Joanna Cherry criticised for using Black awareness slogan in Rosie Duffield post
Joanna Cherry was criticised for her usage of the hashtag. (Getty)
SNP candidate and “gender-critical” feminist Joanna Cherry has been criticised for using a hashtag widely used to highlight violence against Black women, to show support for Labour’s Rosie Duffield.
The SNP candidate for Edinburgh South West made the controversial move while responding to a post from Labour Party member and LGBTQ+ activist Michael Cashman.
Stonewall founder Cashman was suspended as a Labour lord after branding Duffield, who has also been criticised for her views on trans people, as “frit or lazy” for cancelling a general election debate because of safety fears.
He later apologised “unreservedly” for the comments, adding: “I fully understand any complaints that will be sent to the Labour Party.”
In response, Cherry wrote: “#SayHerName Rosie Duffield #WomenWontWheesht.”
Created by the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) and the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies in December 2014, the #SayHerName hashtag has been used to highlight the Black women victims of police violence, particularly in the US, because many cases go largely unreported.
AAPF first used it during a vigil in New York’s Union Square. Family members from across the country came together to remember victims of police brutality, such as Rekia Boyd, Shelly Frey, Kyam Livingston and Michelle Cusseaux.
The hashtag and subsequent campaign quickly became a global phenomenon and a signifier of those who stand in support of ending police brutality.
“That is not what that hashtag is for,” wrote one social media user wrote, while another pointed out: “Rosie is alive.”
Someone else said: “#SayHerName is about Black women who are victims of police violence. White women should not be using it for their bulls**t.”
The other candidates in Edinburgh South West are: Scott Arthur (Labour), Ian Harper (Reform UK), Dan Heap (Scottish Green), Richard Lucas (Scottish Family), Sue Webber (Conservative), Marc Richard Wilkinson (Independent) and Bruce Wilson (Lib Dem).
Rosie Duffield is standing in Canterbury where the other candidates are: Luke Buchanan-Hodgman (Social Democrat), Louise Harvey-Quirke (Conservative), Bridget Porter (Reform UK), Henry Stanton (Green) and Russ Timpson (Lib Dem).
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