Black Women Vote!

YES THEY DID - OPEN THREAD

2008-11-05T07:13:00.007-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO BARACK OBAMA FOR HIS DECISIVE WIN

Today, I am extremely proud to be an American -- we are the most vibrant, diverse, resilient people in the world. Last night, America showed the rest of the world how a peaceful, bloodless change of government can be possible, even with sharp differences in ideology. We are an amazing country!

My condolences to John McCain supporters; let us remember that we are all striving for the same thing: a better tomorrow for ourselves, our children, and the world. It is time to lay down our swords and shields, and come to a place of negotiation and understanding.

I have so MUCH to say about what this election means to me as a black person, as a woman, as an immigrant, as a taxpayer, and as an entrepreneur... but I will save those posts for another day. This is a day of celebration for some of us and a day of rest and reflection for the rest of us.

Now that we know the new political landscape, black women can begin to intelligently plan a specific roadmap to our own economic, political, and social advancement. I can not wait to do my part.

What do you think that the Barack Obama Presidency says to Black Americans, to the rest of America, or to the rest of the world? Take a moment to register your thoughts.

Black Women Vote - A Day of Greatness

2008-11-04T04:53:00.002-05:00

Election Day: open thread

It's 5:16am, and I am showered, dressed, and headed to the election polls where I will serve as a challenger. I just got a call informing me that there is already a long line at my polling place. However, I am relaxed, focused, and prepared for anything.

This is it. My sisters: I will not parrot the mandate for black women to simply "make history" today, because let's face it: American history has been extremely unkind to us.

Instead, I raise my voice to challenge and implore Black women to CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY, bend it to your will, and set a new tone for black women in America -- right NOW. VOTE.

Vote on behalf of our ancestral mothers who were denied that right. Vote for our daughters who depend on our success for their own survival. Vote in proxy for the black women in the Congo, in Darfur, and around the world, who depend on our foreign policy for relief. But most of all, vote for yourself: our collective future depends on the outcome.

A few important notes:

No electioneering at the polling place.

-It's a felony to do or say anything that might influence someone's vote while you are standing in line. Do not talk about the pro's or con's of any candidate, even on your cell phone. Don't wear anything that refers to a candidate or political party. (If you forget and wear a campaign shirt, go to the bathroom and turn it inside out instead of going home to change).

Be accurate

- Double check your vote before and after submitting it.

- If your eligibility is challenged, GET A PROVISIONAL VOTE, and don't leave without voting.

Take your daughters (and sons) into the voting booth with you

- You be shocked at how many white men do this with their sons on election day. It's a smart move and we should step up to similarly teach our children the importance of civic responsibility.

Be sure of your proper election place before you leave home

- For heaven's sake don't stand for hours in the wrong line! (Sorry to be so basic, but many people make this mistake)

Bring proper Identification

- A drivers' license, passport, or other government issued ID is always sufficient. Some states allow for utility bills, etc. Check beforehand to be sure.

What advice or encouragement can you give to black women today?

This is an open thread for all Voters: Please post your election thoughts here... I will be serving as an election challenger, but will be able to check back periodically as the day progresses. Let's usher in this new era... together.

Listen to Shecodes on NPR this morning

2008-10-29T09:52:00.005-04:00

Wow, we just had a very lively discussion on NPR's News and Notes with Farai Chedeya. I did my best to be demure, genteel and lady-like... but somehow, I ended up getting irritated and calling Kevin Ross out schoolyard-style (kind of like, "Meet me behind the playground at 3:00 and we'll settle this!")

We were arguing about, of all people, DL Hughley's newly minted minstrel show on CNN.

Now I had planned to completely ignore that show, because I already knew it would be comprised of the same tired, predictable cadre of pimps, 'hoes, and the requisite 'black people so ign'at' references that he and his cronies crank out. I had no intention of blogging about that nonsense! Other blogs like Racialicious and WhatAboutOurDaughters have said everything I was thinking (or so I thought!)

However when my man on NPR started to describe DL Hughley as a cross between Father of the Year and St Francis of Assissi on national radio, I had to break down and tell it like it really is. Sorry.

I don't remember everything I said, but it was something to the effect that DL Hughley is a one-trick pony who doesn't have the talent or the critical thinking skill to deliver witty political commentary. His jokes are comprised mostly of insults and hackneyed, overused, black stereotypes.

Listen to the show here.

I really respect Kevin's opinion, so he might be right about Hughley being a nice guy on the private sphere (stop snorting!) But in my opinion, DL Hughley publicly behaves like just another barnacle on the underbelly of the Black Community, feeding off of our sewage, trying to sell his own twice-processed excrement back to us as if it's caviar.

I had a little chat with the Field Negro today as he walked me toward my car, and I recall saying that these comics call themselves comedians, but fail to realize that it is THEY, THEMSELVES, ARE THE JOKE that CNN, Time Warner, etc is telling.

Now Kevin Ross of 3 Brothers and a Sister. is a fantastic blogger and great guy. I really like him and he gave me some wonderful advice and encouragement when I first started blogging. So I was only play-fighting with him in particular -- but my opinion on this matter is deadly serious. I do not apologize.

