Historically, white men have monopolized violence. By this, I mean that the white males have the capacity to commit acts of violence against an oppressed group of individuals. Further, these acts of violence often go unheard, ignored, or protected by the law. Usually, the adjudicators of the law are complicit in white male privilege or are the recipient of this privilege themselves. Yet, when oppressed victims of white male tyranny use violence against their oppressor, these individuals are considered brutes, savages, apes, or incapable of humanity. These designations should be extended to white males who use violence against as a demonstration of their privilege and power.
For this paper, I will argue that violence against white men perpetrated …show more content…
She needed to be placed back in the standards acceptable of Black women. The state of Georgia murdered Baker on March 5, 1945 by the electric chair. She maintained that her actions were all in self-defense. In 2005, the Parole Board of the state of Georgia granted Baker a pardon, but this redress of injustice came too late for Lena Baker. A fictionalized account of the use of violence against white male oppression can be found in Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple. In this profound work of fiction, Walker described the conditions in which Black women lived under in Jim Crow Georgia in the early twentieth century. The novel is filled with scenes of abuse, rape, and violence against women, but ends with the women of the novel stronger and bolder characters. Sofia represented this characterization …show more content…
Sofia attacked the Mayor out of self-dignity and self-defense. Today, any reasonable person would respond similarly had they been in Sofia’s position. However, in the Jim Crow South, Blacks, and especially Black women, were expected to accept violence against them. After being taken to jail, the warden repeatedly raped Sofia and committed brutal acts of violence against her. Her white captors created a mute and disturbed woman, nothing similar to the Sofia in the earlier sections of the novel. Equally as deplorable, Sofia ended up as Miss Millie’s maid. After a period in prison, the Mayor ordered Sofia’s release into the care of his wife. Sofia served Miss Millie for twelve year. A white man broke a strong Black woman and reduced her to subservience. The Mayor’s authority and thus white male authority, went
For this paper, I will argue that violence against white men perpetrated …show more content…
She needed to be placed back in the standards acceptable of Black women. The state of Georgia murdered Baker on March 5, 1945 by the electric chair. She maintained that her actions were all in self-defense. In 2005, the Parole Board of the state of Georgia granted Baker a pardon, but this redress of injustice came too late for Lena Baker. A fictionalized account of the use of violence against white male oppression can be found in Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple. In this profound work of fiction, Walker described the conditions in which Black women lived under in Jim Crow Georgia in the early twentieth century. The novel is filled with scenes of abuse, rape, and violence against women, but ends with the women of the novel stronger and bolder characters. Sofia represented this characterization …show more content…
Sofia attacked the Mayor out of self-dignity and self-defense. Today, any reasonable person would respond similarly had they been in Sofia’s position. However, in the Jim Crow South, Blacks, and especially Black women, were expected to accept violence against them. After being taken to jail, the warden repeatedly raped Sofia and committed brutal acts of violence against her. Her white captors created a mute and disturbed woman, nothing similar to the Sofia in the earlier sections of the novel. Equally as deplorable, Sofia ended up as Miss Millie’s maid. After a period in prison, the Mayor ordered Sofia’s release into the care of his wife. Sofia served Miss Millie for twelve year. A white man broke a strong Black woman and reduced her to subservience. The Mayor’s authority and thus white male authority, went