and-the-pay-gap/.

Chen, S. (2020, June 17). Researchers around the WORLD prepare To #shutdownstem AND

'Strike for Black Lives'. Science. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/researchers-

around-world-prepare-shutdownstem-and-strike-black-lives.

Smith, S. (n.d.). Black feminism and intersectionality. Black feminism and intersectionality |

International Socialist Review. https://isreview.org/issue/91/black-feminism-and-

intersectionality.

Taylor, J., Novoa, C., Hamm, K., & Phadke, S. (2019, May 2). Eliminating racial disparities in

maternal and infant mortality. Center for American Progress.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2019/05/02/469186/eliminating

-racial-disparities-maternal-infant-mortality/.