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by Maria NilesYesterday I met Mabel Yee, co-founder of Engage Her. She spoke to the Last Friday Ladies Lunch organized by Sylvia Paull about her passion for getting women of color to vote.
The statistics are startling: In the 2004 election, 40% of registered African American women did not turn out to vote, 69% of Latinas and 70% of Asian American women. When Yee, who decided to become a mother at age 50 and now has twins who just entered kindergarten, learned of these numbers she didn't wring her hands, she took action. As a member of Moms Rising, Yee was inspired by the activism of women like Joan Blades and she decided she wanted to make a documentary about the issue. After putting that goal out to the universe, the people she needed to join her in accomplishing the goal showed up and in less than a year the documentary is finished.
Engage Her Trailer
What struck me while Yee spoke of her passion for this project was that the concerns raised by women of color are universal concerns. Yes there are some issues that are of more immediate concern such as Type II diabetes (including the alarming increase of the disease among children) which disproportionately affects blacks and Latinos. But concerns about accountability from elected officials, and the need for quality education in order to be prepared to compete in the 21st century economy are important to all citizens in this country.
If you share Yee's concern about the issue of engaging women of color in voting and the election process, I encourage you to check out the Engage Her website, learn where there will be a screening near you, order a copy of the DVD and have a house party viewing of your own. You never know who around you needs your encouragement. In the process of making the film Yee was surprised to learn that her brother belongs to a different political party than she and that her sister hadn't voted before but plans to register and vote now that she has learned of the importance.
Jeremy Adam Smith of Daddy Dialectic went to a screening
Liza Sabater at Culture Kitchen says Engage Her and make sure she casts a vote in November
Mabel Yee launches the documentary saying Invisible No More
******************************************************************
One of the discussions going on after the debates is how far Obama could go in being forceful without invoking the "Angry Black Man" stereotypes.
Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic says:
Obama is also a black man against a white man. So he must also be very careful not to get angry and to stay cool and calm. He has to do that to avoid the "angry black man" trap. But then he cannot afford to seem weak either. You realize how hard a balance that is for ninety minutes?
Obama has to walk through a racial minefield all the time.
Jenny at Tao of Coffee recognizes the tightrope Obama is walking:
I do hope that Obama will be a bit more assertive in the next debate, albeit carefully so as not to come off as an “angry black man.”
In contrast, The Angry Black Woman examines the subtext of McCain's anger and unwillingness to look at Obama during the debate:
Not so long ago in this country — within McCain’s adult lifetime, though not Obama’s — white men did not look at black men, except to order them around or warn them off white women. They did not address black men directly if they could help it — and if they had to, it was never done in a way that might suggest respect. Black men did not look at white men either, because that was the shortest path to death; a black man who dared to look a white man in the eye was “uppity”. Didn’t know his place. Needed to have a lesson taught him, usually with a bullet or a length of rope. Even today there’s a certain kind of white man — usually older ones from the South or from wealthy backgrounds — who still won’t accord a man of color the simple courtesy of looking him in the eye. They’ll look everywhere else, address “the air” rather than the person, and get progressively more irritated if that person doesn’t back off and go away.
Ta-Nehisi Coates also writing at The Atlantic thinks observers are "confusing strength with arrogance."
Perhaps there is good reason for Obama to be mindful of invoking the stereotype when some viewers have reactions like this:
I was so completely disturbed by Obama’s harsh, angry eyes that I am seriously starting to wonder if the man is an actual sociopath, who is incapable of feeling real warmth and love for another human being. These are the eyes of a serial killer.
And when some opponents are determined to drag racism into the race:
Laura Fitzpatrick, Time: The Ku Klux Klan at the debate
The Klan will, however, have pamphlets and membership applications on hand for any audience members who happen to share the Klansmen's views. Some examples of those views: Obama's election "could be the destruction of America," says Greene, who states categorically that he would not vote for a black candidate. Says the Emperor of the Mississippi White Knights (the group's ritual leader), who asked not to be identified: "Locally, every place that has come under black rule has declined, and has declined sharply." He cited Jackson, Miss., and Washington, D.C., as examples. "Not all black people are particularly bad people," the emperor adds. But leadership, he asserts, "is just not in their character ... it's just not in their ability."
Jim Rutenberg, The New York Times: Pinpoint Attacks Focus on Obama
It is a view shared by Democratic leaders, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who, in a recent interview with MSNBC, said of the advertising campaign, “The fact that it is being run in a predominantly white suburb tells you that there is an explicit effort to try to divide people by race.”
Brent Staples, The New York Times: Barack Obama, John McCain and the Language of Race
The throwback references that have surfaced in the campaign suggest that Republicans are fighting on racial grounds, even when express references to race are not evident. In a replay of elections past, the G.O.P. will try to leverage racial ghosts and fears without getting its hands visibly dirty. The Democrats try to parry in customary ways.
Mr. Obama seems to understand that he is always an utterance away from a statement — or a phrase — that could transform him in a campaign ad from the affable, rational and racially ambiguous candidate into the archetypical angry black man who scares off the white vote. His caution is evident from the way he sifts and searches the language as he speaks, stepping around words that might push him into the danger zone.
These maneuvers are often painful to watch. The troubling part is that they are necessary.
