*Rebecca Walker & Third Wave Feminism*

“As we make progress, we get more comfortable, and as we get more comfortable, some of us get a little extra comfortable. We start acting as if coming closer together means not having to care how our words may affect each other. We start assuming we can make any kind of joke or use any sort of epithet without a second thought, because now that we’ve made all this progress, everyone is always going to know that we didn’t mean it like that” (www.rebeccawalker.com/blog). This statement exemplifies that it is evident that in today’s society more and more people are becoming comfortable with racial comments. This also exemplifies that there are people in our society who do not think that certain words or phrases (i.e. “nappy headed hoes”) are seen as derogative.

In the case of Asher Roth and his Twitter comment, I firmly believe that his comment does not reflect a postmodern approach to African American women’s identity, because if Asher was not called out or his phrase was not publicized, he would not have apologized for it nor would he have thought that there was anything wrong with what he said. Living in a postmodern era, I believe that we all are or at least should be aware of what is considered degrading and what is not considered degrading. As the man stated in the Rebecca Walker blog that what Asher stated was “clumsy and hurtful.” I agree, because as a black woman myself, I take offense to that. I do not think that Asher is a racist, however I think that his immaturity and fetal mindset needs to be expanded. If Asher wanted this to be considered “a joke” per-se, I still think his choice of words were out of context. If anything, he should have learned a lesson from when Don Imus called the black girls on the basketball team “nappy headed hoes”, so why would he think that by him saying it would not cause a problem?

The postmodern approach to African American women’s identity does not encourage African American women to dismiss the legitimacy of Patricia Hill Collin’s notion of Black feminist thought, because according to Patricia Hill Collin describes this notion of self-definition. Women used this notion of self-definition as a survival tool, because women could now create their own self-image and define themselves. By African American women using this notion of self-definition and using this as a way for them to define themselves and create an independent identity, then terms such as “nappy headed hoe” would not affect them. I believe those terms would stir up rage etc. but if they have not self-defined themselves as a “nappy headed hoe” then they would not dismiss this notion of Black feminist thought.

Postmodern approach, I believe, that it does not encourage White men, like Roth, to dismiss the legitimacy of Patricia Hill Collin’s notion of black feminist thought, because like Roth, they misinterpret the notion of postmodern thought. Like Roth, he is unaware of the idea that what he stated is not considered degrading. Like the man mentioned in the video, that the closer people become, the more comfortable we tend to get. So, maybe in a sense white men are thinking that society has come closer together, they have become comfortable with certain phrases and terms. I think that the reason why these white men have become comfortable, because maybe they are looking at the media (i.e. movies, music etc) and they think that since blacks are comfortable with using degrading terms towards each other, then why can’t they be just as comfortable? I also believe that white men are not as knowledgeable when it comes to issues concerning black feminist thought, because quite frankly many of the issues do not concern them or in some cases appeal to them.

Another point that I wanted to make is that people need to think about what they say before they say it. As the guy stated in the video, people are becoming too comfortable. Though people may be becoming too comfortable, I still believe that people need to be aware of certain issues and know what is the right and wrong things to say. I found it interesting that when Don Imus made his comment about “nappy headed hoes” (which to this day just makes my skin crawl) it was a big uproar about it. But I find it extremely disturbing that when Asher Roth would even consider saying “nappy headed hoes” that he considered it a joke or mimicking what Don Imus said. I really think that if nobody criticized Asher for saying “nappy headed hoes” he wouldn’t have been as apologetic or even “recognized” that what he said was degrading. Even if Asher was being “funny” I still do not think anything of that sort should even be considered a joke. Nobody took what Don Imus said as a joke, so why would he turn what he said into a joke and think it would be ok? It is evident that there are people in our society that are still unaware of racial issues or unaware of things that can be considered racist. We have made some progress over the years, but there is still a lot more progress needed.

