Black Femininity and Stand Your Ground: Controlling Images and the Elusive Defense of Self-Defense

Abstract

Stand Your Ground (SYG) laws are color-blind and gender neutral in language, providing all citizens the right to use deadly force with no obligation to retreat when they experience a “reasonable” threat. However, SYG protections depend on implicit racial and gender biases. Using the case of Siwatu-Salama Ra, the elusive nature of SYG protections is explored as it relates to dominant stereotypes regarding Black femininity. The argument is made that this othering of Black women as aggressive, fearless, and in need of discipline is a miscarriage of justice and provides the ideological groundwork for the exclusion of Black women from self-defense protections.

Keywords

Stand your ground controlling images implicit bias degradation ceremonies

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

(2019) People of the State of Michigan v. Siwatu-Salama Ra. State of Michigan Court of Appeals.

Ackermann

Goodman

Gilbert

, et al. (2015) Race, law, and health: examination of ‘stand your ground’ and defendant convictions in Florida. Social Science & Medicine 142: 194–201.

Alexander

(2012) The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness New York: New Press.

Allen

(2016) Transforming Rage: Revisioning the Myth of the Angry Black Woman. Pacifica Graduate Institute, ProQuest.

Amour

(1997) Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism. New York: New York University Press.

Austin

(1995) Sapphire bound! In: Crenshaw

Gotanda

Peller

, et al. (eds) Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings that Formed the Movement. New York: The New Press, 426–437.

Banaji

Greenwald

(2013) Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People. New York: Bantam Books.

BerdejÓ

(2018) Criminalizing race: racial disparities in plea bargaining. Boston College Law Review 59(4): 1188–1249.

Bonilla-Silva

(2014) Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

10.

Browder

(2006) Her Best Shot: Women and Guns in America. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.

11.

Brown

(2012) Man lives to tell of Florida “shoot first” horror. Reuters. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-florida-shooting-law/man-lives-to-tell-of-florida-shoot-first-horror-idUSBRE82M19V20120323

12.

Burton

Cullen

Evans

, et al. (1998) Gender, self-control, and crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 35(2): 123–147.

13.

Carlson

(2014) From gun politics to self-defense politics: a feminist critique of the great gun debate. Violence Against Women 20(3): 369–377.

14.

Carlson

(2015) Citizen-Protectors: The Everyday Politics of Guns in an Age of Decline. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

15.

Carlson

(2018) Legally armed but presumed dangerous: an intersectional analysis of gun carry licensing as a racial/gender degradation ceremony. Gender & Society 32(2): 204–227.

16.

Cheng

Hoekstra

(2013) Does strengthening self-defense law deter crime or escalate violence? Evidence from expansions to castle doctrine. Journal of Human Resources 48(3): 821–854.

17.

Chiao

Mathur

(2010) Intergroup empathy: how does race affect empathic neural responses? Current Biology 20(11): R478–R480.

18.

Cikara

Fiske

(2011) Bounded empathy: neural responses to outgroup targets’ (mis)fortunes. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 23(12): 3791–3803.

19.

Coaston

(2018) She defended herself with a legally owned (and unloaded) gun. Now she’s facing two years in prison. Vox. Available at: https://www.vox.com/2018/2015/2014/17311452/gun-rights-black-lives-matter-michigan-siwatu-salama-ra

20.

Collins

(1991) Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. New York: Routledge.

21.

Collins

(2004) Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism. New York: Routledge.

22.

Cwiek

(2018) Is this pregnant activist in prison for defending herself and her family? Michigan Radio. Available at: http://www.michiganradio.org/post/pregnant-activist-prison-defending-herself-and-her-family

23.

Danielle

(2018) Activist Siwatu-Salama Ra is pregnant while behind bars for standing her ground. Essense. Available at: https://www.essence.com/news/activist-siwatu-salama-behind-bars-standing-ground

24.

Davis

(2007) Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor. New York: Oxford University Press.

25.

DeVito

(2019) Siwatu-Salama Ra’s criminal convictions reversed in court of appeals. Detroit MetroTimes. Detroit, Available at: https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2019/2008/2020/siwatu-salama-ras-criminal-convictions-reversed-in-court-of-appeals.

26.

Eberhardt

(2019) Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prjudice that Shapes What We See, Think and Do. New York: Penguin Random House.

