Equal Protection under the law in the 21st Century (week 11)

3/16/2015

Watch the videos aboutCeCe McDonald and Marissa Alexander. Both cases involve a lack of protection under the law and a severe double standard that is present in the criminal justice system. In your blog post for our final week - discuss the various elements of their case and how it relates to what you've read and what you know needs to happen in order for these women to get justice.

Black Politics - Equal Protection under the law

Develop a 250 word original post by Friday and respond to another student by Sunday. Your original post should include an overview of what you read in Sister Citizen and other texts, an analysis of the two major themes from the reading a conclusion that asks critical thinking questions (open ended questions about the subject matter). These questions will be the prompt to other students to respond to you. Watch the video below to add context to the reading.

13 Comments

Makamae D.R Heinz

3/19/2015 12:48:26 pm

This was very disturbing news to learn about these videos that you shared with us. CeCe McDonald is a strong women. To imagine going through what she went through is hell. I could not imagine getting harassed and then almost killed is so terrifying. Then she defends herself and goes to prison still. Even though she did 19 months, that is still almost two years of her life. There is no reason that she had to spend time for this. I feel that if it was someone that was not transgender and even not African American that this would have not happened. How can they say the way she used the supposed to be weapon was not right when she felt her life was in danger. I believe that she would have been killed. The real part that was messed up was how he had the racist tattoo on him that they would not use. I think that justice was not served for CeCe but I am happy that she did get out. It is already hard to be of color and live. and CeCe was of color and transgender. I would worry about my kid so much if he or she was transgender because of all the evil people out here. I also enjoyed seeing all the support for CeCe and wish her the best. The other video also was very unjust and not fair. I believe her story and think it is horrible she can not use stand your ground for defense. They guy is alive also and she still gets treated like that. I think that she was treated unfairly for being a black women. Domestic Violence is really bad and is so common now a days. I have friends that get beat up by there boyfriends and go right back with them. They think that there boyfriends love them. It is not love. I learned that this all comes from how you were raised and what you experienced. What is right, and what is wrong. I think it was so unfair that they would not use stand your grand. In the books we read it talks about how we do not get treated equally and even by our gender and race. I hope that they come up with new laws that will help us. I hope it changes more and more in the future otherwise it will be more people of color behind bars. SI SE PUEDE!! yes we can!! make a difference and keep fighting for our rights!! I am happy that CeCe got a little bit of justice by getting out and happy that it was not more then what she spent.

Andre Mouton

3/20/2015 04:23:21 am

I like how you appreciated CeCe’s support because she could not have had a better person represent her. Ms. Lavern Cox the actor is an articulate, educated and extremely confident transgender person. I have nothing but respect for both of them. I like the advocacy presented here and the hope of an end to hate and misunderstanding of transgender people and the choice to be who you are and not who society says you are.

Marcos Guzman

3/20/2015 03:37:00 pm

I agree how Cee Cee sentence was unjust. Had the roles been reversed if the white neo nazi had murdered Cee Cee I feel that the justice system would have dropped the charges against him and approved his self-defense claims. Even if he murdered her in a more gruesome way he still would have been let free. The white male would probably justify his actions with she was harassing him, he felt violated or physically threatened.

Gabriela Hernandez

3/22/2015 05:08:19 pm

I agree I feel what happened was vey unjust and I feel that everything that happened to her was not taken into consideration when all she was doing was defending herself which I still think is ridiculous for putting this victim into prison. If it wasn't for defending herself,she would have ended up dead and I'm pretty sure their would have been no justice and the time Cece wasted in prison is time that she will never get back.