*Reflections on the Black Woman Course*

In response to Ruckersarah’s Blog…In this blog I learned about her experience and the encounters she had dealing with racial identity. She attended a school that the population was 98% white. This really fascinated me, because she had no experience with individuals of different races. She further explains how the first racial contact she really had was not until her senior year of high school on a trip and after she was exposed to this she became really “intrigued” about learning about different cultures and ethnicities. This was very interesting to me, because there are some individuals who do not have any experience or have not encountered any contact with individuals of different races or backgrounds and if they did, they were not passion about wanting to learn about them. To know that she became fascinated with this really shows her interest in wanting to expand her knowledge outside of her own culture. Another interesting concept I learned in regards to her blog was the conceptualization of African American Women. In her blog she mentions the social contract between the men of Morehouse College and the women of Spelman College, and she stated that, “they could have made the movement a positive one had they taken the time to think it out and make a more effective plan.” This was an interesting concept in relation to African American women, because these women were so eager to produce change and fight against the issues concerning the men of Morehouse College, but to know they thought they should have thought out their actions before taking charge was interesting. It shows that most of the black women do not think ahead of time and do not think about the outcomes of situations until after it happens, and this social contract and the issue surrounding these black college students was the result of that.

The author’s core assumptions regarding middle class African American women is demonstrated through the club women movement and how some of these organizations (i.e. NACW and the NCNW) were representing “ideas of their own” and not the race overall. This basically implied that these groups were excluding some black women, who may not have been educated etc. but yet tried to focus on the issues concerning black women, which in a sense contradicted itself because if if they’re fighting or focusing on issues concerning black women then all black women should have been included.

In response to Egho88′s blog I have learned some interesting information about racial identity. The first opening of the blog she strongly identifies herself as a black woman. She brings up an interesting concept that deals with racial identity and that is being able to recognize her identity since she was able to “grasp the idea” that people were different colors. She talks about her experience with crayon colors and how she would color a picture of a little girl with the black crayon but it just didn’t seem right because she was a brown complexion not dark black. So she had asked her mother why did people call her black if she was really brown? And her mother provided an answer that was very very interesting and that was “In this world, black means two different things. You have black the color and black the race. When people look at you they see black the race which means you’re an African American.” This a great exemplification of racial identity because if you think about our youth, do they really know and understand the concept of what it means to black? Do they understand this notion of what it means to be black? Just something to think about…

The author’s core assumptions regarding Middle class African American women is the whole notion of skin tone. This was exemplified through the article “What if Michelle Obama were white?” Middle Class women, or for someone like Michelle Obama who has been highlighted as the most recent Black woman icon, has been perceived to be lighter in magazines or in pictures so she can fit this typical or ideal image of a black woman.

Patricia Hill Collins “Power of Self-Definition”:
The “power of self-definition” is relevant for understanding the way in which middle class African American women define themselves in the 21st century, because self-definition was a way in which these women survived and grasped this notion of conceptualization. Self-Definition was a way in which these women survived, because this was a way these women could create independent self images. During these times, the black woman identity was considered “shaky”, so in order to set themselves aside or apart from the “shaky” image, these women used “self-definition” as key to survival and becoming independent from the rest.

Self-definition grasped this notion of conceptualization, because in order to become a well rounded black woman, they no longer should focus on just themselves, but their families and communities as well. Families and communities play major roles in black culture, so in order to focus on the “larger self” and not just the “personal self”, these women had to self-define themselves through their families and communities also.

Patricia Hill Collins “Sexual Politics of Black Womanhood”:

“Sexual Politics of Black Womanhood” is relevant for understanding the sexuality of middle class African American women in the 21st century, because sexuality was often used against black women as a form of oppression. According to Hill she states that “a second approach explores how sexualities constructed in conjunction with an unquestioned heterosexism become manipulated within class, race, gender, and nation as distinctive systems of oppression” (p.132). A prime example of this is the image of Jazebel. The sexual image of Jazebel “fosters the sexual exploitation of Black women’s bodies through prostitution.” This form of sexuality oppresses the black women, and as Hill states, “overseeing these relationships are nation-state policies that because they implicitly see Black women as Jezebels, deny Black women equal treatment under the law” (p.132). As you can see sexuality not only is a factor that oppresses the black woman, but it demonstrates the relevance for understanding the sexuality of middle class African American women.

