Megan Thee Stallion is continuing to share her experience of being shot twice in the foot earlier this summer as a way to advocate for the protection of Black women. “Even as a victim, I have been met with skepticism and judgment,” she wrote in a new op-ed for the New York Times on Tuesday. “The way people have publicly questioned and debated whether I played a role in my own violent assault proves that my fears about discussing what happened were, unfortunately, warranted.”
The rapper begins her essay by connecting the issues Black women face to the upcoming election. “In the weeks leading up to the election, Black women are expected once again to deliver victory for Democratic candidate,” She wrote. “Despite this and despite the way so many have embraced messages about racial justice this year, Black women are still constantly disrespected and disregarded in so many areas of life.”
Tory Lanez, who has been charged with shooting Megan, is set to be arraigned today in Los Angeles court on felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. On Friday, Lanez thanked his fans in a tweet, reminding them that “a charge is not a conviction,” and “time will tell…and the truth will come to the light.” Megan added that violence like this “happens because too many men treat all women as objects, which helps them to justify inflicting abuse against us when we choose to exercise our own free will.”
This article also comes on the heels of Megan’s headline-grabbing, debut Saturday Night Live performance in which she called out Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron for denying justice for Breonna Taylor and her family, during a musical interlude that included recordings of Malcom X and activist Tamika Mallory. While she anticipated backlash for the moment, she wrote in the Times, “I’m not afraid of criticism. We live in a country where we have the freedom to criticize elected officials. And it’s ridiculous that some people think the simple phrase ‘Protect Black women’ is controversial. We deserve to be protected as human beings. And we are entitled to our anger about a laundry list of mistreatment and neglect that we suffer.”
She goes on to say that she wishes she and other young Black girls had the opportunity to learn about all of the important things Black women have contributed to society throughout history and that she hopes Kamala Harris‘s candidacy, “will usher in an era where Black women in 2020 are no longer ‘making history’ for achieving things that should have been accomplished decades ago.”
“But that will take time, and Black women are not naïve,” she concludes. “We know that after the last ballot is cast and the vote is tallied, we are likely to go back to fighting for ourselves. Because at least for now, that’s all we have.”
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