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Comments
The ideas are upside-down
Lord have mercy, he has a right to be angry. But he needs to get the vote, so he swallows his God given right. Like a women living in a household of abuse, he has to watch the tides of hatred closely. When I step back and say to myself that we have an African-American man running for president in a land that still has the KKK in it, I want to start the process for making Obama a saint.
He's taking the stripes on his back so that generations after him, may not have to take it on theirs. And the tacit racism that is endemic in this country, and institutionalized here, is pervasive as a weapon against him even if the people using it are not aware of it as racism. Just because someone may not get that what they do is harmful, biased and stupid, doesn't mean that it isn't.
We've got a far way to go before we all find home.
~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool
Are you kidding???
When in his life has Obama experienced racism?? When?? Why should he be angry? Or for that matter why should Michelle Obama be angry??
Both of them went to Ivy League schools with the privileges associated with them and both have surrounded themselves with like-minded people since.
"Taking stripes on his back?" Are you kidding me? The generations before him took the stripes and paved the way. Barrack's skin is stripe-free and if you're honest, you'll acknowledge it.
It is so tiresome that people refuse to acknowledge the strides this country has made in combating racism. It is tiresome that people refuse to acknowledge the fact that Michelle and Barrack have benefited from the LACK of racision in this country.
A right to be angry? Nonsense. Feel good about myself nonsense. He should be grateful to the marvelous opportunities that have come his way.
No, This is No Joke...
Unless you have be hermetically sealed in a unoccupied bubble and raised by androids you are not immune to bias, prejudice or hated, no matter what your ethnic background.
Are you telling me that European Americans have never experienced unwarranted hostility because of the color of their skin? We all have. Do not try to take his humanity away from him.
Are you saying that because he and his wife have academic degrees that negates their life experiences relating to race and racism? Is that true for you? Is it true for anyone on this planet?
Here is the point I want to make while controlling my anger about your statement. And I am angry and shouldn't be typing. African American people are human beings. We are full complex human beings. I should not have to explain this but I think the concept gets lost.
Why did the Secret Service have to start his protection long before the normally appointed time? Because of the extremely nasty letters and death threats he was receiving at a high rate of speed.
You must have seen some of the noxious things such as the dolls, t-shirts and pancake mix boxes that are selling making fun of his facial features. The insistence of referring to him as Osama bin Obama or using his middle name as a pejorative.
The opportunities did not "come his way." He worked for every goddamn one of them. He did not come from wealthy people. If he never ran for political office he world still be a man of achievement.
No one is denying the extraordinary changes of attitudes in this country concerning race, racism and sexism. We have moved forward. Doesn't mean it no longer exists. There is much healing to do.
You know, this get old. I don't know how to communicate how angry your remark made me. You probably didn't intended to do so. Just stating your opinion.
That's ok. But don't tell me there is a lack of racism in this country. Not when the KKK openly handed out flyers at the debate at Old Miss.
Gena - Out On The Stoop
Thank you, Gena.
You responeded much more kindly than I would have, and so I thank you , Gena. The comment to which you responded made me think of the kinds of statements Lars Larson's made. I can acknowledge that most people, if not all, have experienced some form of bias (whether they are sensitive or intelligent enough to perceive it is another topic, and, of course, it's most difficult sometimes to tell when you've benefited from a positive bias). Even "beautiful," wealthy people who are honest know that there are people biased against them or in favor of them because they are "beautiful" and wealthy. But bias against the "beautiful" and wealth is not as routinely hateful nor as systematically imposed as bias against people based on ethnic background or skin color, and anyone who's actually studied the life experiences of Michelle and Barack Obama would know that the pair has succeeded in spite of racism not because racism doesn't exist in their lives. It doesn't take a brainiac to know this to be the case.
Nordette is a Contributing Editor with BlogHer.com whose personal blog is hosted on another site at this link.
Where did I say Obama is not
Where did I say Obama is not human? Or that African Americans aren't human? How do you move from what I said to that?
No, I haven't seen coffee cups or t-shirts. I did see a cartoon from the New Yorker that provoked howls of outrage. Sorry, I confused that with satire. Like LBJ's big ears. Like Nixon's long nose. Like the wrinkles on Reagan.
Perhaps I misspoke by saying "opportunities that came his way." Certainly, he worked for them. The point is, the opportunities were there. That's undeniable.
Oh, yes, my android parents. Mother's still going strong. The battery ran out on Dad.
I Should Have Been More Careful About Using
The Word "You"
Forgive me if you thought that I was implying that you came straight from the Matrix. That was not my intent and I do apologize.
I gave you current examples of some of the least noxious items that are being displayed, sold and used as a mocking justification of why people should not vote for him because of race. There are worse, far worse that I would not subject anyone to view. Making fun of political candidates is one thing. Seeing images about lynching his wife is & equating him with the anti-Christ is another.
Constantly linking his name the foul actions of bin Laudin, being a follower of Islam or being a closet Muslim is an insult to the peaceful believers in Islam, a racist act by itself, and by implication to him.
Every week or so there is a post here or on other sites that basically implies either "We play the race card and are perpetual victims" or "There is no racism in America anymore so what is your beef?"
I did not mean to imply that you thought African Americans were not human. I meant to imply that on a daily basis there are people in this country who attempt to strip me of my humanity and I get f*cking sick of it.
