Black Women Call for an End to the D.A. Fani Willis Witch Hunt
Signers include former Atlanta Mayor, Shirley Franklin, and civil rights leader, Helen Butler
We, the undersigned women (sign the letter here: https://tinyurl.com/yyw34w6h), fully support Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and call for an immediate end to the unwarranted investigations into her personal life, as it bears no relevance to her professional responsibilities.
When Black women ascend to positions where their voices can be heard, their presence seen, and their power felt, it often unsettles certain individuals in this country. We are currently witnessing a concerted effort to scrutinize and attack Black women in positions of power, finding any issue or flaw, no matter how small, to use against them. In Charles M. Blow’s New York Times column, “The Persecution of Harvard’s Claudine Gay,’ he refers to this phenomenon as the “Wonder Woman requirement”—the relentless pursuit of the slightest imperfections to persecute Black women who rise to high positions.
We knew that the first Black woman to become the district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia would face challenges, especially when prosecuting powerful men. We simply request that DA Fani Willis be afforded the same dignity and respect as her peers, or merely treated with the same level of respect as previously shown to her. There was no scrutiny of her personal life when she prosecuted and locked up Black teachers, or when she indicted Black gang members. Let’s not alter the standards just because she’s pursuing wealthy, politically-involved men. Remove the unfair burdens placed on Black women and stop subjecting us to higher standards than others. We are not Wonder Woman.
Black women have endured centuries of oppression, from slavery and Jim Crow to various forms of bias. We’ve been the backbone of the fight for civil rights and women’s rights. We’ve shouldered the burden of holding families together amidst the fallout from a welfare system that divided us, the scourge of drugs, and mass incarceration that took our fathers, husbands, and sons away. We continue the tireless battle against police brutality, inequality, and voter suppression. Despite these challenges, Black women persist in pursuing education and have broken barriers to excel in all sectors of the professional world.
It’s time for this biased treatment to end. As the brave freedom fighter, Fannie Lou Hamer declared, “we are sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Let Fani Willis’ private life remain exactly that – private. Stop the witch hunt.
Signed (sign the letter here: https://tinyurl.com/yyw34w6h):
Adrienne Rice
Alisa Gause
Aisha Cowans
Alicia Scott
Amanda Green-Hawkins
Anita Smith
Arthua Hazelton
Barbara Howze
Beatrice Williams
belinda pedroso
Brenda Franklin
Carla Moore
Carol Joyner
Carole Jackson
Carolyn Fields
Carrie Salvary
Cassandra Brown
Cassandra Welchlin
Cecelia Corbin Hunter
Clara Hayley Axam
Cynthia Qondani Ntini-Jacobson
Cynthia Williams
Danielle Howard
Danielle Jackson
Danyell Smith
David Byrne
Deborah Brownlee
Deborah Houston McCall
Deborah Scott
Deborah Young
Dee Battle
Delores Lashley
Dr. Estella E. Shabazz
E. Andrews
Edrea Davis
Elizabeth Umanah
Eltra Butler
Erica Holloman
Felecia Howell
Felicia Davis
Gina Wood
Hala Ayala
Helen Butler
Holli L Holliday
Jacqueline Bazy
Jacqui Patterson
Jaladah Aslam
Janice Robinson
Jasmine Kent
Jennifer Jones
Joanne Williams
Jotaka Eaddy
Kai Franklin
Kali Franklin
Kathi Harris
Kathleen Nesbit
Kawana T King
Kiaira Nixon
Lacresha Adams
Leslie McGraw
Letetia Jackson
Lisa Fager
Lois Wright
Mable Thomas
Makeda Smith
Marilyn Jennings
Mary Labrie
Melba Baker
Michelle Felder
Mishell Butler
N’Keiba Estelle
Naranda Williams
Nataki O. Jelks
Natalie Shorter
Natasha Sweeting
Nathalie Mvondo
Natosha Shabazz
Nnena Nchege
Nykia Greene-Young
Otha Greer
Pamela baker
Pamela Fann
Pat Pullar
Paulette Bartlett
Peggy Timberlake
Princess Milliner
Rashida Tyler
Rene Redwood
Rhonda Briggins
Rhonda Burnough
Rian Reed
Rosa Gardner
Sabrina Hill
Sandi Cook
Shade’ Y. Jones
Shadonna Logan
Sharron Howard
Shirley Franklin
Shirley Franklin
Shyra Arrington
Tashonie Davis
Tawanda Rodriguez
Teresa Myers Ervin
Terre Taylor
Terri Wisdom
Theresa Brunson, Esquire
Tomica Lindsey
Tracie Coleman
TyRan Hanson
Wanda Davis
William Adams
Yvette Moss