ABSTRACT
During the long 19th century, when slavery was institutionalized into the U.S. Constitution and racism was legitimatized by law, Black women were excluded from the protection of the law because of their race and gender. By examining institutional and structural racism and racialized and gendered norms through a legal and sociohistorical lens, this chapter situates Black women at the intersection of race and gender to demonstrate how they were left unprotected by the law and oppressed vis-à-vis the state. Through the application of intersectionality and policy analysis, it becomes obvious how contemporary Black women’s role in society is shaped by historical laws that were written to purposely subjugate Black women. This analysis provides insights about how legal oppression is constituted by multiple systems.
