What Daniel Holtzclaw's 263-Year Prison Sentence Means For Black Women
Daniel Holtzclaw has been sentenced to 263 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of 13 women while he was an officer with the Oklahoma City Police Department. He has been sentenced to 263 years. Of course, this sentence should have been a given, but in a judicial system where justice for black victims often seems like a sheer impossibility, it feels like a minor miracle.
In moments like these, I keep coming back to this 2013 quote from journalist Jim DeRogatis in an interview with The Village Voice: "The saddest fact I've learned is nobody matters less to our society than young black women. Nobody." It's almost painful how perfectly it encapsulates part of what it means to be a black woman. Yes, DeRogatis was referring to singer R. Kelly's alleged history of sexually abusing underaged black girls without consequence -- but it's a sentiment that, sadly, can be applied to so many other instances.
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