Monday, August 29, 2016: Women's Magazine examines how race and class influence sexual assault cases?

Recently widespread outrage has erupted over the bias and leniency in court decisions involving rape and the general acceptance and prevalence of violence against women.  In California, a judge's decision to give a white former Stanford University swimmer an unusually lenient  six-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious Stanford student sparked a campaign to have him removed after the victims stomach churning impact statement went viral.  The outrage of women has succeed in forcing Judge Aaron Persky to give up his docket of criminal cases. This is just one of the many cases of sexual assault that women have been protesting in the media garnering widespread attention and also raising the issue of how race and class influences sexual assault decisions.  

Another incident which Black feminists have taken the lead in debating is the alleged sexual assault by actor and director Nate Parker 17 years ago, which came to the attention of the media  after his recent remarks about the victims suicide while promoting his new film "Birth of Nation" about the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner, a film which had been destined for an Oscar.  Today we talk about that case and how class and race intersect with issues of sexual assault  with African American Lesbian Feminist filmmaker and writer  Aishah Shahidah Simmons. Simmons directed the groundbreaking film “No! The Rape Documentary.” Check out Aisha's Vimeo channel at https://vimeo.com/afrolez. Also see Afrolezproductions.com for more information and discussions about rape.

Click here to listen to entire show. 59:50 min