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rayarriz's review
5.0
1. It took me a month to read this book solely because I kept having mini breakdowns getting through it. Not actual tears, but just pure empathy. After all, I'm a black woman...reading about black women who just one or two or three generations before me, regularly suffered these rapes by white men. I'm talking countless stories. The law not being on their side, because all too often the perpetrators WERE the law. And because the rapists were white men, they could get away with it. They had all the power in a society and with the law.
But I wasn't surprised by anything I read, I've heard these things from many older black people and I'm from the South. And everybody knows what happened during slavery. I did appreciate how the book outlines the legal (and even social) change that occurred over time, through the efforts of black feminists and civil right groups. And ends with the landmark case with Joan Little.
2. Very informative and a lot to think about. I recommend this as an aid for anyone needing to contextualize the way black women have historically been viewed and treated and how their oversexualization and dehumanization sustained the racist narrative that they deserved to be abused and weren't worthy of being defended. It's a very sad history, but one that needs to be told. And one that can absolutely answer and start some modern questions and discussions.
But I wasn't surprised by anything I read, I've heard these things from many older black people and I'm from the South. And everybody knows what happened during slavery. I did appreciate how the book outlines the legal (and even social) change that occurred over time, through the efforts of black feminists and civil right groups. And ends with the landmark case with Joan Little.
2. Very informative and a lot to think about. I recommend this as an aid for anyone needing to contextualize the way black women have historically been viewed and treated and how their oversexualization and dehumanization sustained the racist narrative that they deserved to be abused and weren't worthy of being defended. It's a very sad history, but one that needs to be told. And one that can absolutely answer and start some modern questions and discussions.
mcqconor's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
We should burn the south to the ground
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Murder, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
a_lyttle_book_blog's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
4.5
This was very informative and heavy. I definitely had to take some breaks while reading this because it was very hard and emotional. I definitely learned a lot and am so glad that I read it. I am deeply saddened after reading this
nat_montego's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, and Racial slurs
larryerick's review
4.0
Imagine being a woman. A woman with 23 children. Now imagine that 20 of those children are the result of being raped. Imagine that your daughter is so fearful of being attacked, too, that she routinely carries a pistol with her when she works outside. Imagine further that her daughter, your granddaughter, is arrested, beaten bloody and naked by law enforcement for peaceably protesting that culture of violence. Such has been the life of the Southern black women, and this book does a remarkable job of vividly documenting what is really just the tip of the iceberg, just the most notorious, the most historical cases. Having read a great deal about the Civil War and the Southern slave culture, I have also found myself following up by reading on life in the South after the war ended. This is a very important book in detailing a critical part of that history and deserves our attention. Highly recommended.