- Jack Harlow called on the firing an officer who put his arm around the necks of Black women.
- Many have praised the rapper and said that the music industry ignores violence against Black women.
- Experts agree that more must be done to protect Black women and prevent them from being subject to violent policing.
Jack Harlow is receiving praise for calling for the termination Georgia officer who placed his hand around the neck of a Black woman at a concert. But experts say that his gestures are admirable and that more must be done to address violence and misogyny in policing.
In a 13-second video circulating on social media — filmed last week near the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta, where Harlow was performing — the officer can be seen placing his hand around the woman’s neck, while the woman can be heard telling him, “All I wanted to do was go to a Jack Harlow concert.”
Harlow posted on Instagram that he wanted the woman to be identified so he could give her tickets. However, he admitted that it was not easy. “not a solution to a systemic issue that people who don’t look like me have to face.”
“The next step is identifying this police officer and getting him unemployed as fast as we can,”Harlow wrote: “I want this woman, and every black woman that supports me to know – I am so sorry. I want you to be protected and I want this guy to lose his job so fucking fast.”
Insider was contacted by a Cobb County Police Department representative who stated that the department was currently conducting an investigation.
“We are aware of the video snippet posted to Instagram involving our officer and a young woman outside the Coca-Cola Roxy,”The representative stated. “The incident is going through an internal review to get a full understanding of the entire incident before any potential action is taken.”
Kyra Gaunt, an ethnomusicologist at University at Albany, said to Insider that Harlow’s response was inadequate.
“Jack Harlow is making a naive attempt to deal with structural oppression that has to do with power, class, race, and gender by giving away tickets to a girl so she can go to any concert she wants,” Gaunt said. “But going for the firing of one individual is not going to change the structural oppression of Black and brown women.”
Insider did not reach Harlow for comment.
Experts claim Harlow’s surprising response is due in part to the legacy of ignoring violence against Black girls, women and children.
Online, Harlow was celebrated for using his platform as a way to defend Black women.
“Growing up with hip-hop in the ’80s and the ’90s and watching women being beaten and, you know, assaulted, and everybody just kind of glazes over it and won’t talk about it … to see an actual performer going to bat for Black women when our own haven’t, wow, that speaks volumes,”TikTok user says in a VideoThat’s been shared nearly 80,000 times.
Treva Lindsey (author of the forthcoming book) stated that it is common for black women and girls to be ignored when discussing police violence. “America, Goddam: Violence, Black Women, and the Struggle for Justice.”
“We’ve had almost seven years of ‘Say Her Name’ to highlight the disparate impact of police violence on Black women and girls, but I still think we are underreporting, underexploring, and not contextualizing this kind of violence,”Lindsey stated.
The police likely underreports the extent of violence committed against Black women and girls by the police. The Washington Post however, Database of police fatal shootingsIt is an indication of the extent of this violence: It indicatesthat from 2015 to 2021, police officers killed more than 300 women, 53 of whom were Black.
Experts say that many people would not believe the officer placed his hand on the women’s neck if the video didn’t show the interaction between the fan and the police officer. Gaunt stated that people tend to disregard the pain of Black women and treat them as victims.
“Some people are going to say the woman in the video appeared inebriated, but even if she was, does that justify someone putting their hands on her?” Gaunt said. “Particularly a cop who’s supposed to be protecting you.”
Harlow’s response was a fitting one, as he represents an industry that has historically marginalized Black women and girls.
Many said Harlow’s response was notable because it is part of an industry that historically ignores violence against Black women and girls.
Last year, the R&B artist R. Kelly was convicted of racketeering and sex-trafficking charges after decades of accusations of sexual abuse that experts said had often been pushed aside.
Advocates claim Kelly wouldn’t have been charged if Black women had not organized a movement to hold Kelly accountable, despite the abuse and anger of his supporters.
Experts claimed that the long-awaited verdict did not only highlight a failure to enforce laws to protect Black girls or women, but also exemplifies why Harlow should use his platform to raise awareness about how Black people are affected by sexual violence and physical abuse.
“It took 30 years and multiple accusers for the criminal-justice system to finally respond and convict R. Kelly,”Insider spoke with Lindsey “That’s telling of where we are, so when we have an artist say, ‘Look, this is wrong,’ the audience is taken aback. It’s pleasantly surprising.”
However, the experts also said that while artists should use their platforms and refuse to look the other way, the responsibility shouldn’t lie with one rapper — significant and sustained changes are needed to end the pattern of violence against Black women by not only police officers but celebrated artists.
“We need him to help use his platform to change the structure of the system of the genre of the industry he’s in, and he can’t do that by himself,” Gaunt said. “So who are the other men who are standing in that space for women?”