updated 8/19/2025I want to make this clear. There is no bragging in this post. No, "look the first woman was Black." That is extremely intere
updated 8/19/2025
I want to make this clear. There is no bragging in this post. No, “look the first woman was Black.” That is extremely interesting yet I am not surprised because the community came together to make this happen. Still, it appalls me that it took so long for a woman to get victory over rape.
Sometimes people accuse Black women who fight against sexual and domestic violence of “aligning with white women” or “following white women”. This argument wrongly assumes that Black women and Black girls have not had to take this fight on if we were to survive at all.
Did you know??
Joan Little was the first woman to be acquitted of murder
committed in self-defense against a sexual assault.
This woman fought for her life at every turn.
She was not “following white women” or “aligning with white women.”
She was fighting for her own survival.
Her freedom.
Her right to live in a society free of racism and misogyny.
Her right to live in a world that does not treat Black women — or any woman — as disposable, as bodies to be used for male pleasure.
🌹 Let’s be clear: I am proud of Joan Little’s strength and perseverance.
In awe, actually.
But I am not proud — nor joyful — that it took until 1975 for a woman to finally be acquitted for defending herself against sexual assault.
Think of the thousands before her:
Women put to death for resisting.
Girls lynched on their way to school.
Wives punished for defending themselves in their own homes.
Daughters assaulted within their families.
Women and girls raped in mental institutions, silenced twice over.
So many lives stolen.
So many cases buried under lies, cover-ups, and killings meant to protect men’s sins.
✨ Joan Little’s acquittal in 1975 was the first time the courts acknowledged a woman’s right to kill in self-defense against sexual assault.
That is far too late.
And it is a reminder: Black women — all women — have the right to fight for our protection, safety, and dignity, even when society refuses to stand with us.
originally from 6/2/ 22
