Where is my face in the Senate?

Ladies,
Indeed the re-election of President Obama is important in the tapestry of the historical and cultural narrative of people of African-descent. Indeed those of us who are clear that the selection of future Supreme Court Justices, future economic and social policy, future educational reform, future ownership of the economic system rests in who has the bully pulpit to shape the national dialogue. As spiritual beings, we also know that there are metaphysical influences that also guide our lives, and that God is in control, not who is in the White House. That God directs our paths and orders our steps to make the best decisions that we benefit from.
The election of 20 female United States Senators is also a milestone. This is unprecedented. Women are now 52% of the electorate. I believe these Senators will lobby, advocate and vote on behalf of women. However, if you are a Black woman, you live through the intersection of race, gender and I'll add class for a later discussion everyday. Which means you have to negotiate your womanliness (smile), your race, and if you are a poor or working class woman, you negotiate that economic reality too - are judged, stereotyped, profiled, marginalized, stigmatized and politicized. From shopping, studying, working, attending PTA meetings, advocating for your neighborhood, interacting within your neighborhood, interfacing with your city services, you are viewed as a Black or Latina, a woman, and perhaps as a middle-class, working-class or poor woman. This is the reality. It is what it is.
So as a social scientists, I am aware that Black and Latina women battle economic challenges everyday. We battle lower salaries, lower wages, fewer opportunities, few loans from banks, low home ownership, low marriage rates, HIV/AIDS infections, domestic violence, obesity, diabetes, breast and ovarian cancers, differential treatment in public welfare programs, foster care experiences, employment discrimination, increased incarceration rates, misogynistic social ideas from some powerful White men, and two decades of awful Hip Hop lyrics from some Black men reducing women to objects of sex and money, TOTAL LACK and unfamiliarity with African cultural understanding, YET, we are the backbones of our families and our communities. We underscore the success of our churches, and we support the teachers in our schools. We work more than one job and have a hard time saving money for our future. Insurance is questionable as we tend not to have health insurance (though that is ABOUT To change with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act of 2010), life insurance, funeral or burial insurance for our families.
We should be reminded that the ONLY African American female senator in the history of the United States was Carol Moseley Braun, (D-IL), from 1993-1999. She ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2003, following the legendary Shirley Chisholm who ran for the presidential nomination in 1968. She has had some remarkable political feats, please read about her. But despite her significant contributions, she has had very similar experiences with economically deprived women - divorce, failed engagement, was victim to a mugging, foreclosed on her home. I don't highlight the latter as weaknesses, but to show that these economic and social challenges are a part of many Black women face. In the history of America, only 30 Black women have served in the House.
So where is my face in the Senate? My narrative isn't there with the polity. So we will have to become much more aggressive and make our narratives a part of the national policy discussion, as we serve as who Ida B. Wells called - The Watchmen on the Wall. We will have forge alliances with those female senators and ensure that the men who represent us, have our voices in their ears. Talk about your observations of the political drama which unfolded, I can't wait to hear from you.

Ideas of womanhood

We are living in an age where ideas of womanhood are evolving. Not only do we fulfill domestic roles as daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, aunts, playats. unts, godmothers and dear friends, we also are expanding our roles in the public sphere. We are entering and conquering so many professions and are witnessing women as firsts. Many of us remember the first female astronauts, women judges, ambassadors, Shirley Chisholm running for the Democratic nomination in '68, Geraldine Ferraro who ran as the Democratic VP in '84, and several women members of US presidential cabinets. Simultaneously, we have women who are the United Nations Ambassador and Secretary of State.

Yet the average woman is challenged by glass ceilings, reproductive control policy, employment opportunties, economic ownership and credit. We are challenged because there are men who are in positions of power, who maintain those glass ceilings, believe that women should not have control over their bodies, limit women's access to credit, loans, etc. What I find is that, at times, younger women don't begin practicing empowerment relationships with men early. I am astonished at some of the interactions I observe from some young ladies on campus, who allow some guys to communicate with them in a disdainful way. Where are the town-hall meetings that discuss these issues? Where are the women leaders who call to attention the lowclass behavior that is absolutely intolerable? Where is the national movement to end the derogatory images and lyrics in 21st century music (I am so over it already)?

Each of you bring special talents as women in your own way, capable of starting a movement. You have all the technology tools at your disposal. There are women on campuses who are poised and ready to join an effort, who are sick of music that is only about sex and money, sick of young men only behaving out of bias and selfishness. You are capable of building a network, an engine to totally eliminate messages of gender destruction and hate. Let us start now. Talk to one another, and invite people to this discussion that can start the wheels turning. NSU Women United!

Womanhood in the 21st Century

This is an exciting time to be a woman. All of us young women who are earning a college degree, nurturing the early years of a career, supporting a husband, rearing children, chartering new territory in a successful career that reflects the dynamism of who you are. It is indeed a marvelous, exciting moment in time to be a woman. From the post-baby boom generation to the hip hoppers, we are benefitting from the Civil Rights movement and gains made from the woman's movement of the 1970s. There are women with significant positions on President Obama's cabinet. The first lady is a beautiful intellgent woman whose charisma as a First Lady is unmatched in recent memory.

The Black middle class is growing, and women are contributing to that growth. Educated women are earning more money (although not quite matching the wages and salaries of men), earning more degrees, and are contributing to the fiscal stability of homelife. More women are purchasing homes, owning businesses, running for political offices, leading churches and universities, and are taking advantage of international opportunities.

Yet, yet, yet, it is perplexing to see the assault upon women today. Proposed national and state policies reflecting rape, invasive vaginal procedures, birth control, and our right to choose permeate the national dialogue today. Some of our music doesn't reflect the most positive scenarios of women. Some of the reality television shows depict the most bestial images of buffoonery imaginable, domestic and community abuse ravage women more today than ever before, more girls and women are kidnapped and trafficked as sex slaves, and are living in poverty without husbands.

We have to begin more critical and forthright dialogue about womanhood in America. As women involved in academia, we have a responsibility to crystallize these issues so that we can take action and be involved in problem-solving activity.  A wonderful NSU collegiate, Angela Batts has agreed to serve as a blogger, and I welcome her to this blog. She is a BSW student at NSU with creative juices that are enviable. Welcome Angela to this blog, and welcome all women at Norfolk State University.