Are Black Women Still The Most Disrespected People In America?

In 1962, Malcolm X delivered a powerful speech, asserting, “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most un-protected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.” 

This year as Women’s History Month came to a close, AFROPUNK analyzed just how far Black women have come since Malcom X’s oft-quoted words from over sixty years ago and also looks into how far we still have to go.

As Ann duCille, PhD, Visiting Scholar in Gender Studies at Brown University’s Pembroke Center and Emerita Professor English at Wesleyan University told AFROPUNK, “With one brilliant Black woman currently serving on the Supreme Court and another having completed a four-year term as Vice President of the United States and gone on to be nominated for the highest office in the land, I wish I could say, ‘We’ve come a long way, sisters.’”

From a political standpoint, as duCille pointed out, there have been some gains. For instance, while there were no Black women in Congress until Shirley Chisholm was elected in 1968, presently there are 31 Black women who are serving in the 119th Congress, and for the first time ever there are two Black women senators concurrently in office. For background, 12,519 people have served in Congress as either a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate since 1789. But data from Pew Research Center adds additional context, because “[o]f the 64 Black women ever to serve in Congress, 60 have served in the House, either as voting members (57), or as nonvoting members from D.C. (1) or the U.S. Virgin Islands (2).” This equates to a representation rate of Black women as being less than 0.01% in the history of our country’s legislative branch.

So, while Black women have increased representation there is still room for more progress, especially in the current political climate. “Unfortunately, in the time of Trump, so much of what we might have pointed to as progress is under siege as the nation marches forward to the past that would keep white male supremacy the law of the land,” duCille noted. “Former first lady Michelle Obama repeatedly polls high among the most admired women in the world, yet her own countrymen—from rightwing media hacks to conservative pundits, politicians and politicos—attempt to reduce the Princeton and Harvard-educated lawyer to a ‘baby mama,’ a mammy figure, and an angry Black woman.”

Another successful Black woman, a graduate of Northwestern University with a double major in theater and international studies, and a celebrated television star, has become the subject of online hate and vitriol since her affiliation to the royal family became public—Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex. As Vogue writes, “any words uttered by the Duchess of Sussex, the woman who splits opinion more than a jar of Marmite, instantly become weaponized,” with the article concluding that “her trolls’ latest battleground marks a sad and tedious continuation of the misogyny and racism surrounding Meghan Markle.”

“Similarly, former Vice President Kamala Harris, arguably the most qualified candidate ever nominated for the presidency—is publicly demeaned a ‘DEI hire,’” continued duCille. “Best of times or worst of times, when we go high, they would bring us low.”

Is it possible for a Black woman to achieve any iota of success in today’s world without drawing ire and criticism from the masses?

It might seem impossible, but for “Women’s History Month or whenever, it’s important for us to claim and even celebrate the accomplishments of African American women and our myriad contributions to the making and maintaining of a country that repeatedly betrays us,” duCille concluded. “But never, ever can we rest on our laurels. We must do what Black women have always done: fight for the rights and the well-being of those we love . . . and even for those who don’t love us back.”