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African-American women are a major force in the Obama administration. But will their success help other, less visible black women break down doors?
Watching the Democratic National Convention on my couch last year, I felt like such a geek, getting all choked up and teary as Michelle Obama spoke. As stereotype busting goes, this was a classic moment. It wasn’t so much what she said —although her words were wonderful—as what she symbolized: black excellence, black female excellence. As I would later find out, I wasn’t the only one crying. Michelle was representing all of us brown-skinned, dual-degreed, corporately employed integration babies. Watching Michelle, I felt that at last the world could see that we’re not neck-rolling, finger-snapping sistas with an ax to grind. That she isn’t—and we aren’t—as one political pundit put it, “Stokely Carmichael in a designer dress.”
But then it turned out that Michelle was just the beginning. The newly minted president proceeded to pick one African-American after another for high-power positions, from White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett to Susan Rice (United States ambassador to the United Nations) to FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, to surgeon general nominee Regina Benjamin, MD (whose appointment was, at press time, still awaiting Senate confirmation).
For many of us, this apparent tsunami of highly visible black women has been great news but no great surprise. Seeing these women—standing with the president, holding forth on the Sunday morning talk shows or looking glamorous at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner (the first at which a black woman, comic and former National Security Agency employee Wanda Sykes, emceed)—I thought, well, of course. After all, they look a lot like my friends and me.
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It appears to me that the sister Rice's decisions -regardless of her title- are being over ruled by whitey above her:
Obama administration shifting policy on Sudan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091017/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_sudan;_ylt=A...
U.S. said to be planning deeper engagement with Sudan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091017/wl_nm/us_sudan_usa;_ylt=AgV_iIV2fCwC...
The sister may have married a white man but the sister is a Africa hawk. Now, the Sudanese black leadership are black people presenting themselves to the world as "Arab" Muslims while persecuting other black people (Women and children)...
Now, You're gonna call me a Neo Con on this one, but I say that the black caucus and other black pressure groups should be lobbying to reserve one of those bunker busters that the Pentagon is ordering up for Iran/NK: For none other than mister Al-Bashir (I think that's how his name is spelled lol)...
The Jews in America influence middle east foriegn policy to a point where the U.S. has to side with Israel on ANY issue.
Given black history and how we died and bleed in ALL US wars, helped build it from scratch as slaves, and made it a mo better, "empathetic" place to live. Don't you think we deserve a leading voice on African policy???
It is a shame that some white folks (like the great man above as avatar) care more about black people around the world than we do. We must force the system to "care about black people" as Kanye West said... Lol...
When we have the same power to control our own destiny (like they have) then they can begin to honesty start equating their own experience to the black experience.
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To add to the Obama effect and black women, the Pew Research Center recently reported that, based on Census data, the voter turnout rate among eligible black female voters increased 5.1 percentage points, from 63.7% in 2004 to 68.8% in 2008.
“Overall, among all racial, ethnic and gender groups, black women had the highest voter turnout rate in November's election -- a first,” the Center's report notes. (See link: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1209/racial-ethnic-voters-presidential-election)
Optimism is the essence in him/
Broadminded views of democracy/
And true spirit of humanitarian ethics/
Merge in his unquestionable diplomacy/
A wind of change emanates from him/
For men or women, his intentions are good. And if the past offers some inspirations to move forward or some lessons to learn, we should take them with us for the present and for the future.. Otherwise leave them behind forever. Obama might have gone through this. And he seems to be in the White House to remove some black spots from the minds of people at home and abroad. Optimism is the essence of his speech. Abraham Lincoln once told he had destroyed his enemies by making them friends. And his bold step helped eradicate slavery. Obama seems to follow him. Of course any outcome is not expected overnight. In politics, political opportunism is dangerous. Even if he and his like minded are sincerely on the move towards peace and tranquility, the hardliners from every part of the world await chances of their wrong steps .Religious interferences some times deviate the process of a good proposal or they come as stumbling blocks. People who are committed to the peace initiatives must be brave to take up all such challenges, if they really want to translate their vision. All the peace loving citizens of the world hope that the long standing conflicts may come one by one in the funeral queue with an epitaph.
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Until the black community recognizes that the woman is the backbone of the black family, we will continue to struggle as a race in the 21st century. It is said that you educate a woman and you educate a whole family, this is so true in the black family. What is wrong with this statement though is that we are not educating and assisting our women enough. So yes, there are a few black women in the President's company but they are in the minority, we need to help those in the majority. Black women around the country are crying out for help everyday, but everyday their cries go unnoticed. I heard Michell Bernard and Bill Cosby on MSNBC recently talking about how you can help kids become better citizens, well Michell & Bill, try helping women who are head of the black households to become better citizens and they in return will produce my productive children. Let's take the next generation of black mothers 18-35, give them the vehicle to a great education and watch how their product will blossom. Through sports, which is my passion, women can achieve great things, education, careers, opportunities; but still they are being denied as no one is willing to give them a chance. Our website http://www.blackwomeninsports.com has reached out for help so many times without success; but yet still we continue to complain about the negativity of the black women. So yes, the first lady and her minority are doing great but until the black community steps up and help the majority, black families will continue to struggle. Love to hear from you guys editorbwis@yahoo.com.
Since this is a *positive* article about black women, are The Root's readers a little happier now? Just checking.