3/19/2015 05:36:31 pm

In the case of African American transgender CeeCee McDonald she was attacked by a white male who initiated an attack with a glass bottle striking her after spurring out homophobic slurs seemed like a clear case of self- defense and an enhancement charge of a hate crime but what should have been happened in my opinion is indicative of American racisism and bigotry in the criminal justice system and the police department to charge CeCe with murder.
If the attacker would have been black and was killed by a white transgender it would have been a different story in my opinion. Although transgender people have been victims of discrimination here race plays a role but in addition to the decision is the fact that CeCe was a transgender a group of people who has been fighting for civil rights and at that time the murder rate for gay transgender people was at an all-time high in the year of 2011.
Another problem is that she was not only charged but found guilty and was forced to take a plea bargain of 42 month in order not to receive 80 years. CeeCee should have been given a pardon from the governor, Laverne Cox also a transgender played CeeCee role in a movie based on her story also who told her story about when she was born where she had to experience the guild and “shame” (Harris-Perry, M.) for being who she wanted to be and not who she was told to be.
Transgender individuals should be protected under the constitution just as any other person is. There should be more education on transgender hate crimes and the criminal justice system should protect them as human beings
In the case of Marrisa Alexander where she was standing her ground in the same state where George Zimmerman’s case was seemed to be a no brainer based on the history and the circumstances that placed Marrissa in an uncompromising situation and forced her to make a decision to protect herself or possibly be killed as in what her husband told her he would do.
Marrisa Alexander’s case is a clear case that places “gender violence and racialized prisons” (Williams-Crenshaw, K.) at the forefront of woman’s rights and feminist groups alike concerning the biases of the criminal justice system. Marrisa should have never been charged with a crime in fact her husband should have been charged because he is the perpetrator.

Makamae Heinz

3/20/2015 07:32:40 am

YES!! I did not even think about it that way. If the person that was killed was black and the person who did it was white Yes! It would totally be a different story. The person would have not went to prison. I know they would have got off for self defense. I also agree that transgender people should be treated equally like any human being.

Marrisas husband should have been charged. I feel bad how she had to go to prison for him because of her protecting herself. I read how he had already hurt her before. I know if she was white it would have been where she stood her ground. They treated her different because of her color.

amal pujol

3/22/2015 04:22:07 am

Hi Andre,
i absolutely agree with you that Trans people deserve to be protected under the constitution the same as anyone else. It sickens me that George Zimmerman was really hailed as a hero after murdering a innocent 17 year old boy who he chased down after racial profiling. These acts deeply hut our community and threaten to tear the nation apart because when it comes to our regard justice it seems that justice is never upheld.

3/20/2015 03:31:13 pm

Marissa Alexander was a women defending herself against her abusive husband. He was arrested and charged with probation for his actions. Marissa attempting to defend herself grabbed her gun and fired it. She felt that by her standing her ground she was protected by the law. The jury did not agree a found her guilty of attempted murder. She now possibly faces twenty years in prison. There is a lack of protection and a clear double standard element due to her race, gender and economic status. Cee Cee was a transgender women who was assaulted on her way grocery shopping by a neo nazi male who had previous convictions of assault. The male bashed a glass bottle in her face. In her defense she pulled out scissors and killed the white male. Cee Cee was then charged with second degree murder and manslaughter. An innocent transgender women was jailed for defending her life. She had to take a plea deal or spend the rest of her life behind bars. The evidence presented against the deceased male in defense of Cee Cee was all dismissed, Why? Because he was a white male. Color and Race will forever dictate power, status and prestige in this country. This was evident of just that. This situation was clear transphobic hate crime against a transgender women. Had it been a white women, the charges against her would have not been filed. The readings correlate with the struggle of transgender women showing how they are second class citizens to this country. Race and color dictate your status but sexuality automatically places you as a third level citizen in society. In order to receive justice and equality for the LGBT community awareness has to be raised and laws have to be passed protecting LGBT community against homophobic racist citizens of this country. A clear statement has to be made from the top of this government setting an example of discriminating against LGBT. Communities have to begin to come out of the Stone Age and realize that LGBT is a community that very much exist and is not going to fade away. We as a society understand that the LGBT community has made much progress since the 70’s though it has much more to go what do you feel will be the mile stone for this community in regards to achieving equality?

Jordan S. Leopold

3/27/2015 04:52:14 am

Marcos, I agree that the LGBTQ community has come a long way and has made great strides to obtain greater equality and respect within the nations society and institutions. As you imply, much more ground still has to be covered to truly achieve greater equality. And I feel that the next milestone are marriage rights, simply being able to marry absolutely anyone you want; prison rights, being protected within the prison complex themselves and not having to suffer from the possibility of being harmed or killed by other inmates or even the prison officials; and most importantly, gender identification rights... Why do many applications only list "Male" or "Female"? That alone can make people feel isolated because they see that that particular space might not acknowledge them for not identifying themselves in a binary way. There are many more issues such as discrimination by law enforcement, which is a hot issue among ALL "minority" communities around the nation. Being able to be protected by the law, and not killed by the law.