I get angry. I will defend myself. I live this experience every day of my life. It is not a philosophical discussion.
When I walk into a store that I have used for 10 years and I always hear "Security, please begin you floor walk now." as I cross the door or have a sales clerk tail me around the store (any store) or witness L.A. police attack Latino families in MacArthur park then yeah, I don't have to go looking for racism, it comes to me. I fit the profile.
You fought the fight 40 years ago. Good for you and thank you. I'm dealing with the hear and now. The fight has changed, the methods more subtle (or not) but the problems remain.
Gena - Out On The Stoop
I haven't seen any of these
I haven't seen any of these items. They are despicable.
Everyone is subject to increased scrutiny. Stores I've patronized for years are asking IDs. This isn't racism.
Caution: I do not believe Obama is a member of the Islamic religion. However, this is not a peaceful religion. Don't think it for a minute.
The book, the Koran, is written in a form of archic Arabian so its followers don't even realize what they're chanting. The one real English speaking scholar on Islam is Bernard Lewis who taught at Columbia when I was at Barnard, Columbia's sister college. He later moved to Princeton, where Michelle went to school, and where I grew up.
Pick up a copy of one of his books. They were re-released after 9/11. He was writing decades before 9/11 and has no ax to grind.
I Am Not Talking About Identification
If a store ask me for ID before accepting my card I welcome that in this age of identity theft. I am talking about the presumption that because I am Black I will steal something out of the store.
I am talking about having a store clerk apologize to me under her breath because her store manager told her to follow me or be fired and me whispering back "I understand." because he is watching her watching me.
Or not offer the same level of customer services because they don't think I have the money to purchase the items in the store. Or people looking at the empty seat next to me on the bus and are willing to stand before they will sit next to me or a black man, a Latina woman, or the "other."
All of us live our personal life. We intersect and diverge with one another. We come together except when we cannot see the validity of another person's point of view.
That is what this whole thing is about. Recognizing and respecting another point of view. That is what we are trying to do here and it is not easy. We have to speak our facts to get to the ultimate truth.
Gena - Out On The Stoop
You're right
This kind of stuff is unforgiveable. But in my relatively long life time, I've noticed that I get more prompt help from sales associates if I'm well dressed. (An infrequent occurance.) If I wander into some place looking like hell, which I frequently do, sales people follow me, wondering what the hell I'm doing there.
When I go into stores with one of my male black friends, I notice today, I get a lot more help than I used to. Back then, the suggestion was that we leave. It wasn't suble.
But maybe the reason is that we get help is because my black friends look better than me.
In any event, my advice to you is fuck 'em.
Strides yes, elimination no
Norma156,
You are correct that enormous strides have been made in combating racism in this country. However, that does not mean it no longer exists and that a 46 year old black man in this country has never experienced racism.
And trust me, when I research these posts I come across virulent racism directed towards both Barack and Michelle Obama. Consider yourself fortunate if you are never exposed to such hatred.
Fooling ourselves into thinking racism no longer exists will not make it go away. Exposing it to sunshine and light is what will disinfect the lingering stain on our national soul.
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Are YOU kidding? Who the hell are you?
And what color are you? If you are black, brown, yellow or red - anything but white - then you haven't been paying attention to the stares, the uneasiness, the ignorance, the disdain that occurs when you walk into certain rooms and situations.
If you're white? Well, then, you have not been paying attention, period. And maybe that's because you're clueless, if not brainless.
And, if you're white, you have a lot of nerve speaking to the Obamas' experience.
Get a clue, or better yet, a brain. In the meantime, it's clear that you just signed up on BlogHer just to spew your hate. So, get lost.
Grace Davis - who is of color and KNOWS racism first hand
State of Grace
Hey Grace - Did We Just Prove A Fraction of
the Pressure
That The Obamas are facing on a daily basis? And how well he is trying to navigate through the daily bile?
It just struck me. Norma156 and people who feel like her have no conception of this experience. We can't begin to explain it to her. She doesn't believe it or want to hear it.
If we look at what he has to do, how to contain himself when you are being attacked on multiple fronts because you have to get your message across.
How to communicate while you are defending yourself without offending or inadvertently insulting the other or invoking ancient fears you had nothing to do with.
Acting with integrity when others are ignorant and proud of it and profit from it for commercial purposes (FoxNews)
I couldn't do what he and Michelle are trying to accomplish. Not to say the man does not have a temper. I feel if you yank him one time too many you would deeply regret it.
Just looking at what he is dealing with I got to give that man respect.
Gena - Out On The Stoop
Yes, Obama is even-tempered and that's good
Obama said in the recent presidential debate that he's an even-tempered person, not prone to moodswings up or down. I wish I could say the same of myself.
Obviously I don't know him on a personal level, but having studied more than once a non-publicized interview he had with the leaders of a one organization, I saw a very, relaxed man, a firm man who's not afraid to say he disagrees with a position or an individual. He chose his words carefully in that interview. He was cool, yet approachable. So, I suspect it takes something pretty horrendous to get him to show his temper, but I bet, as you suggest, if you see his temper flare you'll do so so after someone's been standing on his last nerve for a long time and it won't be pretty.
Given the extreme pressure of being the first African-American male to come this close to the presidency, it's good he's as even as he his. I think even temperedness is a good thing in a leader.
