Invisible No More

Invisible No More

Adult nonfiction
"Pulled over in a traffic stop and beaten by the side of the road.
Placed in a banned choke hold by a New York City police officer.
Violently taken into police custody, never to come out alive.
Shot first, questions asked later."
Presented with these scenarios, most people would picture the
victims of those violent incidents as Black males. Andrea J. Ritchie,
author of Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and
Women of Color wants readers to know that women and gender conforming
people of color often are treated just as brutally. She gives us a
much more nuanced and complete picture of the evils done by people who
are supposed to be protecting and serving.
This thoroughly researched and eminently readable volume will
enrage you, break your heart, and shatter a lot of what you've been
taught. Women of color are marginalized on counts of both color and
gender and others such as poverty or perception of disability.
Stereotypes that depict them as inclined to criminality, promiscuous,
drug addicted, superhuman in strength, and violent allow police to
treat them in ways they'd never treat white women and justify their
actions to their supervisors. Ritchie delineates all the ways in
which this injustice happens. Three chapters angered me the most.
As a mother I was incensed when I read the chapter about
policing motherhood. Can you believe tazing a visibly pregnant woman--
sending fifty thousand volts of electricity into her body--for
refusing to sign a speeding ticket? Try to imagine going through
labor and childbirth shackled. And there's police collaboration with
"child welfare" agencies. Often what is termed neglect is the result
of poverty. And actions that Black women's children taken away will
be overlooked when taken by white women.
Because I have two wonderful daughters who were nurtured and
protected during their public school years I was livid when I read
about equally wonderful Black girls, some as young as five, being
abused, criminalized, and shunted into the school to jail pipeline by
police.
As someone who had a would be rapist taken away by the police, I
can't imagine the horror of being savagely further victimized by law
enforcement or knowing that calling for help would be futile because
there is nobody to protect you.
All that is just the tip of the ice berg. Ritchie documents
enough savagery on the part of the boys and girls in blue to make
Dante's inferno look like a fast food restaurant play area. This
state of affairs is unacceptable.
If you're serious about putting an end to police brutality this
fine book is a must read.
On a purrrsonal note, I just keep getting better and stronger. And
I'm getting a lot of love. Sunday morning my church left a most
excellent COVID care package on my porch. Tuesday church Emily bought
me two containers of caramel core ice cream and two bottles of root
beer. I've been enjoying heavenly ice cream soda. Wednesday Lisa
dropped off a bag of BBE goodies including Kind candy and Capri Suns
and a Christmas cat shirt featuring a black cat with big gold eyes
tangled up in Christmas lights. I'm feeling the love ya know. (Jules)
The cat is gorgeous like me. But I'm a lot smarter. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to our many good friends.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


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