Rachel Alicia Griffin, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Southern Illinois University, came to speak to West Chester University about sports, gender violence, and its black female survivors on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015.
Dr. Griffin is a true teacher scholar that researches special interests that include black feminist thought, popular culture, social justice, and critical race theory. She wrote a book in 2013 titled “Gender Violence and the Black Female Body: The Enduring Significance of ‘Crazy’ Mike Tyson,” which applies black feminist theory to anti-gender violence.
She has been a guest speaker at many colleges and conferences and WCU had the honor of having her present, during a time of celebrating diversity. She delivered keynotes based on gender studies, sexuality studies, and the offensive pedagogy of Mike Tyson’s sustained fame.
Dr. Griffin presented the ways black women endure violence at the hands of black men. The public incident that she referred to was when Desiree Washington accused Mike Tyson of rape on July 19, 1991.
Dr. Griffin stated that black women have been and still are the legal property of others and are cast as sapphires meaning they are evil, hateful, and dangerous. She explained that black men raped women for power and control.
She feels that Desiree Washington was seen by society as either an 18-year-old survivor or a sellout because they feel like she betrayed the community for telling her story. There was no way for her to ever come forward and speak out because she was going up against “the baddest man on the planet.” When Tyson was sentenced, Desiree Washington was already in hiding because she was scared of the media.
Dr. Griffin mentioned that during and after the State of Indiana v. Michael G. Tyson trial in 1992, people wanted him free as they rallied to Tyson’s defense, asked for autographs, made “Free Mike Tyson” t-shirts, told him to keep his head up, and protested against racism. He was a black male, but the white men in similar cases, the Patricia Bowman & William Kennedy Smith Trial and the Anita Hill & Clarence Thomas Hearings, prior to this case were found not guilty.
Griffin explained that his release was celebrated because many thought he would not be convicted; they believed he was a victim of vindictive and unstable woman, and he was a good black man that was brought down.
Since his release, he has earned over $100 million. Tyson still has a large fan base, a brand new animated television series titled “Mike Tyson Mysteries,” a show titled “Mike Tyson’s Undisputed Truth: Live on Broadway,” which sold out all six times in Las Vegas, and he received a guest role in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
In some of his performances, he joked about inviting his lawyer and his judge. The audience was clapping and cheering and many celebrities are consigning by supporting Tyson. The tickets for his show range from $75-300.
Dr. Griffin asserted that society carries responsibility for continuing to tune in and support Tyson as a retired boxer, promoter, producer, and actor. For example, Oprah took a picture with him, but she is a victim of sexual violence. Law & Order had him on the show as a guest that plays a rape victim, but their show is based on violence and crime, and Law & Order considers this episode to be one of their strongest in the last five years.
It seems that many people have either forgotten that Tyson is a rapist, or they are ignoring the fact that he is a rapist. It is as if society is saying that black women should suffer in silence, black women can be disrespected with no repercussions, and racism is more problematic and important than sexism.
Dr. Griffin made it clear that Tyson felt the right to take whatever he wanted from Desiree Washington. He believed he did nothing wrong because society never stood up to him. He never learned his lesson, which is why it seemed that he can treat black women any way that he wanted.
Dr. Griffin’s concluding statement was, “Even Tyson got the benefit of the doubt, he’s rich, he’s famous, he raped Desiree Washington, and we don’t culturally care.”
Brittany Donald is a fourth-year student majoring in English. She can be reached at BD760628@wcupa.edu.