Will Smith’s slap sparks debate on defense of Black women

But some response to Smith’s behavior at the Oscars, particularly from those who saw his confrontation with Rock as an example of protecting Black women, is evidence of how low the bar has been set, he said.

“Protecting Black women absolutely includes how we engage in our relationships, both intimate and platonic,” Agnew said. “But it also includes speaking up against people of all colors and genders who pass policies that don’t protect Black women, who represent TV shows and entertainment programs that aren’t for the edification of Black women.”

“If your true goal was protecting your wife’s honor and integrity, there were probably better ways to do it,” he said of Smith’s actions.

The Oscars controversy came at the end of a week that included a different approach to defending a Black woman. Sen. Cory Booker, a Black Democrat from New Jersey, delivered a widely praised speech pushing back on his Republican colleagues’ combative questioning of Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson, who is poised to become the first Black woman confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“You faced insults here that were shocking to me,” Booker said on the third day of Jackson’s confirmation hearings last Wednesday.

“You have earned this spot. You are worthy. You are a great American,” the senator continued, drawing tears from Jackson and others who listened with rapt attention.