Celia: How an Enslaved Girl Continues to Inform Black Women’s Work to End Violence Against Women

Celia1. (1855) Celia was a slave girl who was tried and executed for killing her enslaver after enduring years of rape.2. Her case brought to the fron

Celia

1. (1855) Celia was a slave girl who was tried and executed for killing her enslaver after enduring years of rape.

2. Her case brought to the front of the minds the question of an enslaved woman’s right to defend herself against sexual violence. At this time, Black enslaved persons were considered the property of enslavers who were overwhelmingly white.

Celia insisted that being considered property did not entitle an enslaver to subject the enslaved to rape. Thus, Celia may not have felt great about being considered ‘property’ but she was certain that she had to right to continue to set boundaries around her own body. She was way ahead of her time.

Essentially: “I will do your work that you torture and enslave me and untold numbers of others to do, but this body is mine. My body belongs to me!”

3. Celia could not even speak on her own behalf because it was against the law for Black people to testify against white people in the state of Missouri.

4. On her behalf, Celia’s defense argued that Missouri rape laws, which made it a crime “to take any woman unlawfully against her will and by force, menace or duress, compel her to be defiled,” applied to Celia, a slave woman or more accurately; an enslaved woman.

Celia’s case did succeed in putting some very important questions at the forefront. Her case was lost, and her life was not spared.

But, Celia succeeded in making black women’s campaigns for human dignity and sexual justice visible. Celia’s case galvanized many enslaved Black women. When Black women come together to fight against sexual violence.

Dismantling oppressive systems that continue to marginalize and silence Black women.
We use our voices and strength to serve as beacons of inspiration for generations to come.
Honoring those who came before us, those who fought, and those who sacrificed,
Standing courageously in defense of ourselves
Proclaiming as loudly as necessary: “This body is mine. My body belongs to me!” ….and teaching others to do the same.
Being resolute, unyielding, and courageous enough to stand, even if I must stand alone.

When many Black women welcome and embrace working alongside women of other races but refuse to pretend that our issues are just like the woman standing next to us who is not Black, it is women like Celia throughout history that we have in mind. Because there have been too many. Around the world.

We knew, as she knew, that other people, organizations, courtrooms, law enforcement, and systems do not treat Black women’s issues and sufferings the same as white women.

Black women’s bodies are deserving of dignity, respect, kindness, care, and love. And if that does not happen, like Celia, we are going to speak up and let you know that we demand a change.

“Teaching women how to defend themselves against male rapists is not the same as working to change society

so that men will not rape.”

― bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism

“Its not the victim’s duty to end rape.

We can have as many conferences as we like.

It’s not our duty”

― Malebo Sephodi

“When I say I am Black, I mean I am of African descent. When I say I am a woman of Color, I mean I recognize common cause with American Indian, Chicana, Latina, and Asian-American sisters of North America.

I also mean I share common cause with women of Eritrea who spend most of each day searching for enough water for their children, as well as with Black South African women who bury 50 percent of their children before they reach the age of five.

And I also share cause with my Black sisters of Australia, the Aboriginal women of this land who were raped of their history and their children and their culture by a genocidal conquest in whose recognition we are gathered here today.”

― Audre Lorde, A Burst of Light: and Other Essays

“And if Black men choose to assume that privilege for whatever reason- raping, brutalizing and killing Black women- then ignoring these acts of Black male oppression within our communities can only serve our destroyers.

One oppression does not justify another.”

― Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

Joan Little: First Woman Acquitted of Murder for Defense Against Sexual Assault | WE Survive Abuse

Are You ‘Tolerating’ More Hate Than You Think? | WE Survive Abuse

Women in Prison: Tomiekia Johnson Story | WE Survive Abuse

“R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Don’t Disrespect Me Just Because We Disagree | WE Survive Abuse

The Stubborn American Habit of Obstructing Black Girlhood | WE Survive Abuse

The Historic Demand from White Women for Black Women’s Labor: “Legalization” | WE Survive Abuse