Ain't I a woman?

By Rema Reynolds

Guest Contributor

Obviously the message that we are living in a post-racial society is still in its rhetorical stages and has not yet been internalized enough to influence public behavior. Fledgling claims that the election of President Obama, the nation’s first President of color, has obliterated racism as we know it, and has wiped clean the stain of past injustices (such as slavery) that once blighted these more than ever United States, must be premature as they are not being taken seriously by the badly behaved grownups—especially this week.

From Rep. Joe Wilson to Kanye West to Serena Williams, tantrums abound. On the surface, one may surmise that the outbursts of these two men were evidence of their impulsiveness and immaturity. That may be true. In fact, I’m pretty sure it is. However, upon closer inspection, it is apparent, to me anyway, that race is inextricably enmeshed in the fabrics of these incidents and once again, America is choosing to overlook the gendered and racial implications of men behaving badly.

Let us consider the Congressman first. There’s not much more to say beyond what President Carter elucidated earlier this week. What hasn’t been said is that the Senator is representative of many White Americans who cannot contain themselves, want to crawl out of their very skins, and shout from the highest mountain a string of racial slurs toward the White House.

How can this mere Negro have the audacity to give the government orders? These citizens can hardly stomach the fact that a Black man is in charge. Resorting to behavior that would have warranted a timeout had he been in a preschool class, Senator Wilson, who is not a racist according to his son, just had to say something to disrespect and discredit the President. He really couldn’t hold it in any longer. Hate from racial prejudice overwhelmed him. I guess he hasn’t gotten the memo announcing that we live in a post-racial society in which these open acts of racism covertly guised as disagreement are passé.

Then there’s Mr. West. Okay, so we all have to concede the fact that Kanye was out of pocket when he decided to make a spectacle of himself at the VMA’s. Typical West behavior though was met with an unanticipated backlash this time. We all know Mr. West is a loose canon libel to say anything at any time.  No filter. What we didn’t expect was for him to victimize a White girl. Yes. I said it. If Kanye had, hypothetically speaking, instead taken the mic from Jay-Z and insisted that Lil Wayne should have won some award, we would have been shocked for many reasons. We would not, however, deem Jay-Z a victim. West would have been allowed to remain until the show’s and his cognac’s end without incident. It would have made the news.

But we would not have called for Kanye’s immediate apology. We all would have laughed at his crazy antics and gone on to talk about Patrick Swayze’s passing as we should have. But no, Kanye chose the wrong one to pull his publicity stunt on this time.  White women are to remain untarnished, unharmed by Black men. History has shown us this over and over. The extreme hatred of OJ Simpson for example. Emmett Till’s murder. There are countless examples of the lengths White America will go in protecting the honor of White women. Kanye should have known better. Even in this "post-racial" society, some acts will always be infractions when White women are involved.

So, does the same hold true for Black women? What would have happened had Mr. West upstaged Beyoncé? Would the media dedicate as much time and attention to the reporting of that story? Do Black women have equal value and protection in this society?

The answer is a resounding, “Not so much.”

We know that there exists a dangerous double standard for Black women.

My proof? Well, in the news this week was also a horrific, barbaric beating of a Black woman, Tashawnea Hill, in Morrow, Georgia by Troy Dale West, Jr., a White man. Ms. Hill, a mother and an army reservist, was barraged with racial slurs while being kicked and punched in the head as her daughter watched helplessly traumatized. The man doling out this unprovoked savage attack was released on bail while the FBI flounder about wondering if this is a hate crime. This act of brutality, however, was not discussed on every morning show. We did not hear a demand for an apology from Troy to Ms. Hill. With the exception of a few headlines, the media and all of its consumers were almost silent.

The silence is deafening. Because we now live in a post-racial society, it is difficult for us to explain these events. Essence, a magazine for women, has decided to consult astronomers to discuss Mercury retrograde as a viable reason for these acts instead of examining the racial implications glaringly present in each of these incidents. Since the election of President Obama, we no longer have racism to blame.

