On June 17, 2024, members of LAM Collective had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Cheryl D. Hicks to discuss her book, Talk with You Like a Woman: African American Women, Justice, and Reform in New York, 1890-1935. The book gives a detailed account of the late 19th and early 20th centuries’ racialized and gendered notions of protection and how those ideologies shaped the lives of Black women migrating from the South to New York. Specifically, the book speaks to how race and gender politics influenced the relationship between violence, Black womanhood, and imprisonment.
During her visit, Dr. Hicks spoke passionately about wanting to tell the real stories of women’s lives and about connecting them to the society in which they lived. She also expressed the importance of showcasing their voices and speaking to what was important to the women on an everyday level.
As an incarcerated Black woman, what really resonated with me was Dr. Hicks' examination of how the ideology of protection and gendered expectations of behavior contributed to the disproportionate incarceration of Black women during that time. This explanation helped me better understand the legacy behind multiple oppressions Black women face – race, gender, sexuality, among others – and how they continue to influence and operate as it relates to the criminal justice system and the mass incarceration of Black women today.
