Lecture Notes: The Suffering of Black Women and the Story of Jenny Steers

Introduction

The lecture highlights the horrific ordeals faced by black women due to being both black and female.
The narrative is part of a larger story of systemic injustice and oppression faced by black women.
The lecture follows a previous video about Mary Booth, a black child wrongfully convicted and sentenced at age 13.

At least 150 black women were lynched between 1880 and 1965 in the American South.
Lynching of black women contradicts the narrative that it was only to protect white women from black men.
Many black women were lynched for crimes like arson or poisoning without substantial evidence.
White newspapers often depicted black women as dangerous to justify such lynchings.

The narrative of black women as dangerous extends back to slavery, with fears of poisoning by enslaved black people.
Examples include Eliza Woods, falsely accused and lynched for poisoning a white woman in 1886.
Fear and stereotypes were perpetuated to maintain the racial caste system.

Jenny Steers was born in Louisiana in 1877, became a widow by 1900, and worked as a sharecropper and domestic worker.
In 1903, after the murder of her employer Alice Matthews, suspicion quickly turned towards Jenny without evidence.
Elizabeth Dolan, daughter of a prominent white man, died from poisoned lemonade, and Jenny was accused without proof.
Jenny fled but was found and lynched without trial.
The press demonized Jenny posthumously, blaming her for other crimes without evidence.

The media played a crucial role in depicting black women like Jenny as monstrous to justify lynchings.
Sensationalist stories were used to prevent sympathy for victims like Jenny Steers.
After Jenny’s death, similar crimes continued, yet the narrative shifted to other suspects.

The systemic demonization and wrongful accusations show the broader societal racism against black women.
Jenny Steers' story highlights the brutal reality of being a black woman in a racist society.
The lecture invites reflection on these injustices and the role of racial narratives.