On The Scene: 'The Rape of Recy Taylor' Screening and Activist Panel Held in Harlem Church

A panel of activists discussed the civil rights icon who refused to be silent.

Seventy-four years ago on a summer night in rural Alabama, Recy Taylor was walking home from church. The black wife and mother was twenty-four. Kidnapped, beaten, and gang-raped by six white teenage boys, her attackers only permitted her to live if she promised to never speak of the incident.

Recy Taylor returned to her home and told everyone she possibly could. Her persistence, courage, and willingness to identify her attackers put her in even more danger. Taylor inspired Rosa Parks, members of the NAACP, and director Nancy Buirski who would direct and produce the 2017 documentary, “The Rape of Recy Taylor.” The film includes interviews with Taylor herself, members of her family, and highlights Rosa Parks’s role as an investigator after rape reports Taylor made to the all-white police were ignored.

In the heart of Harlem, there is one of the oldest African-American churches in the nation, The Abyssinian Baptist Church on West 138th Street. In the mid-forties, ministers discussed Taylor’s violent rape, and how to protect black women. The place of worship opened its doors to women’s rights activists, parishioners, and others inspired by Taylor’s bravery to a screening of the documentary on December 7.

The event was hosted by Odyssey Impact, a multi-media non-profit organization and presented in partnership with Tau Omega Chapter and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. The free screening event celebrated the launch of Odyssey Impact’s national social impact campaign for “The Rape of Recy Taylor.”

A panel moderated by Odyssey Impact’s Head of Social Impact and Communications, Melissa C. Potter, was held after the ninety-one minute film screening. Nancy Buirski joined Marva Allen, C. Virginia Fields, and Josie Torielli as interviewees on the panel.

“In many stories that are told where there are impactful events, they get righted. There is justice,” said director Nancy Buirski, “This is a story where there isn’t justice, at least initially.” Taylor died in 2017 without ever receiving a fair trial. “Recy lived to be ninety-seven. She outlived her attackers, but for more than seventy years she had to live with what they did to her,” said Marva Allen, president of the Ministry of Christian Social Concern at the Abyssinian Baptist Church.

The panel discussed topics such as the racial targeting of sexual violence, hate crimes against black women, and the importance of understanding the history of race in America. “One of the reasons we made the film was to shine a light on the organization of black women in the churches during that period.” said Buirski, “Organizations were inspired by women like Recy Taylor, Rosa Parks and Ida B. Wells, and women really are the origins of the civil rights movement.” In the film, Yale professor Crystal Feimster says that while many focus on the impact of Martin Luther King Jr, it is crucial to remember that without the women who supported him, none of the civil rights successes would have happened.

Modern day structural and inequality issues through capitalism were brought to light by panel members. “We cannot only pay attention to individual experiences, but also think about the systems that contribute to further trauma and oppression following someone being assaulted,” said Josie Torielli, LCSW, Senior Intervention Consultant, New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, Columbia School of Social Work, “We have to make sure that when people speak up, there is not justice for only one type of person or someone who can afford it.”

The American justice system was also mentioned as a problem relating to sexual assault. “Economic empowerment is a major next step. Looking at what happened to Recy Taylor and bringing it to the forefront now, we must focus on systems and grand juries,” said C. Virginia Fields, MSW, President & CEO of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Incorporated, “Many of us don’t want to serve on juries. We may not get selected for a grand jury, but prosecutors are the ones who talk to people on grand juries. How do prosecutors get appointed? By district attorneys who are selected by us as voters. So when we think about voting for people, we need to start thinking about their positions and ultimately about grand juries.”

The origins of the #MeToo Movement were also discussed, that many are unaware it was started by a black woman to protect women of color, and not to attack high-profile men. The women on the panel shared their thoughts on how everyone can take steps to prevent rape and sexual assault.

“When we talk about being physically assaulted and our bodies being violated, I think as women, we often have conversations behind closed doors because they can be difficult and embarrassing,” said moderator Melissa C. Potter, “but I think men need to be in these conversations to see the impact of sexual assault and violence on women. Men must also spread the word amongst their peers and have their own conversations about these violent crimes.”

Director Buirski left the audience with a parting message. “Recy Taylor has gotten justice in the court of public opinion,” Buirski said, “For a woman who was virtually invisible, most people now know who Recy Taylor is today. It is never too late to fight for justice and to make a difference.”