[Reader’s Reaction: Comment]
Strauss-Kahn. Photo: IMF via Flickr
With respect to the article Cyrus Vance’s Problem With Sexual Assault Victims Going Back to Nafissatou Diallo,
regardless of the fact that New York authorities refused to indict Dominque Strauss-Kahn, Black America had a responsibility to seek redress for the crimes committed against Ms. Diallo.
At the time I wondered where were all the professional Black womens’ organizations like the sororities who knew full well what the case represented? Until World War II most Black women in the U.S. were domestic servants and were regularly subjected to what Ms. Diallo suffered.
How many Black American mothers and grandmothers were abused because of White privilege during and after slavery? The Black community in New York and nationwide said nothing despite the fact that the forensic evidence proved the case against the perpetrator conclusively.
However the authorities stated that she had lied previously on her immigration application and consequently couldn’t be trusted. They conflated two very different occasions and did’t indict. The Internatonal Monetary Fund where Mr. Strauss-Kahn was employed immediately demanded and got his resignation and didn’t reinstate him after no charges were filed because they knew what type of creep he was.
Since his crime in the United States, he has been continually involved in sex abuse and even pimping charges in Europe. We as Black America lay down and didn’t answer the call on Strauss-Kahn.