3/21/2015 12:26:45 pm

I think lavern cox is an extremely strong, smart, motivating person that has a lot of experience as well as a lot of confidence. I feel that for both of them its been a journey to be where there at today I feel that they brought up a lot of good points and I feel that Cece is extremely determined and strong for all what she's been through and taken the courage and speak about her experiences. I feel that It was very interesting of what they said about the gender and stereotypes that are given at birth which is vey true. I feel that her sentencing was completely unfair especially for her 19 months is 19months that is time that is never going be given back to her especially since she was just defending herself.

3/27/2015 04:41:06 am

I absolutely agree Gabriela. Cece displays true strength as a strong, determined female activist, having to face the discrimination that she does as a transgendered woman and continuing to fight the fight long after her release from prison. I'm extremely glad that she only served 19month over the 80 possible years that initially threatened her. Even though she didn't intended to kill the man, no one should have to suffer from brutal attacks like her and Marissa faced.

Amal Pujol

3/22/2015 04:08:06 am

Watching these two interviews and hearing the stories of these women takes me back to the first three chapters of Black Feminist thought and to the video of Dr. Crenshaw. I kept thinking about intersectionality throughout these videos and seeing how violence against women of color actually did put them at a higher risk for incarceration just as Dr. Crenshaw spoke of in her video. The issue with Marissa Alexander being denied the right to stand her ground against a man who had been arrested for many acts of violence towards her and her having to face 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot just breaks my heart. It is a slap in the face for all women of color that once against says these laws were not meant to protect and only pertain to us when they are against us. In the same regard for CeCe McDonald who is a trans-woman but nonetheless a woman of color who was convicted for defending her self during a hate crime. She should have never been incarcerated and that was a violation of her basic human rights to defend her life. If these women where white then they certainly would have not gotten this despaired treatment. What can steps can we take to ensure that women of color who have been the victim of domestic violence or hate crimes receive the support they need to move past that trauma? In what ways can we foster healthy thinking with gender roles in our own homes and within our own families?

3/27/2015 04:33:24 am

It's ironic how we're constitutionally granted "equal protection" under law yet that is clearly not evident in cases like Marissa Alexander and Cece McDonald's, which are a prime example of how our judicial system is terribly flawed and expands on the dialogue raised by cases like Mike Brown and Eric Garner (even though these cases happened long before Garner and Brown's). These women's cases showcase the racist, sexist, transphobic, and classist discrimination that is tearing apart the black community and other "minority" groups within the nation.

For Marissa, to have been charged 20 years for discharging warning shots against her historically violent husband that wasn't hurt is ridiculous. Even more so as her "stand your ground" defense was denied when individuals like George Zimmerman can kill 17-year old Trayvon Martin and be protected by the same defense. The fact that the jury concluded she was guilty in a matter of 12 minutes should have hinted for investigation as it clearly expresses discrimination as they failed to thoroughly examine the case and the evidence provided. In addition to the racial discrimination at play within Florida, it also shows the patriarchy that exist within the country, Marissa was guilty as her husband is off free of any scratches. And his statements are horrific to say the least...

Cece McDonalds case is extremely similar yet very different as it displays the discrimination against transgendered women of color within the judicial and prison system. The same constitutional irony is ever present here as Cece defended herself after being attacked by a man with the intent of killing her. Instead of falling victim, Cece killed the man in self-defense. The jury failed to acknowledge the fact that the man was a neo-nazi who was extremely drugged and aggravated. In addition, she was sent to a male prison even though she identified as a woman, another act that showcases the racial and gendered discrimination within our flawed judicial and prison system. I do commend Cece for choosing not to fight this decision as it provided her increased insight into the broken system and what it feels like to be discriminated in that sense, all in an effort to greater address the issues many around the nation face.

I want ask, to what lengths must we do as citizens to address these racial, gendered, sexist, and classist forms of discrimination within our country's systems? What must be done within the system to create this change?