27.

Forgiarini

Gallucci

Maravita

(2011) Racism and the empathy for pain on our skin. Frontiers in Psychology 2: 108.

28.

Fox

Fridel

(2017) Gender differences in patterns and trends in U.S. homicide, 1976-2015. Violence and Gender 4(2): 37–43.

29.

Ghandnoosh

(2014) Race and punishment: racial perceptions of crime and support for punitive policies. The Sentencing Project. Available at: https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/race-and-punishment-racial-perceptions-of-crime-and-support-for-punitive-policies/

30.

Gilens

(1996) “Race coding” and white opposition to welfare. American Political Science Review 90(3): 593–604.

31.

Gonzalez Van Cleve

(2016) Crook County: Racism and Injustice in America’s Largest Criminal Court. Stanford, CA: Standford Law Books.

32.

Haney Lopez

(2014) Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals have Reinvented Racism & Wrecked the Middle Class. New York: Oxford University Press.

33.

Hauser

(2017) Florida woman whose ‘stand your ground’ defense was rejected is released. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/2002/2007/us/marissa-alexander-released-stand-your-ground.html

34.

hooks

(1992) Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: South End Press.

35.

Humphreys

Gasparrini

Wiebe

(2017) Evaluating the impact of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law on homicide and suicide by firearm: an interrupted time series study. JAMA Internal Medicine 177(1): 44–50.

36.

Hurwitz

Peffley

(1997) Public perceptions of race and crime: the role of racial stereotypes. American Journal of Political Science 41(2): 375–401.

37.

Hurwitz

Peffley

(2010) And justice for some: race, crime, and punishment in the US criminal justice system. Canadian Journal of Political Science 43(2): 457–479.

38.

Jeltsen

(2016) Jury begins deliberations in trial of woman accused of killing her alleged abuser. Huffington Post. Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cherelle-baldwin-woman-killed-abuser-connecticut_us_56fae545e544b540a506d5803dcd5804

39.

Johnson

(2003) At the intersection of injustice: experiences of African American women in crime and sentencing. In: Wing

(ed.) Critical Race Feminism: A Reader. New York: New York University Press.

40.

Johnson

(2008) Racial prejudice, perceived injustice, and the Black-White gap in punitive attitudes. Journal of Criminal Justice 36(2): 198–206.

41.

Johnson

Simmons

Jordav

, et al. (2002) Rodney King and O. J. revisited: the impact of race and defendant empathy induction on judicial decisions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 32(6): 1208–1223.

42.

Jones

Shorter-Gooden

(2003) Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

43.

Jones

Norwood

(2017) Aggressive encounters & white fragility: deconstructing the trope of the Angry Black Woman. Iowa Law Review 102(5): 2017–2069.

44.

Kennedy

(1997) Race, Crime, and the Law. New York: Vintage.

45.

Kutner

(2014) Stand whose ground? How a criminal loophole gives domestic abusers all the rights. Salon. Available at: https://www.salon.com/2014/2010/2015/stand_whose_ground_how_a_criminal_loophole_gives_domestic_abusers_all_the_rights/

46.

Lee

(2003) Murder and the Reasonable Man. New York: New York University Press.

47.

Lee

(2012a) Five ‘stand your ground’ cases you should know about. ProPublica. Available at: https://www.propublica.org/article/five-stand-your-ground-cases-you-should-know-about

48.

Lee

(2012b) Marissa Alexander, mom facing 20 Years, shot at abusive husband in anger, prosecutor says. Huffington Post. Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/2005/2009/marissa-alexander-prosecutor_n_1504428.html

49.

Light

(2015) From a duty to retreat to stand your ground: the race and gender politics of do-it-yourself-defense. Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies 15(4): 292–298.

50.

Light

(2017) Stand Your Ground: A History of America’s Love Affair with Lethal Self-Defense. Boston: Beacon Press.

51.

Light

Schoen

(2019) Florida’s “stand your ground” law just got even worse. Slate. Available at: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/01/florida-stand-your-ground-law-just-got-way-worse.html

52.

Miller

(2008) Getting Played: African American Girls, Urban Inequality, and Gendered Violence. New York: New York University Press.

53.