Nordette is a Contributing Editor with BlogHer.com whose personal blog is hosted on another site at this link.
If you want to get an idea of Obama's
temperment, look at this
Obama in Hawaii:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/13/obamas-hawaiian-vacation_n_1186...
I hope everyone looks at these.
I look at these photos and I am overcome with emotion. Why? For many reasons.
First, I grew up in Hawaii. I was born in the same hospital as Obama and went to the same (non-denominational Christian) school. Hawaii is a melting pot of beautiful and varied races and cultures to be sure, but to be half-African American, even in "color-blind" Hawaii, is still, at times, painful (which Obama documents in Dreams From My Father so the person who said he was never the victim of racism can #suckit. I know how he grew up).
Second, having grown up in Hawaii, I know the community that surrounded him. It wasn't just his family or his school, but the entire island surrounding him with the spirit of ohana (family). I see Obama's "Hawaiiness" in the debates. I see it when he says "John McCain is right," finding the rare places where he CAN agree with McCain before taking him apart with searing criticism.
In Hawaii a high social value is placed on respecting elders and being courteous. It's the island way. I would venture to say that everyone from Hawaii watching the debate was thinking, "Yes, he had to take McCain down 17 notches, but at least he showed manners and acted like a gentleman. His family raised him right."
I look at those Hawaii pictures and it's like I can see right into his soul. I see a relaxed, calm, and even person. I know his smile because that is a smile that people who were born in Hawaii but don't live there anymore smile whenever they return home.
Nordette, I am like you. I couldn't stand on that stage and let that doddering old jerk make a fool of me. I would have come across as more than an "angry half-korean, half-italian woman," I would be calling him a f*cktard and a bigot right to his Botoxed, pancaked face. So it's good that we have a candidate that is so...presidential. It's about (damn) time.
I want Obama to counter punch, land some when he has to, and be a strong, vigorous debator. He can be because the country is behind him.
YES WE CAN!
PS Gah, I just broke Elisa's "more than 3 grafs it should be a blog post" rule...so perhaps I will take this to MOMocrats...
Stefania Pomponi Butler
I blog:
CityMama
Kimchi Mamas
MOMocrats
spirit of ohana
I totally agree, Stefania - the spirit of ohana is strong and is a good way to explain Obama's approach and temperament.
And love those pictures :)
Looking forward to your take on MOMocrats.
Gahhhh, those are some cute
Gahhhh, those are some cute kids. The older one is already very pretty, and the little one seems like the kind of trouble maker that flashes a toothless grin and dimples and gets away with anything. Love it. Totally irrelevant to voting yes, I know.
Any thoughts on why Obama is struggling with white female boomers? I accept racism exists, but not across such a large demographic. A minority of female boomers may feel unable to vote for a black man but that can't be the issue with all of them.
I wonder if it is because of the generational thing? I have heard someone I know say some bizarre things about the Obama's like "she's smug and I don't trust him" and then go on to gush about McCain and it befuddles me. I really don't think this person is racist I am talking about, I think she is jealous perhaps, at how a forty something black man with a serious shot at the white house is a real possibility, while she is just another woman in her fifties who really sacrificed career to raise kids and returned only to bump her head against a glass ceiling. Does voting for a younger, black man just remind white female boomers that they are now in the second half of life and destined to be the older crowd all the time now, while positive things they never thought possible start happening, just to groups other than themselves? I just can't otherwise explain how someone can go from supporting Hillary to supporting McCain (other than racism which I can't believe would be so pervasive). Or am I the one who has the naivete Johnny Mac was going on about? :)
Spewing Hate?
I suggest you read the comments in response to my post. Perhaps you might also want to re-read your own comments.
I started typing
I started typing a response and I thought well ... if you do not know yet, it is because you chose not to or are in denial for reasons best known to you and nothing I or anyone says is going to change anything so there. No reply (not really anyway).
Temi
Yes, I am sure that the first African
American presidential
nominee of a major party has no understanding of the history of racism in America. Especially a former constitutional law professor. When you put it that way, it makes perfect sense.
You are right. He should be grateful he's not sweeping floors and quietly thank McCain for the privilege of standing next to him, while he refuses to look him in the eye.
Tacoma Mama
Kitchen Table Issues
PUtting words in my mouth
Where did I say Obama has no understanding of racism in America? Where?
Where did I mention that he should be grateful he's not sweeping floors? Where?
Is this a debate? No, of course not. I only asserted Obama and Michelle have benefited from the marvelous changes in our country in the past forty, fifty years. I only asserted this is a marvelous country. I only asserted that Obama should be grateful. I did not assert, although I could have, that he should be grateful his mother kept him here instead of in Kenya where so much opportunity exists.
That makes me racist?
What you said
I did not take enough deep breaths before responding.
Here is what you said:
And my response, I suppose, should have been that I don't know about "people" but Obama is certainly aware of it, as he co-wrote a casebook on voting rights and used to teach a class at the University of Chicago law school on racism and the law. Not that you have to do anything like that in order to be aware of the history of racism in this country.
Maybe I spoke too fast and you can tell me which "people" you are referring to, and in what way they refuse to acknowledge that we have advanced since the Jim Crow era. Do you mean the people here at Blogher? Which of those people? And if the people do acknowledge that progress has happened, do people have to feel that there is no more progress to be made? Does it mean that Barack Obama (or anyone else) can't get mad when they google "Obama racism" and find pages and pages of hateful tripe accusing Obama of being a racist and then levying racist attacks against him?
