July 11, 2008

Can We Talk?

Posted by Anika Brown at 12:00AM

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I've been thinking a lot about the magnitude of these elections, and I have decided that the one person worthy of leading this great country is…Condoleezza Rice. Sure she's an enabler for warmongering megalomaniacs and the architect of one of the most embarrassing, destructive regimes in United States history. We are probably opposites on every important issue at stake. But, I don't really care about silly things like ideologies. I'd throw every belief out the window to get Condi in the White House. Looks are what count, specifically, how much a person looks like me. Unlike the guy stumping in for the Democrats, Ms. Rice is not only Black, she's a woman too! It's a win-win situation, right?

Just kidding. Like most people, basic intelligence and a sense of responsibility inform my decisions, not demographics. If you missed my sarcasm, I won't hold it against you. The opinions of Black women have routinely gone unnoticed in the media's election coverage.

Which brings me to a question that has been bothering me: In an otherwise boisterous election, why have African American women been so silent?

When the elections finally hit my state for the original Super Tuesdays back in February, I was so excited about the chance to cast my vote I was almost giddy. It was a complete turn around from the despondency that struck following the disaster of 2004 and continued to fester with each ensuing ballot.

But this year would finally bring tangible change. The names of the candidates alone spoke volumes. This is a country where influence and prestige are still largely confined to those who work within race and gender acceptable industries (i.e. entertainers and athletes for blacks, entertainers and models for women). There is no prominent Black Bill Gates or female Mark Zuckerberg for kids to look up to. Yet there they were at the top of a major political party: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Barriers that had never been breached were suddenly forced open.

Of course, Clinton and Obama's groundbreaking ascendency meant that issues of race and gender would also be thrust in the spotlight. As someone pushing against both glass ceilings, I welcomed the often prickly conversations that arose concerning racism and sexism. After a lifetime spent as The Other or worse, The Ignored, my experiences and struggles would actually be taking center-stage.

Except, they didn't.

As the contest became more competitive, the discussion devolved into an argument of which “ism” was worse. The road to enlightenment would be rockier than I had hoped, but I initially took the pettiness in stride. The tension between civil rights activists and feminists has been a constant since the late 1800’s, so I was expecting the unspoken suspicions to once again come into play.

The optimism was soon sucked out of me as election analysis intensified. While the roles of race and gender were definitely grabbing headlines, the parameters of the discussion were limited to Black men and White women. Last I checked, the term “African American” does not men male nor does “feminist” mean Caucasian.

Who better to shine a light on such touchy topics as racism and sexism than a person dealing with both?

What hurt even more than the media exclusion was the way in which prominent feminists turned their backs on their dark-skinned “sisters” and reduced the critical thinking skills of African American women to that of kindergarteners.

If only Ms. Steinem, Ms. Jong, and the rest of the feminist icons I spent my life looking up to had only asked someone with experience carrying both burdens. We could have told them that both sexism and racism are alive and well. That while we feel the frustration of being overlooked in meetings because of our gender, our skin color means we also receive unwarranted attention of security guards when we walk into boutiques. That it hurts us when more attention is paid to the Gloucester High pregnancy pact than to the murder of Sean Bell.

If they had asked someone could have told them that belittling other minorities for the sake of “progress” makes them no different than the chauvinists they spent their careers fighting.

Is it so hard to find an insightful Black woman? We have more to offer than being the sassy best friend or the eye-rolling bully paraded on TV and movie screens. All you have to do is ask.