FACT SHEET

Black Womens Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Sexual Assault

Visit www.myfreedomlounge.com the space which holds all information for Black Womens Blueprints BWTRC.

MANDATE:

To examine the history, context, causes, sequences and consequences of rape/sexual assault on Black women for the
purpose of healing and transformation for survivors. To engage community in new and effective responses geared towards
accountability through targeted relevant organizing and political advocacy. Our mandate: Truth, Justice, Healing and
Reconciliation.
WHAT

The Black Womens Truth and Reconciliation Commission: The first of its kind to focus on Black women in America and
their experiences with sexual violence. Launched by Black feminists in the U.S., it is a bold innovative and groundbreaking
move by Black women across generations, ethnicities, sexualities and other identities, to confront the ever shifting nature of
rape culture and sexual violence against Black women in the United-States.
The specific goals of the BWTRC are to:
1. Research and multi-media (film, audio, photo) documentation of survivors lived experiences across three-generations
prior to Freedom Summer 1964 and prior to the Civil Rights Act.
2. Provide victims and survivors with a public platform and promote healing.
3. Strengthen the rule of law by advocating for criminal justice and legal reform and to build economic equity by
advocating for a specific poverty related policy where there is causal relationship between poverty and vulnerability to
sexual violence/exploitation.
4. Promote intra-community reconciliation and public deliberations using a human rights framework for building
structures of community accountability and systems of safety for women and girls.
The work is being accomplished in 4 phases: (1) Building a Base, (2) Conducting Research, (3) Producing a Final Report
and (4) Holding a Public Tribunal set for 2016 in Washington, DC.
WHY:

The U.S. is one of the few places in the world where mass rapes have occurred systematically against an entire race of
people (African American women) and there has been no outcry from human rights communities, no processes for justice,
and no acknowledgement or recognition of such violations and its impact on the culture of violence against Black women
today. A truth and reconciliation commission would go a long way toward recognizing and addressing past and present
suffering and helping Black women and their communities to heal.
GET INVOLVED:

1) Nominate someone to be a Commissioner or become a commissioner yourself.

2) Become an Advisor, email info@blueprintny.org.
3) Donate to support the work of the BWTRC.
ABOUT BLACK WOMENS BLUEPRINT
BWB is a national Black feminist organization using civil and human rights approaches to organize and develop a culture where
women of African descent are fully empowered and where gender, race and other disparities are erased. We engage in
progressive research, historical documentation, policy advocacy and organize on social justice issues steeped in the struggles
of Black women within their communities and within dominant culture. We are the convener of the first Truth Commission ever to
focus on Black women in the U.S. and their historical and contemporary experiences with rape/sexual assault. Visit us at:
w w w . blackwomensblueprint.org | www.myfreedomlounge.com the space which holds all information for Black Womens Blueprints BWTRC.