I did not take the time to craft a thoughtful, reasoned response and resorted to sarcasm, and I apologize for that.
I guess I'm trying to figure out what your point is and not put words in your mouth. You say you acknowledge that racism exists, but it makes you angry that people talk about racism in reference to this election because our society is not as racist as it used to be? Is that what you mean?
If it is, then I do not see why it would be wise to tolerate present racism. What does that accomplish?
Tacoma Mama
Kitchen Table Issues
"people"
i mentioned "people" because I was unwilling to directly attack the writer of the original post. In the context of the lovely responses I've received, I'll expand "people" to include all of you who took personal shots at me or put words in my mouth without acknowledging the only point I was trying to make: Things have changed. Obama and Michelle have benefitted from the changes.They should be grateful for a country that can change. (As we all should be.)
Why do you mention Obama's writing some kind of brief on racism in this country? Who denies racism in this country? I certainly don't. My point is that racism is so damped down that the color of Obama's skin is not the reason he's a presidential candidate. But judging from the vitriol of the comments, perhaps it is.
Did I say there is no more progress to be made? No. I said the lack of racism in this country is one of the reasons he is probably our next president.
Okay, now skewer me. Oh, I forgot, I'm behind the bubble. Blind and twitterless.
Well, you say you don't deny it, then you
deny it
So I'm afraid I am not following you, as you are contradicting yourself.
You say that because there is less racism today, he may be our next president. But that wasn't originally your only point. You were pretty angry there, in your first comment, or at least you read that way to me, at the idea that someone (Obama or the original poster) could be angry about racism, today. Why did that upset you? I am still trying to understand that.
And I also don't understand why we have to tell you that Obama had to sit at the back of the bus or go to a segregated school or face fear of lynching in order to prove to you that he has been impacted by racism. I suppose that would make it easier, if we could just look at the world and say: See? The law says we don't discriminate, therefore, we don't. But not even the law sees it that simply anymore.
I won't speak for anyone else but one of the reasons you got such a quick angry response from me is because there have been a number of individuals posting one or two angry comments and then disappearing, of late. I am afraid I made an unwarranted assumption that you were part of the "ding, dong, ditch" school of political discourse, and to your definite credit you are not.
Tacoma Mama
Kitchen Table Issues
Holy Heck a Ma Bobbers
My initial reaction was to call you blind, but a blind twitter friend of mine has taught me that in this instance the term 'blind' would mean 'ignorant' and it's offensive to the blind.
So I'm going to stop short of calling you that, because frankly I need to know more.
Your assertion that Michelle or Barack Obama have not encountered racism or bias due to their Ivy league attendance is one of the more laughable things I've seen in print in a while. Furthermore, to think Senator Obama should be 'grateful' to the marvelous opportunities that come his way also smacks of ...well, racism.
Do you also assert that John be 'grateful' and Cindy be 'grateful'? or do you only reserve this term for men or women of color?
And to think that you are touting the 'lack' of racism in this country as a 'benefit' to the Obamas makes me rather ill.
Please explain yourself further so that I am not so sick to my stomach and entirely confused. I hope this is just a very large misunderstanding and mistyped comment on your part. I truly do. I truly, truly, do.
Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain
To a contributing editor
You're damn right I think McCain and Cindy should be grateful to this country. Her Dad was a rags-to-riches guy. He did it in a country where opportunity exists.
You're damn right I think Obama should be grateful. Grateful to the giants who came before him. Grateful to a fair-minded country who changed the way things are done to try to wipe out racism.
I notice that you preface your remarks with a personal attack. Nice. I'm not blind, although I've apparently lived in a hermetic bubble with android parents. I do wear glasses, though. Perhaps you can make something of that.
Actually, the Obamas have said they are
grateful
Repeatedly. They've both said that their success could only happen in America. They've also said we still have a ways to go.
And I agree with you that both Obamas have benefitted from the efforts of previous generations of Civil Rights activists.They have often said so, even as Barack Obama has tried to articulate a response to the race and class realities of this era.
Over the last several weeks, Maria has reported the evidence that racism and white privilege are real factors in this election. While millions of voters put aside racial considerations and voted for or against Obama based on his record and proposals, others are saying that race will influence their vote. There's no denying the racism in the "Obama waffles" stunt.
Norma, I don't know what the Obama's gratitude has to do with Maria's post. Surely we can agree that Obama's achievement is a milestone in the struggle for racial equality. At the same, it is crucial that we don't lose sight of the fact when it comes to racism, we are not yet saved.
Peace,
Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|
You said ...
"When in his life has Obama experienced racism?? When?? Why should he be angry? Or for that matter why should Michelle Obama be angry??"
To which I found you blind. Because I see it daily, hourly and with every email in my inbox.
Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain
Strides
I'm confused?
Having and a mother who pushed you, and the ability to get into good schools does not mean you do not suffer from the effects of racism.
Tell me how going to an Ivy league school means you can't experience significant racism? I went to NYU and racism still persists believe me. If you don't think so ask the girl across the hall from me freshman year, my brothers African American roommate at Brown, or a girl in Ohio at a respected 2nd tier Ivy who happens to be of Asian descent.
