[1] Movement members and supporters brought the issue to the public commons by vocalizing the suffering that occurs a result of rape.
During the time of slavery, African American enslaved women were legally allowed to be raped by white men.
Even after slavery ended, sexual violence was a tactic used to keep the African American population from gaining civil rights or political power.
Once the Civil War ended and slaves were freed with the right to vote and own land society began to be particularly violent.
During the Memphis Riot of 1866, a group of African American women testified in front of Congress, ultimately breaking the silence regarding rape.
The movement began to become increasingly professionalized in the early 1980s, focusing on organizational structure, staffing, funding and legislation.