Daughters of the Dust (1991)

I would argue to recommend the film, Daughters of the Dust as a portal into understanding the concept of Black feminist thought, because this film demonstrates the dialogical relationships. Dialogical relationships “characterizes black women’s collective experiences and group knowledge. This is demonstrated through each individual woman of the Gullah family. The family comes together on the island and each share a collective experience. For example Yellow Mary collective experiences have been her experiences over in the United States and the life style she lives. The group knowledge is demonstrated through the grandmother of the family, because she provides each of her children and grandchildren etc with insight and knowledge about not to forget about where they came from. Though this film is very intense and touches on various barriers consisting of black women and black feminist thought, I would recommend this film so that there can be a better understanding of these concepts.

Is it “Too Heavy a Load” to Mend the “Broken Social Contract” while trying to embrace the idea of “What if Michele Obama were White?”

My name is Sherrell Davis. I am 22 years old from Columbus, Ohio. I currently attend Ohio University and I am a GRADUATING SENIOR majoring in Specialize Studies in English and African American Studies and minoring in Communication Studies. After Graduation I will be attending Graduate School working as a Graduate Assistant for the Allen Student Help Center while obtaining my Master’s in Education in Integrated Language Arts. I am very passionate about teaching, and I have a strong urge for giving back to my community, especially the inner city youth. I identify as a Black woman who has encountered my share of struggles. There is not one thing life I regret. I am a firm believer that God has everything happen in life for a reason, how else are we suppose to learn from our mistakes? The articles in which I will be discussing provided some great insight and as a Black woman really made me think “outside the box.” Mark Anthony Neal and Crystal Smith provide some great insight on the issues in which concern the black community.

Mark Anthony Neal’s “Broken Social Contract” discusses how the women of Spelman College had to decide to take a stance on which part of their identity they should identify with. There were incidents of sexual assault that were occurring against the women of Spelman College. These women had to decide to take a stance on whether to fight against the social injustice against the men of Morehouse College or to stand silently and support their black men. Even though majority of the black women decided to fight against the social injustice that was occurring, there were some black women that felt what these black women were doing was wrong. This notion of knowing how black men are suffering in general in our black community and to go against the black man and to bring the black man down was not right, and that is what these women who were standing behind these black men were saying to the women who fighting against them.

The blog written by Crystal Smith, “What if Michele Obama were White”, discusses the idea of interracial relationships and presenting the idea of what if Michele Obama were white and Obama was still black, would Obama still be widely accepted amongst the black community? Would the Hip Hop community still embrace Obama? Another interesting fact that Smith mentions her blog is that an interracial family in the white house the world would not have been able to handle it. Smith also states that the only reason why Michele and Barack is so widely accepted, but more so Barack, is simply because he is bi-racial and he is a lighter skin tone, which places him closer to being white. Her blog really gives readers a chance to think outside the box and to think about the “what if” of the Obama presidency.

Mending the broken social contract, we must take into consideration the historical significance of race, class, and color dynamics that exist between black men and women, because through the demonstration of Mark Anthony Neal’s “Broken Social Contract” and Crystal Smith’s “What if Michele Obama was White”, shows that the issue of race, class, and color is still a prevalent issue in our society today. Taking into consideration the historical significance of race, in Deborah White’s Too Heavy a Load demonstrates the issue of class and how women struggled through trying to identify with being black or being a woman. In the beginning portion of her novel, White provides the Clarence Thomas trial and how women were forced with the notion of having to decide whether or not to side with one part of their identity. “How could I side with one part of my identity without denying the other?” (p. 15). In other words these women had to make a decision on whether or not to identify with being a black person or a being a woman.

In Mark Anthony Neal’s “Broken Social Contract” exemplifies the women of Spelman College speaking against the Social Contract of having to silently support their men even when injustice is occurring. This created an issue between the women of Spelman College and the men of Morehouse College, because women now had to decide whether to take up for other black women who were being assaulted or still stand up for their race and support their black men.

