Female Genital Mutilation: Exploring Strategies for Ending Ritualized Torture; Shaming, Blaming, and Utilizing the Convention against Torture

The intent of this article is to graphically describe female genital mutilation (FGM); discuss the background of FGM and its health, psychological, and social implications; propose some workable solutions to ending FGM; and raise the level of awareness of the pain and suffering of women around the world. In part, this article will discuss invoking the Convention against Torture against those nations unwilling to end this horrific practice. There is also a caveat to this article: the author acknowledges that discussing solutions to the practice of FGM is not a simplistic and straight-forward endeavor. Solutions to ending FGM are as complicated as the societies that practice it. Therefore, ending FGM cannot be reduced to feel-good sound bites, but must be thoughtful, respectful, and deliberate

The True Legacy of Rosa Parks: Beyond the Civil Rights Movement

Rosa Parks died on October 24; her funeral was today. No doubt, there will be a flurry of well-deserved posthumous tributes and honors bestowed upon her. And no doubt, some will feel shame over the manner in which her sacrifices were depicted in later years - for instance, by the group OutKast. (Parks sued the group\u27s record company, in Rosa Parks v. Laface Records, over the unauthorized use of her name in a song title). The story of Mrs. Parks\u27s key role in the modern-day civil rights movement has been told and will be retold innumerable times. She has already been referred to, for many years, as the mother of the movement. We know well how, on December 1, 1955, in a brave act of civil disobedience, she violated the invidious Alabama Code ch. 1 § 8, which forbade all colored people from sitting in the front of the bus. And we know well, too, how her act served as the catalyst for a bus boycott, for the movement itself, and for the subsequent rise of a young minister named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But by casting Rosa Parks in the role of the mother of the civil rights movement, historians place a limit on her real role in shaping America into what it is today, both nationally and internationally. No wonder, then, that, as the Associated Press reported, at a memorial service for Mrs. Parks in Alabama, Condoleezza Rice commented, I can honestly say that without Mrs. Parks, I probably would not be standing here today as Secretary of State. The larger story is that of how Rosa Parks\u27s simple act of refusing to give up her seat in the colored section of the bus to a white man changed the world

Damn It! A Conversation on Being Black, Female, and Marginalized during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Is the World Listening? A Conversation between Black Female Law Professors

We are African American women with a combined forty-four years in academia. We are professors of law and have seen firsthand how COVID-19 has ravaged African Americans across this country. As we conversed with one another in the Spring of 2020 about what we were witnessing, we began to look through the spectrum of the law and discrimination, and how this novel Coronavirus is laying bare the inequities and inequalities that have been evident for hundreds of years in the Black community. We felt compelled to put pen to paper and document our conversations in an attempt to give a voice to those most negatively impacted by this deadly virus-those that have long been most underrepresented. We hope that by calling out these disparities, we somehow elevate our nation and change the course of the lives of Black women for the better

The Importation of Female Genital Mutilation to the West: The Cruelest Cut of All

This Article will explore the phenomenon of the importation of the practice of female genital mutilation to the Western world and the legal steps some countries have taken to ban it from their borders. This Article will also attempt to identify the culprits in perpetuating FGM and proffer some solution

“How Dare You Vote!” The Enactment of Racist and Undemocratic Voting Laws to Preserve White Supremacy, Maintain the Status Quo, and Prevent the Rise of the Black Vote – Saying the Quiet Parts Out Loud

Historically the United States has proudly described itself as a “melting pot,” declaring, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” However, if the truth is told, the United States of America has never been a melting pot. In a melting pot, the ingredients each contribute something to the pot that equalizes them into becoming a well-seasoned, indistinguishable meal. No one ingredient dominates the mixture, and each adds something that makes the pot richer. This country is more like a gumbo, a dish whose ingredients stand out, where some purportedly add more value to the mix than others. The term “purportedly” is intentional because the cook determines which ingredients are more deserving of being added to the gumbo and which should dominate the flavor, style, and end result. Yes, the United States of America is a gumbo, White supremacy has been the cook for far too long and the maintenance of power has been the main ingredient. America needs some new cooks in the kitchen. The right to vote has always been an unkept promise as America’s vision of equality has been distorted since its very inception. Many Americans believe the First Amendment is the most important right. The authors of this Article, however; believe that the right to vote is the foundational right because voting allows citizens to engage in the political process. Without participation in the political process, all other fundamental rights are diminished. While voting is touted as the cornerstone of American democracy, it is a promise repeatedly broken. We acknowledge that every person who is a minority in America, suffers from racism; however, but our focus here is on Black America

First, Do No Harm: Response to “If You Prick Me”

Brianna Lennon makes several cogent and persuasive arguments about Female Genital Mutilation (“FGM”) in her recently published Student Note entitled, If You Prick Me: The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Female Genital Cutting Policy Turnabout. She successfully articulates why she believes that by prohibiting FGM, opponents are in effect reinforcing it as a tie to the former culture or country. However, although Ms. Lennon makes some sound points, she overlooks and thereby, fails to answer the most obvious question which is, who owns a woman’s body? If one reaches the conclusion that a woman owns her body, then the logical extension of this is that FGM, by its very nature must be prohibited and eliminated and is “wrong.” When a society dictates, through tradition or some other form of forced persuasion, what a woman must do with her body in order to achieve a placed designed for her in that society, then, she clearly does not own her body. Moreover, notwithstanding cultural imperatives, nuanced intricacies, traditions, or the values of the culture which practice it, FGM is torture and should not and must not be tolerated. Perhaps it was the realization of these facts which led the American Academy of Pediatrics (“AAP”) to rethink and withdraw its endorsement of a ritual prick to replace FGM. This article is in response to the Note written by Ms. Lennon and is intended to further the dialogue on the subject of female genital mutilation

Brown Did Not Fail America, America Failed Brown

It is my belief that the failure of Brown v. Board of Education and the continuing problem of race in America stems from the fact that America never took ownership of the promise of Brown, and instead, viewed the decision purely in terms of desegregation, as opposed to integration. Consequently, integration has remained a concept instead of an action item. Implicit in this notion of desegregation is the idea that the races sit next to one another, while the concept of integration carries with it a much heavier burden. It appears that the races have never made a personal investment in each other and thereby have fallen short of meeting the high standard that true integration demands