The Claudine Gay incident is a reminder that we need to be aware of how the “intersectionality” project is progressing.
That idea hurts accomplished black women like Barbara Jordan, Condi Rice, Jessye Norman, Zora Neale Hurston, and others after centuries of oppression by racism and sexism. Although it didn't seem like it, black women would finally have rights. Fair shot. Think about untapped talent.
But so far, intersectionality has led many Black women to work in high-profile jobs far beyond their capabilities. Or, as a former Harvard University president once said, “A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.”
Claudine Gay speaks to the crowd after being named the new president of Harvard University on December 12, 2022. (Erin Clark/Boston Globe via Getty Images)
This will be the first in a series of regular columns I'll be publishing looking back at the accomplishments of those at the top of the intersectionality mountain. Let's start with two heroic black female prosecutors.
Marilyn Mosby started a trend of great black women saving America by becoming prosecutors. One of her first cases involved notorious Baltimore heroin dealer Freddie Gray, who was fatally injured while being transported in the back of a police van. Just 10 days later, Mosby promptly closed her police investigation and then, without finishing her own investigation, accused all six officers involved (three black, three white) of murder and negligence. He was charged with capital murder.
Because of this, Mosby was quickly hailed as a national hero.she was photo taken Written by Annie Leibovitz trendinvited on stage Prince's benefit concert Features On the “Today” show, named She was awarded the 2015 Junius W. Williams Young Lawyer Award by the American Bar Association, the Women of Courage Award from the National Women's Political Caucus in the same year, and was named 2016 Newsmaker of the Year by the 2016 Nonstop Newsmakers. chosen as the year honor.
Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby answers questions during a May 1, 2015 press conference and discusses the arrest of the police officer involved in the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun/ (From Tribune News Service, Getty Images)
She told the public that Gray's switchblade was legal. (that It wasn't like that) She said that the career criminal who was in the van with Gray (who said she heard Gray intentionally banging his head on the partition) was a “police informant.” (he It wasn't like that) Later, her office was in court, even with Gray's knife. had The police didn't know about the knife when they took him into custody because it was illegal (it was illegal). (It's not a law, it was stopped legal. )
As a friend of Mosby put it is new york times“These are fairly rudimentary matters, so it's perplexing that Mosby's team decided to make them an issue in the lawsuit.”
The first three trials of the officers ended with “not guilty” verdicts, with one hung jury, and Mosby subsequently dropped all remaining charges.
In her first year in office, Baltimore's murder rate increased It increased by nearly 60%.
Rounding out Mosby's accomplishments, a jury convicted her on two counts in November of this year. perjury Charged with lying about having no income to withdraw money under the CARES Act to take two vacation days. House In Florida. What she is currently facing is Disarmament By the Supreme Court of Maryland.
Another groundbreaking intersectional prosecutor is Kim Gardner, who became St. Louis's first black circuit attorney in January 2018, calling for an end to “a flawed tough-on-crime rhetoric that has never succeeded.” I promised to hit it. (In practice, it's always successful, but why not try a soft policy on crime?)
Gardner continued: drop Seventy-five percent of the felony cases brought to her were handled by police, and she became Eliot Ness when pursuing police officers and white homeowners.
In 2011, Officer Jason Stockley shot and killed a convicted drug dealer, firearms offender, and criminal. thiefAnthony Lamar Smith, after a high-speed car chase, Smith showed his hands and refused commands to “open the door!” and instead reached for a gun. proven The gun and bag of heroin found in the car, the forensic evidence showing the angle at which the bullet entered Smith's leg, and the fact that Smith had earlier brandished the gun at the officers who were chasing him.
as a judge observed“Based on nearly 30 years on the bench, an urban heroin dealer who doesn't own a firearm would be an anomaly.”
Six years later, Gardner was still trying to send Stockley to prison for first-degree murder, although state and federal prosecutors declined to prosecute.he was found not guilty
The year Stockley was tried, the highest sentence was handed down in St. Louis. crime percentage within the country.
St. Louis Circuit Court Attorney Kim Gardner poses for a photo on May 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Under Chief Law Enforcement Officer Gardner, the city set new high-level records in 2020. murder percentage within the country. Children were killed and injured by guns in St. Louis. 10 times National rate. 17 people in 12 hours in May shot.
However, Gardner threw himself into prosecuting a white couple, Mark and Patricia. McCloskeyHe didn't even fire a gun, let alone kill someone. swayed They pointed guns at passing BLM demonstrators from their property, fearing that they would come to destroy their homes.
As Gardner described his “reform” agenda, “We're looking at how we can use innovative data to directly make decisions about who to charge.” As it turned out, the “game-changing data” included determining whether the suspect was white.
She charged the McCloskeys with felonious use of a firearm. They ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, paid fines, and received pardons from the governor.
Gardner had a secret.”exclusion list” targeted 28 veteran police officers with an undisputed history of “racist” posts on Facebook. (One egregious example: telling Gardner “Kimmy G'') Her office refused to accept cases or testimony from people on the exclusion list, resulting in careers being destroyed and murder cases confiscated.
In 2019, she falsely accused police of trying to intimidate her by pulling over her car. christmas eve I held her for 15 minutes for no reason. Video evidence shows she was pulled over for driving without her lights on and was detained for just six minutes. And it was two days before Christmas.
Within a few years, more lawyers left Gardner's office has had a staff since she took over.
In November 2022, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmidt report It expected to fire her for neglect of duty and detailed Gardner's “relentless refusal to prosecute.”
On May 16, 2023, she resigned from her position shortly before being ousted.
I think we all share the idea that no one should be denied a job because of their race or gender. What we are learning the hard way is that people with these traits should not be given jobs.