There are studies of academic nature, and polls very recent, like last week ,which indicate the Bradley effect will be present in this election, making it necessary for Obama to poll 10 percent higher to win. People admit to not knowing if they can pull the lever for a black man even though they want to.
You have major news pundits discussing how he looked "darker" than usual at the debates. This is not something you discuss in a country not still heavily chained to it's racist roots.
I was at an event Saturday evening with a group of educated adults from the D.C. suburbs, and I heard quite clearly from several people that they "just didn't think this country was ready for a black president".
Sorry, racism is alive and well here.
cooper
I love
I love and totally agree with what you're saying Mata. This part particularly jumped out at me "He's taking the stripes on his back so that generations after him, may not have to take it on theirs". It brings tears to my eyes sometimes watching Barack struggle to find that balance and swallow all the hate and disrespect. Progress is being made though ... slowly but surely. It's all very emotional for me.
Great post Maria!
Temi
Thank you, Temi
For your kind words and for participating in the discussion with your comments.
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Thanks, Maria
I've come to always expect a good read from you and have yet to be disappointed.
Nordette is a Contributing Editor with BlogHer.com whose personal blog is hosted on another site at this link.
Community and comments
Thank you, Nordette for your kind words. Likewise I devour your posts and comments full of thoughtful and well-researched fact and commentary.
I also appreciate the passionate discussion generated by all who have commented. I hope Norma156 will not turn away from the forceful response to her comment and will come back and engage those who disagree with the views she expressed.
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Passionate or Hateful???
My comments provoked a spewing of what I would call hateful responses. You'll note that nowhere in my post did I make a personal comment. Yet that didn't prevent you people from calling me "ignorant," "brainless," etc. One particular delightful post told me to get lost, although I've been a member here for some weeks.
No one denies Obama has achieved. But he achieved on the backs of people who went before him. My friends. My generation. The generation before us. People who actually suffered real harm. Physical harm. Not stares across the room. Not spiritual angst. I stood with those people and yes, suffered real harm.
Nowhere in any of these posts did anyone adduce a single example of racism suffered by Obama or Michelle, apart from hateful mail, which every presidential candidate gets.
Give me one example from his life experience where he was prevented from achieving or doing on the basis of his skin color. Come on, ladies, do it.
My point is that in the last forty years, this country has come a long, long way. If racism is such a predominent factor in society, as these posts would have it, then how do you explain the popular adulation of Obama? How do you explain the fact he will probably be our next president? No, I don't deny racism is dead. Of course not. Contrary to popular opinion, I haven't lived in a bubble. However, it is not a defining characteristic of our society anymore and to assert that it is is to miss or ignore the achievements of the last forty years and to minimize Obama's achievements.
Get a grip, ladies. I use the word loosely.
Thanks, Norma
I think it is important to have a range of views and I appreciate your commentary and engagement.
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Um, thats not fair
I stopped short. And said as much. Because I needed to know more based on your very big assertions.
I think Kim above just detailed very nicely some instances of racism simply in the past 2 years alone. If that's just one presidential race, I think we all can infer their lives have seen a bias or two or 300.
I don't think anyone has minimized any other generations achievements in the area either. I'd like to see examples of that, if you please. Again, as Kim mentioned, the Obama family has repeatedly acknowledged as much
I disagree that racism is not a defining characteristic of our country any longer. And I say that simply by what I've witnessed in this election. Its almost a more dangerous form of racism that has gone from lynchings and segregation to white privilege and whispers and those keeping quiet publicly for fear the 'pc police' will recognize them for what they really are.
As my Aunt whispers to my mother she'll vote Obama, but dare not tell her husband for fear his racist rage would harm them all....yeah....it affects Obama. He will be denied votes based on the color of his skin and may even lose states like Wisconsin and Ohio because of it.
I'd say losing an election is a pretty good example.
I suggest you read Maria's past posts. I suggest you also read some of the work of Kim Pearson and others and their documentation of how race plays into this election and the lives of millions of Americans.
Just like emotional abuse can be just as damaging as getting beaten, racism does not have to be firebombs, tear gas, and hoses to affect a life.
Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain
Testify!
Preach on sister, Erin. There is truth to your witness.
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You all have me close to tears
This is what makes me grateful for blogging -- that we can have this conversation and do the work to get to real understanding.
Sisterhood IS powerful.
Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|
The attacks continue...
I asked you "ladies" to give me one, just one, example of racism that derailed or hurt Obama. Lots of mean responses. But not one,not one piece of evidence that Obama has ever been hurt in a substantive way by racism. Please, I again ask you, adduce the proof.
In your need to damn this country, you've called me everything you could manage and frankly I'm disappointed at your lack of imagination. But, jeez, I guess I can take it. The bubble is thick. Nobody ever claimed I had a brain, so your charming colleague who called me "brainless" isn't far off the mark.
My question remains: Give me one, just one, example of where Obama or Michelle didn't achieve what they wanted to? Give me one example of where racism derailed or changed the path of their lives? Come on, ladies, tell me.
You can't. But you can get on on with denigrating the country who supports him.
Anyway, hurl all the names you'd like.
Who denigrated the United States?
As you have noted, our forebears paid a high price just so we can have this conversation.
