Black Survivors and Activists in the Anti Violence Movement

Although not the article’s focus, there are descriptions of anti-Black violence, sexual violence, relationship violence, anti-LGBTQ violence, violence against sex workers, workplace sexual harassment, and campus-based violence.

The antiviolence movement would not exist without Black folks, especially Black womxn and queer and/or trans Black folks. While the CARE Office acknowledges that systemic racism has created unique vulnerability for Black survivors, we want to highlight some Black American activists and survivors throughout history. They have shaped and continue to shape the antiviolence movement. We also acknowledge the countless others we did not name; their bravery and passion influence our work.

1. Tarana Burke
   Tarana Burke is a survivor of sexual violence and the founder of the #MeToo Movement. Burke’s work in the antiviolence movement began while working with youth in Alabama; she realized that too many survivors do not have the needed resources to heal from sexual violence. She initially coined the phrase ‘Me Too’ so that young women of color could share their stories of survival with each other. Burke has said, “Me Too is a movement, not a moment.” Her work embodies this quote, and her theory of “empowerment through empathy” guides it. Burke emphasizes that healing from trauma is in transformative connections with others. Burke’s work in the #MeToo Movement empowers survivors as they embark on their journey of reconnecting with community and healing from trauma.
2. Ignacio G Hutía Xeiti Rivera
   Ignacio Rivera is a Queer, Trans/Yamoká-hu/Two-Spirit, Black-Boricua, and Taíno activist who has expertise in sexual trauma, healing, and liberation for marginalized people. Their lived experience of homelessness, poverty, and sexual trauma influences Rivera’s work. They are the founder and director of The HEAL Project, which focuses on ending child sexual abuse. Rivera hosts multiple podcasts that offer survivors a platform to discuss their journeys, challenge stereotypes, and educate others to stop further abuse. Their podcasts are on their YouTube channel. Throughout all of Rivera’s work, they center the sexual liberation of women, transgender, multi-gender, gender-queer, gender non-conforming, gender variant, and queer people of color.
3. Anita Hill
   Anita Hill is a lawyer, educator, and author born in segregated rural Oklahoma and eventually attended Yale Law School. In 1991, Hill testified before the all-male and white Senate Judiciary Committee about the sexual harassment she experienced while employed at the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by her then-supervisor, Clarence Thomas. He was in the process of being confirmed as a US Supreme Court Justice. Her testimony was broadcasted on live national television. Although Thomas was confirmed to the court, Hill’s testimony marked a turning point for many other workplace sexual harassment survivors. In the year after her testimony, the EEOC received 73% more reports of workplace sexual harassment. Many organizations also serving women in the workplace reported increased calls from survivors who were previously unaware that what they experienced was not only wrong but illegal and actionable. Congress also passed the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which expanded legal recourse for survivors of workplace sexual harassment. Hill continues to advocate against sexual harassment in the workplace.
4. Nyla Foster
   Nyla Foster is a Black woman of Trans experience. She works as the National Director for the Trans Woman of Color Collective. During her time as the Project Coordinator & Advocate for the ​Kansas City Anti Violence Project, Foster’s work focused on supporting members of the LGBTQIA community who experienced power-based personal violence. Foster also facilitated Kansas City’s first support group for Transgender People of Color. This program evolved into the Kansas City Transgender Empowerment Program, which focused on providing wrap-around services to the trans community. Foster is also known for her legal advocacy to change the state of Kansas’ transphobic policies surrounding the birth certificates of trans people. Foster was crowned Miss Black Trans International and is a former: Miss Missouri State, Miss Black Trans Kansas, Miss Kansas City Black Pride, and Miss Kansas City Gay Pride.
5. Recy Taylor and Rosa Parks
   In 1944, Recy Taylor was 24 years old when she was sexually assaulted by six white men who kidnapped her in Alabama. As news of the brutality of her sexual assault spread, the NAACP sent out Rosa Parks to investigate why police had not arrested anyone. Parks also experienced sexual violence during her lifetime, and her experience of survivorship fueled her work as an investigator. After Parks was threatened by the local sheriff while interviewing Taylor about her assault, she began the Alabama Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor. She publicized the pattern of racialized sexual violence in the South. While Taylor’s sexual assault made national headlines and many across the country expressed outrage at the injustice, no one was ever indicted for the attack. In 2011, Alabama lawmakers finally issued an apology for the violence Taylor experienced. Both Rosa Parks and Recy Taylor are remembered for their advocacy and activism surrounding racial justice and racialized sexual violence.
6. Marsha P. Johnson
   Marsha P. Johnson was a transgender activist for LGBTQ rights. However, the word ‘transgender’ was not a word she referred to herself since it was not commonly used. Johnson described herself as a gay person, transesvite, and drag queen. Johnson wore clothing that affirmed her gender identity during her childhood until she was sexually assaulted. After graduating from high school, Johnson moved to New York City, began to wear gender-affirming clothing again, and adopted the full name, Marsha P. Johnson. She primarily worked as a sex worker and experienced violence at the hands of her clients multiple times. In 1969, Johnson and other young trans women were on the frontlines of the Stonewall Uprising, a series of demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ community and considered by many to be the watershed moment for the LGBTQ rights movement in the United States. Johnson was vocal about the needs of trans folks as they were often more vulnerable to marginalization, harassment, and violence, often at the hands of the police. She and her friend, Sylvia Rivera, started STAR, which provided services and support to young transgender people experiencing homelessness. When Johnson contracted AIDS in 1990, she became vocal about not isolating those with the disease. Although Johnson died in 1992, her legacy can still be felt today. A waterfront park is named after Johnson in Brooklyn.
7. Loretta J. Ross
   Loretta J. Ross is a survivor of multiple sexual assaults and sterilization abuse. She is an activist for human rights, reproductive justice, women’s rights, and racial justice and a professor. Ross previously was the director of the DC Rape Crisis Center. Ross is one of the first people to coin the terms “reproductive justice” and “women of color,” along with other activists. When speaking about the term “women of color,” Ross explains that it is a statement of solidarity among women from marginalized backgrounds to work together to address the ways white supremacy and oppression uniquely impact them. Ross’s work centers around intersectionality, empowerment for women of color, and social justice.
8. Wagatwe Wanjuki
   Wagatwe Wanjuki is a first-generation activist, speaker writer, digital strategist, and campus antiviolence advocate. She is known as an advocate for a better sexual assault policy in institutions of higher education. Wanjuki experienced intimate partner violence and sexual assault perpetrated by her then-boyfriend while a student at Tufts University. Her grades suffered because of this traumatic experience; however, Wanjuki did not receive academic accommodations, and Tufts expelled her. Following her expulsion, Wanjuki organized with other activists to change the national campus violence policy and help other student survivors of power-based personal violence. She specifically became involved in advocacy surrounding the Title IX obligations universities have to survivors. Wanjuki also advocates for the needs of Black survivors of power-based personal violence by centering their experiences and voices in her work.
9. Raquel Savage
   Raquel Savage is a queer therapist, sex educator, and sex worker. Savage’s work focuses on sexual liberation via education and centers the experiences of queer and trans people of color, especially sex workers. She advocates for economic justice for Black trans women who are sex workers and provides rent relief through a mutual aid fund. Savage manages a production company that produces creative projects for BIPOC, sex workers, and queer folks. She is also the founder of the Zepp Wellness Center. The Zepp Center centers the mental health and healing needs of Black queer folks, survivors, and sex workers through trauma-informed and holistic services. Savage is committed to holding space and advocating for BIPOC survivors of sexual trauma and sex workers in addition to transforming her community.