The Final Girl: Homicide Victims and the Black Women They Leave Behind

• In Event: Poster Session 2

Abstract

The homicide rate of Black Americans continues to soar despite increasing awareness of their overrepresentation. The impact from this violence is often born by Black women, who are killed at disproportionately higher rates than women of other races. Another way that Black women are impacted by homicide is through secondary or co-victimization. Following a homicide in the Black community, loved ones are inconsolable with grief; however, it is frequently the victim’s mother, daughter, sister, aunt, romantic partner, and grandmother who carry the disproportionate social, cultural, and legal weight. Black women’s invisibility as secondary victims of homicide adds to their marginalization and puts them at risk for additional harms. In response to this issue, using a Critical Race Feminism and Intersectionality theoretical lens, this paper presents a commentary on Black women as survivors of homicide in the following five sections: firearm homicide; police brutality; and intimate partner homicide (IPH). Moreover, focusing on the often-overlooked racialized and gendered trauma of surviving a violent death - legal, social, and individual measures necessary to help Black women, their families, and their communities are introduced. In closing this section presents a springboard agenda for how to put these recommendations in place.

Author

• Brianne Michelle Posey, California State University, Northridge