The Black Women's Defense League (BWDL) is a

self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of Force (law), ...

organization based in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Overview

The BWDL was founded in 2015 by Niecee X. They were influenced by the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

and contemporary organizations including the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, but later split from the latter group. The BWDL describes itself as a Womanist organization. According to the group's

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page, it "works for the immediate pursuit of an

intersectional Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these intersecting and overlapping factor ...

, safe, and free society" and "organizes to provide immediate protection and services to Black Women and those most marginalized by

White Supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

." Niecee X and the group's leadership support

transformative justice Transformative justice is a spectrum of social, economic, legal, and political practices and philosophies that aim to focus on the structures and underlying conditions that perpetuate harm and injustice. Taking up and expanding on the goals of rest ...

approaches to conflict and crime. The group provides

and arms training to "abused, underserved black women and marginalized genders", and also engages in political education, charity work and youth outreach work, and hosts

town hall meeting Town hall meetings, also referred to as town halls or town hall forums, are a way for local and national politicians to meet with their constituents either to hear from them on topics of interest or to discuss specific upcoming legislation or ...

panel discussion A panel discussion, or simply a panel, involves a group of people gathered to discuss a topic in front of an audience, typically at scientific, business, or academic conferences, fan conventions, and on television shows. Panels usually include a ...

s and other events. In 2019 Niecee X founded Revolution Cafe & Bookstore, a vegan restaurant and bookstore in Dallas, which works in concert with the BWDL.

Activities

In January 2017 BWDL members attended the

Women's March Women's March may refer to: * Women's March on Versailles, a 1789 march in Paris * Women's Sunday, a 1908 suffragette march in London * Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 march and rally in Washington, D.C. * Women's March (South Africa), a 1956 ma ...

in Washington, D.C. In September 2017 the group was involved in relief efforts in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Port Arthur and

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

, following

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...

. Its activities focused on groups otherwise overlooked by relief organizations and those excluded by shelters. In December 2017 the BWDL organised a protest against a concert by

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), known as R. Kelly, is an American former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings, earning nicknames suc ...

in Dallas due to accusations of sexual misconduct. In May 2018 the BWDL was featured in a documentary produced by

Pabst Blue Ribbon Pabst Blue Ribbon, commonly abbreviated PBR, is an American lager beer sold by Pabst Brewing Company, established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844 and currently based in San Antonio, Texas. Originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select, ...

, which sought to celebrate "the voices of today's ever-evolving

American dream The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...

References

External links

* * {{cite web, url=https://itsgoingdown.org/final-straw-black-womens-defense-league-feminism-anti-blackness-sexism/, title=Final Straw: Black Women's Defense League on Feminism, Anti-Blackness, and Sexism, date=April 10, 2017, work= It's Going Down Organizations based in Dallas Post–civil rights era in African-American history Self-defense Womanism African-American women's organizations African Americans in Texas Anti-racist organizations in the United States Intersectionality 2015 establishments in Texas Left-wing militant groups in the United States Women in Dallas

Overview

Activities

See also

References

External links