>> Sreenivasan: THE PROTESTS SET

OFF BY THE KILLING OF GEORGE

FLOYD IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA,

ARE BEING LED BY A NEW

GENERATION OF YOUNG ACTIVISTS,

MANY WHO ALSO WANT TO BRING MORE

ATTENTION TO THE STORIES OF

POLICE VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK

WOMEN.

I SPOKE RECENTLY WITH KEISHA

BLAIN, AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF

HISTORY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF

PITTSBURGH AND AUTHOR OF "SET

THE WORLD ON FIRE: BLACK

NATIONALIST WOMEN AND THE GLOBAL

STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM."

DR. BLAIN, IT SEEMS, AS WE HAVE

THIS NATIONAL CONVERSATION

THAT'S BEEN PROMPTED IN PART BY

GEORGE FLOYD'S DEATH, THAT THERE

IS SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE'RE

MISSING WHEN IT COMES TO AN

ENTIRE GENDER THAT'S STRUGGLING

WITH THE SAME THINGS.

>> YES, I THINK SO.

IN FACT, MANY ACTIVISTS IN THE

LAST FEW WEEKS HAVE BEEN

POINTING OUT THE FACT THAT EVEN

BEFORE THE POLICE KILLING OF

GEORGE FLOYD, BREONNA TAYLOR WAS

KILLED BY THE POLICE, AN E.M.T.

WORKER IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

AND ACTIVISTS HAVE BEEN

INSISTING THAT WE REALLY PAY

ATTENTION TO THIS CASE.

TO THIS VERY DAY, THE POLICE

OFFICERS WHO-- WHO KILLED TAYLOR

HAVE NOT BEEN ARRESTED.

AND I THINK MORE AND MORE PEOPLE

ARE SURELY TALKING ABOUT BRIANNA

TAYLOR, BUT THAT WAS JUST ONE

EXAMPLE OF HOW BLACK WOMEN'S

EXPERIENCES ARE OFTEN SIDELINED

IN NATIONAL NARRATIVES ABOUT

AMERICAN POLICING.

>> Sreenivasan: THERE WAS A

WHOLE "SAY HER NAME" CAMPAIGN

THAT WAS QUITE SUCCESSFUL IN

TRYING TO RAISE AWARENESS OF IT,

BUT IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT--

AND IT STILL ISN'T SOMETHING

THAT CREATES THE SAME KIND OF

HEADLINES.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS?

>> WELL, CERTAINLY, I THINK THE

DATA REVEALS TO US THAT THE

MAJORITY OF BLACK PEOPLE THAT

ARE-- WHO ARE KILLED BY POLICE

ARE YOUNG BLACK MEN.

SO, IN SOME WAYS, THE-- THE

FOCUS ON BLACK MEN IS-- IS VERY

MUCH REFLECTIVE OF WHAT THE DATA

TELLS US.

BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT THERE'S

ALSO, I THINK TO A LARGE EXTENT,

PERHAPS WE MIGHT SAY SEXISM AND

EVEN, YOU KNOW, PATRIARCHY,

WHICH IS TO SAY THAT THE WAY

PEOPLE WRITE ABOUT AMERICAN

POLICING TENDS TO FOCUS

PRIMARILY ON THE EXPERIENCES OF

BLACK MEN.

AND EVEN AS WE RECOGNIZE THAT--

THAT MOST BLACK MEN ARE KILLED

BY THE POLICE, I THINK THE KEY

HERE IS TO TELL THE WHOLE STORY;

THAT THE KEY HERE IS TO MAKE IT

CLEAR THAT BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS

ARE ALSO VULNERABLE TO STATE-

SANCTIONED VIOLENCE.

>> Sreenivasan: WHAT ABOUT THE

IMPACT OF THE VIOLENCE ON

EVERYBODY THAT'S RELATED TO OR

CONNECTED TO THE INDIVIDUAL,

RIGHT, WHETHER THEY ARE MOTHERS

OR SISTERS OR DAUGHTERS?

THAT THERE IS TRAUMA; THAT IT'S

NOT JUST THE ONE PERSON THAT

DIED, THAT GOT HURT, SO TO

SPEAK.

>> EXACTLY.

AND WE SEE THAT CLEARLY WITH THE

RECENT CASE OF ERIC GARNER.

WITHIN DAYS OF-- OF GARNER'S

DEATH, WE SAW HIS DAUGHTER,

ERICA, RISING ON THE NATIONAL

SCENE, PUSHING THE ISSUE,

DEMANDING, YOU KNOW, CHANGES IN

AMERICAN POLICING.

BUT-- BUT THE KEY HERE IS THAT

BLACK WOMEN ARE-- ARE CERTAINLY

AFFECTED.

WE CAN TALK ABOUT TRAUMA.

WE CAN TALK ABOUT JUST THE

EMOTIONAL TURMOIL THAT THEY GO

THROUGH.

AND IT'S NOT SURPRISING THEN

THAT THEY ARE OFTEN THE ONES AT

THE FOREFRONT OF THE FIGHT TO

BRING AN END TO POLICE VIOLENCE

AND BRUTALITY.

>> Sreenivasan: AND YOU

LITERALLY HAVE WRITTEN THE BOOK

ON THIS, THAT BEING AT THE

FOREFRONT OF THE FIGHT IS

SOMETHING THAT BLACK WOMEN HAVE

BEEN DOING FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

AND MY BOOK, YOU KNOW, "SET THE

WORLD ON FIRE," FOCUSES

PRIMARILY ON WORKING-CLASS BLACK

WOMEN AND IMPOVERISHED BLACK

WOMEN.

AND I THINK THAT'S KEY, TOO,

BECAUSE MANY OF THE WOMEN WHO I

TALK ABOUT DID NOT HAVE MUCH OF

A FORMAL EDUCATION.

MANY OF THEM DID NOT HAVE MANY--

DID NOT HAVE MUCH MATERIAL

RESOURCES.

BUT WHAT THEY DID HAVE WAS

PASSION.

AND WHAT THEY DID HAVE WERE

THEIR VOICES.

AND WHAT THEY DID HAVE WAS THE

ABILITY TO JUST OPEN UP AND

EXPLAIN WHAT THE PROBLEMS WERE

IN THEIR COMMUNITY, TAKE TO THE

STREETS AND DEMAND CHANGES.

AND EVEN WHEN THEY DIDN'T HAVE

ACCESS TO THE VOTE AT A TIME

WHERE BLACK WOMEN COULD NOT VOTE

IN THE 20-- EARLY 20th CENTURY,

THESE WOMEN WERE STILL

DETERMINED TO-- TO-- TO MAKE

CHANGES, TO SHAPE NATIONAL

POLITICS AND ALSO GO-- GLOBAL

POLITICS.

>> Sreenivasan: KEISHA BLAINE,

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY

OF PITTSBURGH, THANKS SO MUCH

FOR JOINING US.

>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.