by Melanie McCoy
Before the Montgomery bus boycott, there were issues that arose surrounding the sexual violence of Black women perpetuated by white men during the Jim Crow era. According to Danielle L. McGuire in At the Dark End of the Street, activists such as Rosa Parks and Jo Ann Robinson explored this taboo phenomena. Here are nine disturbing facts about the raping of Black women during this era.
White Men Who Get Away with Crime
White men who sexually assaulted Black women often admitted to their crimes within the trial. Despite this fact, these men were able to leave trials freely without indictments because of grand jury decisions.
Recy Taylor Raped by Seven White Men
On Sept. 3, 1944, sharecropper, wife and mother Recy Taylor was raped at gunpoint by seven white men. Taylor was offered $100 from each of her attackers. None of the assailants faced any jail time. Four years ago, almost 67 years after the brutal attack, Taylor and her family received a formal apology from Alabama state Rep. Dexter Grimsley for the state’s failure to prosecute her rapists.
