Barrington Walker's Article Summary

Barrington Walker’s article “Race, Sex, and the Power of Dominant Rape Narratives” sheds light on rape cases involving black men, against white woman in Canada, while also discussing how stereotypes prevented and swayed justice in the court of law. In this chapter, Walker examines “cases of assault, robbery, and murder that in one form or another involves sexual contact that crossed the colour line” and how cultural assumptions aided in the outcomes of the trials. Walker’s position in this article is clear, as he provides not only his opinion but historical insights, as to why the trials against the black men were unjust, compared to the trials against white men in the same or worse situations, as focused on with the cases of James Charleston …show more content…
Walker uses Canadian court cases to support his argument, and in all the cases examined verdicts were shaped by forms of racism. An important statement to note when looking at these situations is that “encounters with black men constituted the ultimate violation of white womanhood.” Firstly, focussing on the trial of Peter Hines, William Beatty, and the sexual assault of Margaret Murton. Racism and classism are both evident in this case. Hines being a black man, and Beatty being a white man are given a seven-year prison sentence for the assault, and as Walker explains this is significantly short for a black man but also quite long for a white man. The only reason Hines was let off easy was because he was an accomplice to the ambiguous white mans crime, and Murton being of a lower class meant her justice was not as important. Secondly, is the prosecution of the Freeman family. This is a different narrative than other sentencings of African people, as the Freeman family were recognized as respectable, owning a successful agricultural