What else, dear reader, would prompt a burly man to soundly beat a woman? Why else, dear reader, would all the networks come to the aid of Taylor Swift so swiftly? How else, dear reader, can you explain the influx of contributions Mr. Wilson received after disrespecting the President, the leader of the free world?

Well do not look to overt or covert racism as a means by which to explain or understand the differential treatment, reactions, and coverage these unruly men have received. We’ll have to look to some other ism since racism no longer exists.

These incidents leave us to ponder explanations that could possibly extend beyond the complexities of race and racial implications in this country. To some, particularly those who have firsthand experience with marginalization in this country, the notion that racism is no longer a credible culprit, the idea that we cannot look to a past wrought with systemic discrimination, prejudice, hatred, and exploitation to understand the present plagued by the same conditions seems ludicrous.

I wonder if we know that now more than ever, race is a centralized social construct people consistently use to guide their decisions, yet we, society as a whole, both Black and White folks alike, would rather not acknowledge the validity of its effects on the normal day-to-day interactions between people.  However, without that acknowledgment, without racism as explanative in understanding why events like these or that in Philadelphia with the children banned from the pool, or that at Harvard with Professor Gates, it becomes difficult to understand the impetus of such treatment. This is a dangerous endeavor indeed, this denial of the importance race and racism in this country.

For without an answer, without racism and hatred as root causes for the effects of damaging behavior, those victimized are then compelled to internalize the blame. Because racism no longer is present in our society, then the mistreatment must be either a figment of my imagination or the result of something I, the victim, have done wrong. Racism is then internalized and the victim becomes responsible for the perpetrator’s behavior.

Come on folks. Racism is alive and well. We cannot deny its power. We cannot deny its effects any longer if we wish to move forward in peace and solidarity in this country within the next century. Calling it what it is, identifying the reason for maltreatment, naming racism causes discomfort for all involved. It is through the discomfort, by treating infection, suffering through the symptoms while healing occurs do we cure the disease. Until we recognize that we are sick with racism, the virus will continue to spread.

Alas, it takes great courage to even go to the doctor sometimes. Most don’t go until the pain becomes unbearable. While I fear that it will come to that, conditions like the one in Morrow, GA will worsen to a point that is intolerable for the average person before we validate racism and all of its ugly cousins, the other isms, perhaps repeating these words ad nauseum will make them true: We live in a post-racial society. We live in a post-racial society. We live in a post-racial society.

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

Rema Reynolds is a former teacher, counselor, administrator, and currently organizes parents for the improvement of Black student achievement in various schools. She is an Assistant Professor at Azusa Pacific University teaching aspiring school counselors and school psychologists and offers support and instruction to pre-service Secondary teachers at UCLA’s teacher education program, Center X.

Comments

[Esther Carrera]

You are absolutely right that racisim is still alive and well in these United States of America. There is no question about it. However, we must be careful not to see things through racist lenses. We cannot blame everything that goes wrong on race alone.

The congress man who interruped President Obama was wrong in interrupting and descrediting the President. In my opinion, the only one who looked like a fool was the congress man. Who behaves like that? But was it racially motivated? I don't know if his behavior was caused by race or a deep disagreement in what the President was saying (either way it was bad behavior). The media wasn't paticularly nice to President Clinton or his daughter either and they are white. There is no doubt that there are some who are offended by the fact that we have a Black President (to bad for them), but that doesn't mean that every negative incident that occurs is caused by him being black. It could be the office that he's holding. President Obama doesn't blame his race when things do not go the way he wants them to. But I do not believe that he is ignorant to the fact that in some instances race is to blame. The way he deals with this is someting we can all learn from. President Obama is an awesome role model for everyone.

As far as they Kanye West incident, I believe he the crossed the line. Not because Taylor Swift is white, but because he did period. Kanye's behavior was rude and unwarranted regardless of race. If he had done that to Beyonce instead of Taylor Swift, it would be just as shocking. Everyone loves Beyonce, she just didn't win this time.