I asked you to consider the substance of Maria's posts over the last several weeks, in which racist attitudes behaviors were documented. and research was cited that found evidence that a significant portion of the electorate has said it will not vote for Obama because he is half-black.
I will not presume to speak for Barack and Michelle Obama about the impact of racism on their lives. I do think the fact that they have needed Secret Service protection almost since the time of Sen. Obama's announcement is telling.
FWIW, I am their contemporary. I came from a background similar to Michelle's and also graduated from Princeton, so I can tell you about the impact of racism on my life and the lives of those I see around me. But I think that would be a tangent.
Rather than speculate, could you please address the substance of Maria's post?
I thank you in advance and look forward to learning from you.
Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|
Substantive hurt
I have linked to several examples where people have stated that they will not vote for Obama because of his race and have openly encouraged others to do the same. There are volumes of examples far worse to which I refuse to provide links. Also, as Kim has pointed out, receiving a number of death threats so high he required earlier Secret Service protection than any other presidential candidate in history.
That he cannot run for office without losing votes or fearing for his safety or that of his family because of his skin color I consider Obama to be substantially hurt because of racism. He may win the election but it will be in spite of the racism and because of the progress we've made, not because he hasn't been harmed by it.
Enough - Peace Be Still
I cannot speak to the Obamas' experiences with racism. Until they themselves, their daughters when they are old enough to speak of it or if I directly witness an event then I have no proof that would satisfy you. I do not speak from conjecture if possible.
Here is an involuntary rite of passage for Black men. If Obama ever drove a nice car and was not stopped, questioned and laid out over the hood of the car before he could prove it was indeed his car or that he has never been hassled by the police for walking down the street I would be shocked.
Would such an event stop him from being successful? No. Would such an event affect how he sees himself and the world? I can't say. You'd have to ask him.
I have tried to explain what I have seen as examples of 2008 political racism and intolerance. I have shared specific 2008 incidents in my life which you chalked up to me not being properly dressed.
I state once again, your original post touched a nerve. People got angry. It is hard to be polite when you feel that you have been hurt. I have apologized for inadvertently insulting you which I never intended to do. If I wanted to cuss you out believed me there would be no question or lack of vocabulary words for me to do so.
I have no desire to cuss you out. I respect you for at least trying to have a dialog but we are not understanding each other. I'm not speaking for anyone but myself here.
I have never damned this country but I will damn bad things done in the name of this country. It is my right as an American. I will tell you honestly there are times when I am made to feel like I am not an American. There are also times when I am able to proudly feel like I am included. That isn't often.
I've tried my best to find language that would help bridge the divide. I have nothing left this evening. Maybe it is foolish to even engage in these kinds of discussions. So I'm going to breath and meditate how we collectively can do this in a different more effective way.
Gena - Out On The Stoop
It's Still Racism
Norma156,
Racism is still racism even if it doesn't devastate the person's life. Michelle and Barack have succeeded despite racism, not because of its absence. Do you really think racism doesn't exist at Ivy League schools? Or that it isn't encountered walking down the street? Or do you only count it if it has caused measurable harm?
Sara
What about white male anger?
Watching Friday's debate, I was surprised at McCain's refusal to so much as glance at Obama, let alone address him, during the debate, even after moderator Jim Lehrer asked the candidates to talk to one another. So much of McCain's body language was that of a frustrated and angry man. And while some people have commented on his body language, not enough has been made of it--under pressure, McCain seems to be barely holding it together, and certainly unable to directly address his adversary.
Meanwhile, Obama not only must avoid the angry black man stereotype, but also a host of other stereotypes. For example, to appeal to greater numbers of Americans, he needs to ground his identity in his biculturalism without seeming to be the "tragic mulatto" who will never fit into mainstream American life because he is neither this nor that. (Related to this stereotype, the comments I heard about Obama being a "secret Muslim" reminded me of the literature of fear surrounding people of mixed race and/or African descent "passing" as white.) I'm also curious as to whether some African Americans feel Obama is not showing enough anger, that comes across as too white-identified and placating.
I think the problem is that people on both sides of the campaign are speaking from places of frustration and anger. I wish we could see more (civil) civic discourse, but I'm afraid most Americans have forgotten how to talk with one another--and many may never have learned how to talk about race, especially with people who look different from themselves.
Racism is a powerful undertow in this presidential campaign and in the country. You may not see it from where you're standing on shore, but wade out into the cross-cultural waters, and you will feel its strength.
Leslie
BlogHer Contributing Editor, Research and Academia
My blogs: The Clutter Museum, Museum Blogging, and The Multicultural Toybox
Astute of you, Leslie
I saw a blogger for one of the big newspapers who mentioned McCain appearing to be a "grumpy old man." :-)
Your observations about the fine line Obama must walk regarding his heritage and place in America are rather insightful.
Nordette is a Contributing Editor with BlogHer.com whose personal blog is hosted on another site at this link.
Many good observations, Leslie
Thanks for your comment and analysis. The Angry Black Woman's post and the comments has the best discussion of McCain's body language that I've seen.
I will draw it back to the original post...
It is a tough road. I am angry. Many people in this country are angry. Health care, mortgages, the economy, the war, the dwindling lack of opportunities in this country, all stir thoughts of confusion, anger, disappointment and even fear. There is alot for us ALL to be angry about. No matter which candidate you are, when you work to represent the people this anger may come through (and some of it might just be personality). It was evident for John McCain in the debate. Anger, standoffishness, and poise can make or break ANY campaign. That being said, showing anger is a little more risky for Obama.
