The Louder the Attacks on Black Women, the Quieter the Response

The attacks are ugly. The silence is uglier. Just ask Jasmine Crockett.

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is one of a very small number of Democrats consistently willing to take MAGA bullies head-on. She shows up, calls it like it is, and takes on the fights too many of her colleagues avoid. And how is she repaid? By being targeted with the same tired, nasty nonsense Laura Loomer is known for.

And let’s be real: Loomer is a professional troll — banned from platforms for hate speech, a self-described Islamophobe, and a conspiracy peddler. Her latest unhinged attack is just more of the same, and honestly, not worth more than an eye-roll. Is anyone really checking for Laura Loomer? The real story isn’t that an unserious grifter ran her mouth — it’s that when she went after Crockett, too few people with power and platforms have said anything at all in her defense yet (and probably won’t). Once again, a Black woman is out here leading and catching strays, while the folks who should have her back stay quiet.

And here’s the thing: there are usually no calls for civility when the target is a Black woman. No op-eds about tone. No pearl-clutching about keeping it “respectful.” Just silence—or worse, shrugging like it comes with the territory. We know how this goes: calls for civility get dusted off when it’s about anyone else. But for Black women? Nothing.

That shrug (we see you, Gavin) isn’t new and even Kamala Harris, at the very highest level of politics, is saying it straight on her book tour. I’m not telling y’all anything you don’t already know or probably haven’t experienced personally in some way. I'm writing this not just because of Loomer’s stupid tweet, but because as we see the clips and posts about Kamala’s book, it all reinforces how important it is that spaces like Black Girl Caucus exist. We’re here to place the arms of our community around us. To have our backs in public, in private, and everywhere in between—and to let the world know we rode together.

Black women are leading. We’re holding the line. And when the backlash comes, we shouldn’t be expected to carry it alone. That cannot be the norm. If Democrats—if anyone who claims to care about democracy—won’t stand up loudly for the Black women holding the line, then what exactly are we standing for...besides ourselves?