Then there is the savage beating of a black woman by a white man. In that, my friend, I coulnd't agree with you more. Here we have an ordinary citizen that has been brutally victimized because of her race and no one hears about it. Why? There are more stories like hers. I wonder if white children the only ones abducted because those are the only ones we see on the news.

Yes, racism is alive and well. It happens everyday to ordinary people like you and I. I commend any minority that has been able to climb the ladder of success and while they may still see racism, I don't believe they experience it or are limited by it the way ordinary people are. Those that have been able to break through those chains have a responsability to help the rest of us by modeling correct behavior while continueing to fight for equality in a respectable and commendable manner.

[Christine Farrell]

I am baffled to hear that people do not believe racism still exists toady, and that they are justifying it with the election of President Obama. Yes, with this election we have made great strides, but none big enough to overcome racism. Racism has a long history that can not simply disappear with one action. The action of the civil war did not wipe out racism, it is arrogant to think that making an African American takes away racism completely. It is sad because the simple fact that people believe racism no longer exists, it detrimental to the United States.
Obama's election is a step in the right direction, but this step is not as great as some may like to think. This is because he is not receiving support from those of power around him, like the congressmen. Not only does he have to face congressmen judging him for his acts and decisions, like they have done to other presidents, but he has to face them judging and not supporting him for racist reasons as well. It is not right that he has to worry about his ideas not getting backed not only for their content but also because of the racism that exists in some congressmen.
When looking at the Taylor Swift and Kanye incident, it is interesting to me how much media it received. The VMAs have always been know for some crazy event happening, but none have been so public as this particular one. So if Kanye did the same thing to Beyonce as he did to Taylor, would there have been so much uproar in the media? The Black lady who was barbarically beaten in front of her daughter did not receive as much coverage as the Taylor/Kanye incident, so what does that show us? I didn't really think about these events and there coverage until now.
It is a shame that people are justifying the end of racism with Obama's presidency. I have actually heard people say things in relation to Obama's election ending racism, but I thought they were just messing around, because to me, it is a step but not one that for sure clears racism completely. I am in totally agree with the statement of "Until we recognize that we are sick with racism, the virus will continue to spread." We cannot hide the facts we must realize it still exists and make a change.

[Phuong Pham]

It is true that we live in a post-racial society. I honestly didn't think Kanye West outburst was made headline news everywhere because of what he did to Taylor Swift had to do anything with race. Kanye kind of did something similar to Brittney Sears when she won some award last year when he thought he should've clearly won instead. It made the news, but not everybody was bashing on Kanye even though Brittney Spears is white.

It was ignorant for what the congressman said. I still can't believe that there are still so many citizens in the U.S that still can't accept the fact that a black man is finally president. Instead of supporting him, they keep on bashing on him and hoping that he would failed. Shouldn't we all hope for the same? Hope that Obama would help us from this recession, and make everybody lives a lot better? And make the future brighter for our children? We are all raised to love and respect one another, but yet some people can't do these simple things due to race

Reading this article made me open my eyes and realized that there will never be an end to racism. It is like a virus. We would all have to come together and join hands to find a solution to stop this virus, stop the hatred, and the racism. But it seems impossible.

[Anissa]

I think there are some good points here. Before reading this article I never thought that the Kanye-Swift incident was a racial incident. To me it just seemed like another bone head thing that Kanye did because that is what he does. However, the author makes sense in saying that the media may not have been so quick to demand an apology if he had done the same thing to Jay-Z or Beyonce. I guess I never thought of it that way. The underlying message of racism within the media was clear. The demand for an immediate apology was almost instant and it never occurred to me that it was because no one should ever do that to a white woman. This article put alot of things into perspective for me. I did not even know about the man in GA that beat up a black woman. Stories like that seem to be put on the back burner or even played down. But then I have to wonder if it were someone famous that was beaten up if it would have made more headlines (i.e. Rhianna/Chris Brown). I know the stories are not exactly the same but in the same sense both victims were black women. This was a great article and it really made me think a little bit deeper into what is really going on in regards to racism. I would also have to agree that racism is still alive and well in the U.S.