Taking into consideration the historical significance of class, White discusses how organizations that were designed to benefit black women often times did not. For example, White states that the leaders of NACW “often seemed out of touch with ordinary black women. Most were poor, often migrants” (p. 132). This implies that most of these organizations that were originally made to benefit the black women in the community began to only consist of and benefit only the black middle class women. White provides a perfect example showing that the women involved in these organizations only were benefiting black women of the middle class. “They were the immediate beneficiaries of the Council’s work. Poor black women like Pinkie Pilcher and Lutensia Dillard benefited secondarily” (p.157). This exemplifies that women of the lower class thought that these organizations were only benefiting black women of the middle class and they were less likely to join these organizations.

In conclusion, it is important to take into consideration the historical significance of race and class that exist between black men and women, because it is these factors that weigh down the black men and women. Black men and women constantly struggle with this idea of race and class and still try to mend together ways in which they can make it in society while carrying the issue of race and class on their backs.

~African American Fatherhood~

Fathers play an essential role in society, more than what people may think. Whether if they are physically present or not, fathers still have an impact on their family. When it comes to African American fathers and their fatherhood roles, it tends to sway towards the negative aspect and the impact they have on their families and society as well. In today’s society, Black men overall have always been in the negative spotlight. But when it comes to being fathers, the light shines even brighter. According to the article “Making Men Into Dads: Fatherhood, the State, and Welfare Reform” by Laura Curran and Laura Abrams, it discusses the roles of men and their relation to the Welfare system.

The very first introductory paragraph of the article, discusses an important issue, that even I sat back and thought about it and how true it was. On page 662, it says “The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) reviews recent studies on child support collection and literature from social service programs that focus on fathers whose children receive welfare.” I questioned myself as to why would they need to review or focus on fathers who children receive welfare. Then it dawned on me, that most children that are apart of the welfare system, their fathers are not present. Then I looked at it from another perspective that those children who are not apart of the welfare system, their fathers (or another male figure) is present. Present in the sense physically or financially. If the review is being done on fathers whose children receive welfare, shows that these fathers are not taking care of their children and/or not working. With this in mind, if the father was working or taking care of the child, there would be no need for welfare. But since the child is more than likely left with the mother, who is single and struggling to make ends meet, are needing assistance from the government. I never looked at welfare this way, and it shows that fathers have an even deeper impact on, not just families, but even the government as well.

Using the film “To Sleep with Anger” and its relation to the article “Making Men into Dads: Fatherhood, the State and Welfare Reform” shows how what the PRWORA perceives to be the typical marriage ideas, are not demonstrated in the film. On page 665, according to the 1996 PWORA, “The congress makes the following findings (1) Marriage is the foundation of a successful society (2) Marriage is an essential institution of a successful society which promotes the interests of children…Promotion of responsible fatherhood and motherhood is integral to successful child rearing and the well-being of children.” In the film, “To Sleep with Anger” shows a family who seems to be dysfunctional. There is the younger brother who does not get along with his older brother. The younger brother is married and has a child. Throughout the movie you notice how the child is always staying with his grandparents. If the father wanted to go out or didn’t want to watch his son, he sent his son to their grandparents. I find this part of the movie interesting when having in mind that “Marriage is an essential institution of a successful society which promotes the interests of children.” Marriage consists of both the man and the woman being present. By having both parents present should automatically conclude the idea that the child will be successful. This movie does not demonstrate this. Instead the movie shows how the father does not spend time with his child. On top of this, it shows the woman busy working and trying to support her family financially, and even showing her not having that much time to spend time with her child.

 

I just find it interesting that when you have a marriage you should automatically expect the man to take on most tasks that will help support the family. I don’t see this being a problem today however. I’m basing this off my personal experiences. My dad was not in the picture when my mother was pregnant with me, but my stepfather was; who was the person she ended marrying when I was seven. By my stepfather being present, and my mother and him being married tied him into the duties of having to be a father and put aside anything extra he might have had going on in his life at the time. I think that is what the article is trying to conclude that a marriage should put the interests of children first, but in comparison to the film, that is not displayed.

A Tangle of Pathology?

