The killings of Cerlina Wanzer Fairfax in Virginia and Nancy Metayer Bowen in Florida are not isolated tragedies. They are part of a disturbing and deadly pattern: The murder of Black women by men who vowed to love and protect them.
Dr. Fairfax, a dentist and mother of two, was shot and killed in a murder-suicide by her husband, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a man entrusted with public leadership. Coral Springs Vice Mayor Bowen, a rising political figure and mother, was allegedly shot multiple times in her home by her husband, who later claimed he “couldn’t take it anymore.”
Let’s be clear: that is neither an explanation nor a justification. It is a confession.
Bowen’s killing is under investigation as domestic violence, with police alleging premeditated murder after she was found dead in her home. These are not crimes of passion. They are acts of control, violence, and finality.
Among those left behind in the Fairfax murder-suicide are two teenagers who discovered their deceased parents. Families shattered. Communities traumatized. Both women leave behind grieving loved ones, including two now forced to carry unimaginable loss into adulthood, thanks to their father, who killed their mother.
We are witnessing a pattern that many now call femicide: the targeted killing of women because they are women. In too many cases, the perpetrators are husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends, or former partners.
There must be no more excuses.
Depression is real. Stress is real. But neither pulls a trigger, loads a weapon, nor wraps a body in garbage bags to conceal the crime. These are choices—deliberate, irreversible, and criminal.
Black men must confront this crisis head-on. Silence is complicity. Deflection is denial. Minimizing these acts only ensures they persist.
All people, and particularly Black men, must challenge and check one another. Intervene before anger turns lethal. Support mental health— but never allow it to be weaponized as a shield for murder.
At the end of the day, this is not complicated.
This is not a misunderstanding. Nor is it a loss of control.
Rather, it is deliberate and deeply troubling acts of violence.
Black women deserve to live. And Black men must do more to honor, defend, and protect our Black women.