Why?
Because, even though our country has come a long way in terms of overcoming racism, it clearly exists.
Because McCain's anger often gets interrpreted as being forceful, a leader, assertive.
Because there are many, many undecided voters out there. Many of these undecided voters will hold prejudice, even if it is unbeknonst to them, against Obama if he lets some of this anger show.
Racism is one thing when it comes to this election. Those that are racist are not going to be voting for Obama anyway. The real issue is for those voters that are not racist, those voters that generally have no problems with African Americans, Latinos, etc. These voters have collegues that are African American, maybe even friends that are African American. However, chances are they still have slight prejudices. And these prejudices may, just may, change their vote come election day.
It is hard to watch him have to be as careful as he is, walking the fine line between expressing his outrage with current situation and showing anger. Because to have to be that careful, I feel, also hurts his chances in another way. It often makes him come across as less genuine, less authentic. And, unfortunately, this is another complaint that many undecided voters have about him. It has become a Catch-22.
Corina Fiore from www.dtemama.com
Less genuine, less authentic
The catch-22 you describe is an excellent observation. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
In response to "Are you kidding??" No, I'm
deadly earnest
Norma156,
"When in his life has Obama experienced racism?? When?? Why should he
be angry? Or for that matter why should Michelle Obama be angry??
Both of them went to Ivy League schools with the privileges
associated with them and both have surrounded themselves with
like-minded people since."
I wonder if you aren't confusing the effects of Obama's acquisition of class and educational privilege with the idea that those privileges somehow erase the experience of racism.
Class status, as we know, can change in one lifetime or over several generations. I marvel that Obama could attend the DNC in 2000 and have his credit card refused at the car rental place (as many of us may have, embarrassingly) and then come back in 2004 to give that career-making speech. Or that he could've grown up knowing intimately what food stamps were as a child and now be in hugely different circumstances. And educational privilege is also that which can be acquired--in fact, most people strive for it because they know it'll help them earn more and live better over a lifetime.
But there have always been wealthy and well-educated people of color. And we KNOW in our bones that it doesn't keep a white woman with road rage in a Mercedes Benz from cutting off a well-educated upper middle class Asian American man in his car and it certainly didn't stop her from going right to shouting racist epithets at that Asian American man, as happened to my husband this past weekend. An exoerience that left him shaking with anger. Or a homeless white man telling me when I was a student, years ago, after I declined to give him some money, that I was a "still a ch*nk."
Because the whole point of racism is to diminish a person of color NO MATTER WHERE THE WHITE PERSON IS ON THE ECONOMIC SCALE. Because no matter how educated, accomplished, well-spoken, or well-behaved, you are...in the end as a person of color you can always be reduced to a dirty/lazy/sneaky racial epithet of choice by a white person.
Can an extremely motivated, fortunate, hardworking, dedicated person achieve--even in the times of the most severe, overt racism when lynchings and other horrific abuses existed? Yes, and among African Americans in the Jim Crow era the "talented tenth" debated how and where to spread the intellectual and financial wealth of individual African Americans to the rest of the 90% of their community. Were these same people "angry" that so few others had the opportunities for upward mobility that the "talented tenth" had? I'd say it was more moral outrage than a personally-felt anger. Because whether it's 1918 or 2008, a person of color with educational and class privilege will be angry that they can experience racism because they KNOW that the exact same thing but 10,000 times worse is directed much more systematically at far more vulnerable brothers and sisters.
And that's perhaps the key difference between the way you seem to want to make anger an illegitimate emotion for the Obamas versus how an individualized incident that angers can lead to a more transcendant passion. Are the Obamas angry because they've experienced racial slights or that overtly racist people (KKK members) dare to openly recruit others to their ugly views at the campus event where Obama & McCain debated? I won't speak for them but I'd imagine that in private it's hard to feel happy about such a thing. But the more important thing, and one I'm surer of, is that the Obamas would find it an outrage that willing, hardworking, able people are denied their dreams and goals because larger forces unfairly hold them back.
The beauty of Senator Obama's message, so far as I've been able to tell, is that he doesn't have a passion for justice for only *his own* people, however one might try to describe that group. He truly wants justice for every single person here in America. And that would mean, for example, working with nose to the grindstone for health insurance to cover the very same bigots who were recruiting for the KKK, as well as for the rest of us.
Because even bigots get sick. And it's a moral outrage that racist bigots might someday be bankrupt because they're faced with crushing health care costs. We just don't let misery and misfortune pile up on our fellow beings, we just don't. Not if we're human.
if it's anger or moral outrage that fuels a person to fight the good fight, then I'd say it was emotion put to productive use.
Cynematic
Racism and the Obama Candidacy
Let me preface what I am to say by noting that I am neither an American nor a person of colour. I never have experienced nor is it conceivable that I might experience the kind of bigotry that people of colour in the US historically have.
I follow US politics avidly and, inevitably, I persistently come across material that is simply too offensive to refer to here. Given the shrill anxiety amongst the more conservative sections of the US polity, it surprises me not a little bit that Obama has been the focus of such outright racial animus. I have to keep rem8inding myself as I meet Americans that though the voices of bigotry