The blog I chose to comment on is Natosha’s. Her blog stood out to me, because the experiences she encountered as an African American are the similar experiences I have encountered myself. She mentioned, “I was raised around others within my race and share some of the same dilemmas and concerns. I have learned important information and listened to various opinions about the African American race through courses offered here at Ohio University” (Lemon). As I mentioned in my blog, I was not aware of the African American Experience before entering college. After taking one course in African American Studies, my interest grew. I really liked how Natosha used the word “plague” in her sentence, “There are many institutional complications that exist and plague the African American community.” I totally agree, because people are often aware of the issues that often affect the African American community. Most people only see what the media has to say, but do not see how what the media is portraying is really “plaguing” our community. For example, African Americans males are always seen as “gang bangers” or “drug dealers” and these perceptions of the African American male is bringing down the persona of the males in the community, because men begin to think being “gang bangers” is something they are only capable of. But overall Natosha brought up interesting points in her blog and I just wanted to point a few out that stood out to me.

I am taking African American Studies 482- The Black Family, because last school year I took The Black Child, and seeing the information that was provided in the Black Child course, I knew the Black Family course would be just as informative. I also became interested in taking this course, because considering the societal changes that have taken place over the years, the family has changed right along with everything else. I was interested in seeing if the value of family is still the same as it was when I was growing up; as far as if people still value the family relationship or has it shifted to something different, considering those of my generation have grown to be more independent over the years. The class however focuses on the earlier aspect of the Black Family and has allowed me to understand the level in which the Black Family is on today.

On the other hand, to the core of this blog is to discuss what is known as the Tangle of Pathology and the different approach it has on the Black Family. It is known that WEB DuBois and E. Franklin Frazier argued an interesting concept that the reason for problems to exist within and around the Black Family was because the nation has created these problems, therefore concluding that the problems Black Families continue to face are those the nation itself must commit to resolve. With this in mind, I must say that I disagree. That is like saying, well the nation knows that smoking cigarettes is bad for your health, but yet it is your decision if you want to smoke or not, and then you turn around say well it is up to the nation to stop everyone from smoking. That is not true, why? Because we each have a mind of our own. We all are to the point in time where we know the difference from right and wrong. The problems that exist within and around the Black Family are co-existing within the African American race, because we have allowed these problems to take over. The African American race, sad to say, is the laziest out of all races. This fact is proven to be true, because when it comes for things that will help uplift our community, Black people are no where to be found. But when it comes to a famous rapper being on trial for raping a teenage girl, the whole Black community wants to stand behind the rapist, because “they love his music.” WEB DuBois and Frazier are correct in saying that the nation created the Black Family as a problem, because we are constantly doing things to make us look like a problem, and the nation is only giving information that is being showed to them by our race. Therefore it is not the nation’s responsibility to solve our problems. We got ourselves into this situation, so we need to come together and brainstorm ideas in how WE as a Black race can come together and solve these problems ourselves.

The Black family has always been looked at as dysfunctional, and that is the image the nation has created. It has been looked at this way, because of the matriarchal roles that now exist in the Black Family. As women being playing the dominate role and the men not taking on the roles they need to . Therefore the nation sees this as a problem. But is this situation left up to the nation to fix? Certainly not. According to the Moynihan report, on page 5 of chapter 4, it explains the failure of youth, and this is an example that I feel needs to be pointed out, because I believe the failure of youth is the main aspect of the Black Family the nation points out to be a problem, therefore I can understand why and I feel that it is not the nations fault that the Black youth are continuing to fail. Which concludes my reasoning why I believe that is not the nation’s responsibility to solve this problem. However, I must say that over the years, the conceptive idea that our youth are continuing to fail is slowly disappearing. When I say slowly, I really mean Slooowwwwlllyyyyy. On page 5 of chapter 4 it says, “Negro children without fathers flounder-and fail.” This represents the idea that it is slowly disappearing, because men are still becoming achievers without their fathers being in the picture. With this in mind, that is because of the Matriarchal role that women have been having for years, and women have grown stronger and more independent, and therefore have been raising their children not to be failures, and not to grow up like their fathers, and so the whole concept of children without fathers is slowly going away, because mothers are making sure their children become sucessful.

