*Silence from National Organization for Women (NOW) regarding police misconduct in McKinney, Texas is not sitting well with Roland Martin.
On Tuesday (June 9), the “NewsOne Now” host put the feminist organization and several others on blast for failing to voice support for Dajerria Becton, according to TheRoot.com. In a video that has gone viral, the 15-year-old was violently taken down by now ex-police officer David Eric Casebolt, who was among the police officers called in to shut down a pool party.
News of the incident has ignited criticism of the officer(s) and the lack of mainstream feminists speaking out on what happened to Becton.
“All too often, in cases involving black women, NOW has been missing in action,” Martin said. “You can’t say that you care about women,” Martin said, “but then you only care about women who are nonblack.”
In addition to calling out NOW on the air, Martin took to social media to further blast the organization with the following tweet:
<center>Does anyone know if the National Organization for Women @NationalNOW has come to the defense of the 14-year-old girl slammed to the ground?
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) June 9, 2015</center>
Responding to the uproar, NOW released a statement about the incident with its President, Terry O’Neill calling for a Department of Justice investigation as well as the resignation of the Casebolt.
The following is NOW’s statement:
We can only look with revulsion on the images from McKinney, Tex., of a white police officer pushing a 15-year old Black girl in a bathing suit face-down on the ground and placing a knee on her back. Today, we are shocked, angered, and deeply worried for the well being of this young woman. Tomorrow, we need answers, and action.
If the girl had been white, would she have received the same treatment from the white police officers on the scene?
Would the white police officer involved have even considered pulling a white teenage girl by the hair while screaming “ON YOUR FACE!” and then sitting on top of her while she cries, “call my mother”?
Would the white police officers have responded to a similar incident involving unarmed white teenagers at a community pool by an outrageous use of violence and intimidation: brandishing weapons, placing the teens in handcuffs, and verbally and physically abusing them?
Placing the officer on administrative leave is an insufficient response, particularly in light of the fact that this police department has a history of racial tension. NOW calls for the immediate firing of the police officer who committed the abuse, and immediate leave without pay for the officers who abetted him. In addition, NOW calls on the U.S. Department of Justice to immediately launch a full-scale investigation into the conduct of the McKinney, Texas police department. We can no longer tolerate the racial injustice that seems to have become a hallmark of too many police departments across our nation. Black girls’ lives matter.
As it turned out, Casebolt resigned early Tuesday. Nevertheless, Martin continued to call out NOW, saying, “Once again, these so-called organizations that support women’s rights proved that black and Latino women are in this fight alone. And guess what? We got this.”
To see Martin’s criticism of NOW: check out the video below:
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
