After appearing in the reboot of “Ghostbusters,” an online harassment campaign began targeting the Twitter account for Leslie Jones, one of the actresses in the movie. After Jones publicly appeared during coverage of the Olympics in Brazil, she was attacked again. Her site was hacked, and revealing data was posted online.
This is not the first time that a Black woman has received unjustifiable abuse. Gabby Douglass received waves and waves of criticism during the 2016 Olympics for not putting her hand on her heart during the national anthem. Normani Kordei took a break from Twitter after receiving racial abuse on the website.
What is most stark about this case is the silence of Jones’ female co-stars. Despite the increased attacks on Jones, none of them have publicly stated support for her.
There is a subset of readers that will dismiss this article when I begin to advocate for the protection of Black women. Some of these readers will have already dismissed this piece, siding with the white supremacist group known as the “alt-right” and other vile groups on the internet that perpetrate despicable acts in the name of “trolling” and “triggering” people. Others will come up with flimsy justifications for the actions of these people, citing ruined childhoods or the idea of being un-American. They will then suggest that we, as a population, grow thicker skins instead of treating each other with respect and dignity. A majority of the people reading this do not fit into these categories.
Outside of those people, there are the readers that begin to deflect when Black women are brought up as a group in need of protection. The call to uplift Black women, or even more specifically, dark-skinned Black women, is seen as a slight to themselves. This includes white feminists who don’t understand the intersections of race and gender. This includes Black men who are “woke” but demean Black women any chance they get. This includes people who support individuals that prey on black women in the name of “art.”
Time and time again. there are examples of Black women being devalued and attacked. Most times, society as a whole ignores these slights. This is not acceptable.
Society can change in two ways: institutional change and culture shift. While institutional changes (such as tougher stances against harassment and the punishment for sexual assault and murder) tend to be higher ranked in political movements, it is arguably more important to shift the culture away from misogynoir. This looks like evaluating the way that you as a person interact with intersections of race and gender. It looks like calling out these same issues that you have within yourself among the people around you.
Like institutional change, this is a slow and steady process. However, a shift in culture is the only way to fully prevent the disgusting behavior that we have seen online from happening again.