The Holtzclaw case lacks two things: media coverage and a diverse jury.
The former Oklahoma City police officer, Daniel Holtzclaw, has finally begun his 60-day trial for 36 charges, including first-degree rape, sexual assault, indecent exposure, stalking and burglary. However, what stands out is his targeting and alleged sexual assault of 13 women of color.
The jury for this specific case is entirely white and made up of eight men and four women. For some reason, every eligible African or black American juror was displaced from consideration. The problem? Ultimately, an all-white jury will fail to understand the oppression and persecution that people, specifically women, of color face. People tend to relate more with others of their own race and gender. That issue could cause the jury to struggle with subconscious bias, racism and sexism.
There is also an issue with the jury being made up of eight men and only four women. Sexual assault and rape are common issues for women, and yes these crimes also happen to men, but the majority of assault survivors are women. This imbalance will also cause the jury to struggle with understanding the situations of each individual female Holtzclaw allegedly assaulted. Sexist thoughts that blame the person assaulted tend to happen at trials. Either her dress was too short, or her breasts too appealing — somehow men find a way to blame the survivor for something the attacker did.
When it comes to diversity in the jury, according to the 2014 Census report, Oklahoma City is 75 percent white and about 7.7 percent black.
“If Holtzclaw was able to choose victims from that 7 percent of the population, the court could have chosen jurors from it, too,” editors of the Daily Free Press said in their editorial on the case.
This trial is a prime opportunity for media coverage and the chance to reevaluate the jury selection process, along with the other issues such as racism and sexism. However, it seems the only way to learn about this case is to avidly follow Black Twitter. Many believe this lack of publicity and information is due to a media blackout, the censorship of news related to a certain topic, particularly in mass media for any reason. It can be conducted voluntarily or by the government or state.
“Can’t say that I’m shocked that @CNN isn’t covering #Holtzclaw the way they did #Cosby,” @DixiFreely tweeted.
Although part of the intense coverage of Bill Cosby was due to his prominence, the majority covered him because he was a black man who did terrible, terrible things and that is something the media always have to cover. The Daily Free Press was right in saying how if the situation of Holtzclaw being white and the survivors of his alleged attacks being black was flipped with an all-black jury selected, a large percentage of America would try to burn down the courthouse in the name of justice.
Sadly, there is no changing the jury for Holtzclaw and only 60 days for the media to bring attention to the injustice. However, educating people on cases such as this and the issues they entail is always something one can do. Fighting against and loudly vocalizing these issues and creating sound solutions are even bigger steps for someone or a group to take, but those are the steps that need to be taken as soon as possible.
For more information on the Holtzclaw case and where it stands now check out: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/07/oklahoma-daniel-holtzclaw-all-white-jury-trial
Elizabeth Chidlow is a sophomore studying journalism. Have you seen media coverage of Holtzclaw case? Email her at ec629914@ohio.edu.
