The Black Male: A Dangerous Double-Minority
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Description
In the summer of 1955, Emmett Till, was murdered after reportedly flirting with a white woman. In the winter of 2012, Trayvon Martin was murdered after being labeled a “punk” by a vigilante neighborhood watchman. Many, including Martin’s mother, have drawn comparisons between the deaths of Emmett Till and Martin. For Black males today, their deaths reveal one important fact: Black masculinity is still often perceived as threatening and dangerous in the United States. Although being male is often thought of as the quintessential majority status, when paired with the modifying identity Black, a unique set of detriments attaches. And the ways Black men have been pilloried has shifted from overt racist attacks to a more institutionalized, insidious, and subconscious form of racism. Although Black men may be equal on the books, reality has time and again proved this not to be the case. In recent years, the Black American struggle has been placed on the backburner by a ‘post-racial movement.’ But if there is something positive to glean from Martin’s tragic death, it is the fact that his death made race relevant, and catalyzed discussions concerning racial inequality and the struggles faced by Black males in America. This chapter explores how masculinity is a damning trait for the Black community. From mass incarceration, lack of education, and employment discrimination, Black men are languishing in almost every measurable achievement metric. Yet nowhere is the stark disparity between Black males and the rest more apparent than in the formation and enforcement of criminal laws. Criminal laws have been instrumental in shaping the narrative the dangerousness of Black males. Rape laws in particular have been wildly successful in casting Black masculinity in a threatening light. An important lesson for Black boys to learn, and for the U.S. to remember, is that equality in theory is much different, and often discordant, from equality in reality. Therefore, this chapter looks briefly at the history of rape laws and race, illustrating how laws impact the social construct associating Black masculinity with criminality, a construct that ultimately lead to the death of Martin.
Source Publication
Trayvon Martin, Race, and American Justice: Writing Wrong
Source Editors/Authors
Kenneth J. Fasching-Varner, Rema E. Reynolds, Katrice A. Albert, Lori Latrice Martin
Publication Date
2014
Recommended Citation
Harawa, Daniel S., "The Black Male: A Dangerous Double-Minority" (2014). Faculty Chapters. 757.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/757
