You ever wish some people came with a mute button? Charles Steele Jr., president and CEO, of SCLC announced in a speech that Michelle is getting rougher treatment in the media than Barack because she has slave roots, and he does not. Right, the issue is that she is blacker than him. When will black men begin to acknowledge the roll that gender plays in the lives of women of color? Yes, we are both black but women must deal with sexism, and to always make race the center of the debate is to diminish the experiences of WOC.
Maybe you are unfamiliar, with this image, but it is called a vagina. Men have penises. Men are different than women and (sorry folks breaking it down for the simple minds) this necessarily means that Michelles experience is going to be different than Baracks because they are different sexes. Geesh. Yes Michelle is black, but that is not the only signifier of her existence. The constant privileging of race over gender by the black patriarchy is oppression.
Do you think because you are the same color as us, that we will be blind when you make our experiences invisible? Let me tell you a little something, not only is this not new, it has been done by better. I for one intend to call the black leadership on it each and every time I see it. You cannot build a movement or create solidarity by making the concerns of 50% of its membership invisible, and it is arrogance to assume that we will happily take our place as second fiddle so that you can strut around like inane peacocks.
If it were not so pathetic, I would be amused that the same men that rant about privilege refuse to acknowledge their own. Yeah I know the real boogie men are the white men that are keeping black people down. This can only be true if we ignore the fact that black men beat black women, rape black women and murder black women. We have just as much to fear from you, as we do from the average white man. You can step off of your pedestal now, it is tarnished from neglect and over use. BTW if you think we are going to clean up your mess, you’ve got another thing coming. WOC are becoming empowered and self aware, and with this awakening comes a new sense of self that is completely separate from our relations with you. Mammy has a new attitude baby.
The black patriarchy has made a mistake ladies and it is time for us to cash in. They need our support to achieve their aims, and we must demand that as part of that support our issues are central to any protest, campaign, or rally. We must demand our time to speak and tell our truths. We are just as relevant and just as deserving as they are. If we do not take a stand, it will be more of the same back room deals in which they sell us down the river to secure power. Make no mistake about it, what is occurring is a power struggle on a large scale, and if we want a seat at the table we need to demand it, the time for playing good girl and fetching coffee are over.