I Am a Person Poem

I wanted to create a poem of how African-American rape victims may have felt during the time they were raped and after. Because African-American women typically had to stay quiet about being raped, it was inspiring to hear Recy Taylor decide to share what happened to her to authorities during that time. And what happened to Betty Jeans Owens was sad and uncalled for, but the support she gained at Florida A&M was amazing and beautiful to see. This is relevant because in class, the rape of African-American women were talked about, especially of Recy Taylor and Betty Jean Owens.

Based on the article about Recy Taylor from the National Women's Museum, Recy Taylor is an African-American woman who was raped by six white men. She is from Abbeville, Alabama. She was born and raised in a sharecropping family in the Jim Crow era. One day, Taylor was talking home from church and was kidnapped while leaving church and gang-raped. The grand jury decided to decline to indict the men. No charges were brought against her assailants.

When Taylor was 17-years-old, her mother died, she was left to take care of her six younger siblings. Later on, she married Willie Guy Taylor and they welcomed a daughter named Joyce Lee. When Joyce was old enough, Taylor would go to work in the day and at night she would enjoy spending time sewing or sitting on the porch with her husband.

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/recy-taylor

Betty Jean Owens is an African-American woman who was brutally raped by four white men. Owens was driving in the car with three other men. When they were in the car, they were approached by a group of white men with a gun who ordered them out of the car. Her friends were able to escape but not her. Her trial is significant because the white men were sentenced to life in prison.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/betty-jean-owens-193/