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.
