Black Women Are Becoming an Endangered Species—and Femicide Is to Blame
For Black women, the concept of sanctuary is diminishing by the day.
Trigger Warning: This story contains descriptions of fatal violence.
We’re in the midst of an unprecedented rise in violence against Black women. But more specifically, it’s femicide—“the intentional killing with a gender-related motivation”—that’s creating irreparable harm in our communities.
According to UN Women, throughout the world, a woman is killed by their intimate partner or family member every 10 minutes. The agency further describes this disturbing dynamic as such:
Femicide is driven by discrimination against women and girls, unequal power relations, gender stereotypes or harmful social norms. It is the most extreme and brutal manifestation of violence against women and girls which occurs on a continuum of multiple and related forms of violence, at home, in workplaces, schools or public and online spaces, including intimate partner violence, sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence, harmful practices and trafficking.
April has been particularly gruesome in regard to Black femicide, with high-profile cases—and lingering suspicions of these heinous acts—becoming a weekly occurrence.
This is why I’ve made it a point to shed light on this crisis: to honor many of the lives that were stolen and to amplify the need for accountability, compassion, and prevention.
Dr. Cerina Fairfax
From CNN:
Cerina Fairfax, remembered by those who knew her as a devoted mother and caring dentist, was killed by her husband, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, inside their Virginia home this week, authorities said.
Fairfax described herself as someone who loved “to read, run trails with her energetic Vizslas, practice Bikram yoga, travel, and spend time with her wonderful family.” She leaves behind an “enduring legacy of love and selflessness,” her attorney said.
What makes Cerina’s murder particularly disturbing has been the deluge of Black men attempting to humanize and center her killer. Here’s some additional reading on this disgusting behavior, courtesy of Dr. Stacey Patton.
Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen
From Coral Springs Talk:
Coral Springs is mourning the death of Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen after police on Wednesday said she was found dead inside her home in what investigators said was a domestic violence incident and ensuing homicide investigation. Her husband, Stephen Bowen, was arrested, and authorities said there are no additional suspects and no threat to the public.
Described as a “rising star in the Democratic Party,” the fervent environmental justice activist was about to announce a historic run for Congress. This one hits home for me, as she was the best friend of a good friend of mine.
Pastor Tammy McCollum
From Beliefnet:
A North Carolina church community is grieving the devastating loss of Pastor Tammy McCollum, a woman remembered for her vibrant faith and servant’s heart, after she was fatally shot inside her home. She was 58.
According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, officers responded to a call shortly after 2 a.m. Monday regarding an assault with a deadly weapon at McCollum’s residence. When they arrived, they found her suffering from gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her husband, Eddie McCollum, 61, was taken into custody at the home and has since been charged with first-degree murder.
According to Rev. Dorothy Boulware, McCollum’s murder is a “shocking symptom of a much larger problem: Black women clergy and faith leaders dealing with abuse, harassment, or worse, from men in the church—and in their personal lives.”
Victoria Alexander
From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
A man shot and killed his estranged wife early Monday at the Jersey Shore medical center, where she worked as a nurse, authorities said.
Brandon Alexander, 35, arrived before dawn at the ExcelCare facility in Egg Harbor Township and lay in wait in the parking lot until his wife, Victoria, arrived for her shift, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
He then used his car to block her path, climbed into her vehicle, and placed two suicide notes on the dashboard, prosecutors said.
A food truck driver in the parking lot asked Brandon Alexander to move his car, authorities said, and Victoria Alexander seized the moment to flee.
Brandon Alexander chased her into the nursing home and rehabilitation facility and shot her multiple times near the entrance, prosecutors said, before turning the gun on himself.
She’s remembered by her colleagues and residents as “a compassionate and attentive presence.”
Qualeshia “Saditty” Barnes
From FOX 2 Detroit:
A pregnant rapper from Detroit has been murdered in Atlanta. She was shot four times in the face this week, and her family says they know why she was targeted and killed.
The 36-year-old was 14 weeks pregnant when she was shot four times in the face in the middle of the night while inside a car in Atlanta this week.
According to 11Alive, Barnes had made the dean’s list while pursuing her nursing degree.
Barbara Deer
From the Chicago Sun-Times:
Tuesday evening, Barbara Deer and her son, Kaleb, were found shot to death in their East Garfield Park home. An autopsy found Kaleb had killed his mother, then turned the gun on himself.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford, a close family friend, called it “a shock to all.”
“This is not something that anybody expected,” Ford told the Sun-Times. “It’s going to be a void in the community, on every level. … They were the model Black family in the community.”
Per Juneteenth Illinois, where Deer served as Executive Director, she was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and enjoyed volunteering and sewing.
Davonta Curtis
From the Chicago Sun-Times:
A man searched “how to kill someone with a hammer?” on Google before bludgeoning his transgender on-again-off-again girlfriend to death earlier this month in Garfield Park, according to Cook County prosecutors.
Deandre Bell, 24, also searched for, “if a person gets hit in the head with a hammer while sleeping what happens,” before striking the head of Davonta Curtis, 31, with a hammer in her apartment, according to a proffer read in court Saturday by prosecutors.
Additionally, here are 10 ways you can help end violence against women.