In conclusion, overall I do not find the nation to blame for the problems that exist in the Black Family. That is just like blaming the media for the “coonish” television shows that air today, like Flavor of Love and I love New York or Hell Date, because the media is only displaying what we are feeding them. As long as we are showing interest in these shows and keeping their ratings high, they will keep airing these shows. Just like the nation. They will continue to see the Black family as a problem as long as we don’t do anything in showing ways of shifting our behavior.

Homogenous or Diverse?

Hello my name is Sherrell L. Davis, and I am from Columbus, Ohio and yes I am Black. Proud of it and not once have I been ashamed of my culture. I may be disappointed at times at some of the actions other Black people do, but that is a different story. Growing up I really did not have the knowledge or insight of what it meant to be Black. I understood slavery, racism etc. but I never understood what is known as the Black Experience, until I came to college. Attending a predominately white campus, it has allowed me to really dig deep and discover who I was, as not only a Black woman, but as a Black individual as well.  I recently changed my major to English and African American Studies. I chose African American Studies as part of my major, because living in this day and age I find it crucial to know about the African American Culture. Due to the misinterpretations, I feel as a Black person it is my duty to help change these misinterpretations. I have taken numerous courses and read numerous readings that actually influenced my decision. I have grown to the point that I am trying to better the African American culture by being an example to others. I realized that everything I do is a reflection of not only me, but my culture as well.  Anything that anybody does is a reflection of who they are. I feel as a culture we could do a better job in making ourselves look better, especially in the media. I often get disturbed when I turn on the television and see how much African Americans are misrepresented. That is the reason why I am writing this blog, because I have known people to think, not just those that attend the same institution as me, but those around the world, to view African Americans as a Homogenous group of individuals. I find this statement to be false and in some ways disturbing, so hopefully the insight that I have provided below will be words of encouragement in helping to motivate those mindsets and perceptions of African Americans as being a more diverse group of individuals, and hopefully the African Americans can begin to take a stance and change this experience.

When people think of or refer to Race, the first groups of people that come to mind is the Black and white races. An African American Studies Professor at Ohio University, Dr. Joan Weston, mentioned in an assignment given in her Black Family course, how “Race is a fundamental category that governments, communities and individuals use in organizing understandings of social life.” These fundamental categories, however, lead to different perceptions and assumptions of these races. The main race that suffers from being placed into these fundamental categories is the African American culture. These assumptions have affected our culture from both a positive and a negative spectrum. A positive spectrum would be the handful of African Americans who did not want to be labeled under these different assumptions and decided to excel above what the standard is known to be for African Americans. A negative spectrum would be that there is the other handful of African Americans who just accepted and adapted to these fundamental assumptions and decided to live to the lowest potential of the African American race.

Being an African American woman, I have seen first hand what it is like for those of the Non-African American race to recognize African Americans as homogenous group of people. According to dictionary.com, homogenous is referred to as “all the same or similar kind” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homogenous). I have gained this understanding based on what the media today has to offer to the public. When you look at modern day television and you see reality shows, such as, Flavor of Love, I Love New York, Charm School, College Hill, Hell Date, and The Wire, these are the few of the many Black television shows that shows the negative images of Black people. The media glamorizes these shows, because it is what, not only those of the Non-African American culture are attracted to, but most of their viewers are those of the African American culture. African American has always been looked at as “ghetto”, “ignorant”, “lazy”, “pimps”, “hoes”, “gang bangers”, and the list continues. The media keeps hyping up these perceptions, therefore giving people a conclusive mindset that all African Americans are the same. You do not see television shows that show the good things that African Americans are doing. Like becoming CEOs of big companies, being Doctors, or those African Americans who are giving back to the community. If you do see these African Americans, they have to be big celebrities, like Jay-Z, or NBA players, like Shaq. But what about the normal African Americans in the community who are bettering themselves? Why is it that African Americans are attracted to shows that are making them look bad? These questions have yet to be answered. This images needs to be changed, and it is up to those handful of African Americans who are trying to better themselves and excel above the standard, to teach, preach, and do whatever it takes to bring other African Americans up in the world so we can have a better and more positive community. African Americans are not a homogenous group of people. I believe African Americans are the most diverse group of people compared to all other races. It is up to us as African Americans to make sure we remain as this diverse group.