National Conference of State Legislatures (2018) Self defense and “Stand Your Ground”. http://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/self-defense-and-stand-your-ground.aspx

54.

Orvalle

(2010) Florida law protects Miami-Dade man who pointed gun at FPL workers, judge rules. Sun Sentinel. Available at: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2010-11-17-fl-stand-ground-ruling-20101117-story.html

55.

Perkins

(2018a) How a flawed criminal justice system put a pregnant Detroit activist behind bars. Detroit: Metro Times. Available at: https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/2004/2002/how-a-flawed-criminal-justice-system-put-a-pregnant-detroit-activist-behind-bars

56.

Perkins

(2018b) Judge releases Siwatu-Salama Ra from prison during her appeal. Detroit Metro Times. Available at: https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/2011/2014/judge-releases-siwatu-salama-ra-from-prison-during-her-appeal

57.

Piggott

(2017) Marine veteran free years after failed ‘stand your ground’ petition. News4Jax.

58.

Purdie-Vaughns

Williams

(2015) Stand-your-ground is losing ground for racial minorities’ health. Social Science & Medicine 147: 341–343.

59.

S-S

(2019) A conversation on race and criminal justice reform. Presented by: University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

60.

Rios

(2011) Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys. New York: New York University Press.

61.

Roberts

(1997) Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty. New York: Pantheon Books.

62.

Robinson

(2000) The construction and reinforcement of myths of race and crime. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 16(2): 133–156.

63.

Roman

(2012) Do stand your ground laws worsen racial disparities? Urban Wire: Crime and Justice. The Urban Institute. Available at: https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/do-stand-your-ground-laws-worsen-racial-disparities

64.

Roman

(2013a) Race, Justifiable Homicide, and Stand Your Ground Laws: Analysis of FBI Supplemental Homicide Report data. Urban Institute. Available at: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/race-justifiable-homicide-and-stand-your-ground-laws/view/full_report

65.

Roman

(2013b) ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws: civil rights and public safety implications of the expanded use of deadly force - Testimony before the senate committee on judiciary: subcommittee on constitution, civil rights and human rights. Urban Institute. Available at: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/stand-your-ground-laws-civil-rights-and-public-safety-implications-expanded-use-deadly-force

66.

Rowe

Vazsonyi

Flannery

(1995) Sex differences in crime: do means and within-sex variation have similar causes? Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 32(1): 84–100.

67.

Russell-Brown

(2009) The Color of Crime. New York: New York University Press.

68.

Russell-Brown

(2018) The academic swoon over implicit racial bias: costs, benefits, and other considerations. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race 15(1): 185–193.

69.

Safe and Just Michigan (2018) Felony firearm in Michigan: A case study in what’s wrong with mandatory minimums. Available at: https://www.safeandjustmi.org/2018/08/07/felony-firearm-in-michigan-a-case-study-in-whats-wrong-with-mandatory-minimums/

70.

Samilton

(2020) Detroit Activist Pleads to Misdemeanor to Avoid Second Trial Over Brandishing Weapon. Detroit, Michigan: Michigan Radio of National Public Radio. Available at: https://www.michiganradio.org/post/detroit-activist-pleads-misdemeanor-avoid-second-trial-over-brandishing-weapon

71.

Slatton

(2014) Mythologizing Black Women: Unveiling White Men’s Deep Frame on Race and Gender. New York: Taylor & Francis.

72.

Slatton

(2017) Framing black women: the utility of knowledge. Sociology Compass 12(1): 1–11.

73.

Smith

(2003) Failing to mentor Sapphire: the actionability of blocking Black women from initiating mentoring relationships. In: Wing

(ed.) Critical Race Feminism. New York: New York University Press.

74.

Stroud

(2015) Good Guys with Guns: The Appeal and Concequences of Concealed Carry. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.

75.

United State Census (2018) Quick facts: Detroit City, Michigan. Available at: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/detroitcitymichigan,mi/PST045218.

76.

Verbruggen

(2018) Siwatu-Salama Ra’s self-defense claims, and the other side of the story. National Review. Available at: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/siwatu-salama-ras-self-defense-claims/

77.

Wallace-Sanders

(2008) Mammy: A Century of Race, Gender, and Southern Memory. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

78.

Welch

(2007) Black criminal stereotypes and racial profiling. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 23(3): 276–288.