So yes, bottom-feeders like DL Hughley have a constitutional right to crank out their drivel, but they should at least do the world a courtesy by painting on their blackface beforehand so that the world can distinguish them better from the rest of us.

McCain's presidential win traced back to Shecodes' absence

2008-10-27T17:43:00.009-04:00

She's baaaack...

Well, I've done heard it all! For the past three months I have been continually coaxed, cajoled, prayed for, scolded, threatened, and guilt-tripped by readers, friends, frienemies, and downright enemies trying to get me to abandon my sabbatical from my sabbatical (otherwise known as 'working') in order to get back to blogging! Uncle! You guys win!

Online APB's were sent out, 2:00am phone calls were made. Y'all are some PERSISTENT women and men, lol! I love that about us, though.

I missed the blogosphere tremendously... after all, what kind of political blogger could STOP blogging during the most exciting political period in her life? Suffice it to say that real-life campaigning, one major life event, and the fact that I have a sibling who is running for re-election forced me to become uncharacteristically quiet on the blog scene (and the internet in general) for a minute.

However, it was this video, sent to me from Aaron from A Political Season, that had me scrambling to blow dust off of my computer keyboard:

Never let it be said that I singlehandedly destroyed the delicate balance of power in the free world. I won't be made responsible for plunging my beloved US of A into four more years of grief, angst, and corporate welfare!

Shecodes is officially present, rested, and reporting for duty.

On a more serious note:

We have seven more days until election day. I urge all people -- and black women in particular -- to avoid making mistakes that put us in this perilous position in the first place.

Our culture of short-sightedness, our predilection for quick fixes, and our limited interest in politics between election cycles has allowed counterfeit leadership to run us into this ditch.

If we are to change the course that America is on, simply voting on November 4th is not enough.

America is in deep doo-koo because too many of us are completely disinterested in politics unless there is an election looming close by. We remain asleep at the wheel; too trusting, too busy, and too gullible to hold those who represent us accountable.

What is done can not be magically undone. As American citizens, we must and will pay a heavy price for the folly that has gone on in Washington, and so will our children. Moving forward, let us resolve to remain involved in politics long after the ticker-tape has been swept up after Inauguration Day.

Blessings to all, and see you tomorrow.

SHECODES WILL RETURN IN ONE WEEK

2008-08-23T20:08:00.002-04:00

Please listen for me today on NPR's News & Notes

2008-07-02T08:16:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone,

Please check me out today on National Public Radio (NPR) for what I think will be a great episode of News and Notes. We will discuss recent developments in Barack Obama's campaign:

Here are the topics:

Ralph Nader says that Barack Obama is "talking white"

"He wants to show that he is not a threatening . . . another politically threatening African-American politician," Nader said. "He wants to appeal to white guilt. You appeal to white guilt not by coming on as black is beautiful, black is powerful. Basically he's coming on as someone who is not going to threaten the white power structure, whether it's corporate or whether it's simply oligarchic. And they love it. Whites just eat it up." (source)

Nancy Pelosi wants to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, Obama says 'not so fast' (source)

Barack Obama's bid for presidency creates a surge in racist activity (source)

Find local listings for NPR News & Notes here: broadcast times and call letters.

Listen to last night's The Queens' Council podcast

2008-07-01T17:57:00.006-04:00

Shecodes, LorMarie, and femmeautonome talked about:

1) Black Women and our Personal Safety. Many black women are outraged by the escalating brazenness of criminals who target women of color, and the nonchalance of our neighbors about it.

But does this outrage mobilize us into making a comprehensive personal and family safety strategy? Has your behavior changed at all since you have begun reading about these terrible crimes? (forshadowing: I have begun research for a post on safety, including firearm ownership for black women)

Politically speaking, what should happen locally, state-wide, and nationally to curb violent crime? Does widespread black advocacy for black felons contribute to the proliferation of violent crime?

2.) The new Report on Black Women and Girls. LorMarie called in to give us her take on the press conference and the report. We will continue discussions at a later time, when most of my readers have already gotten their copy.

Listen to the podcast episode here:

Please Purchase this Report on Black Women and Girls

2008-06-30T08:43:00.013-04:00

This past Thursday, I drove to Brooklyn, NY to attend a press conference about the first comprehensive national study on Black American women and girls.

Hosted at a black art museum, I was joined by about 50 black women of all ages and walks of life, who were just as curious about this report as I was.

From what I understand, this report synthesizes information about black women from a host of recent governmental studies, and puts it all in one place. Because I have been researching these same studies, I already knew most of the information in it -- but still, I truly appreciate this report for a few reasons:

1. This report attempts to tell the whole story about us. It is the first report ever on black women that does not define us as a meaningless bundle of pathologies tied together with a paternalistic ribbon.

2. Black women are truly the subject of the report. WE are described FIRST, and all other races and genders are compared to black women, who are the baseline. For those of us who regularly read reports, this new perspective will be a little disconcerting at first. Usually, reports compare everyone to white men, who serve as the 'gold standard' of normalcy.

I find this new perspective refreshing and critically important. Black women are just about always defined as a subset of a larger, 'more important' group: often a footnote on a Black report or bullet point on a Women's report. Not so in this report.

3. The researchers fought to present the good news as well as the bad. Apparently, many scholars are so brainwashed into thinking that all things black are pathological, that they simply can not accept the truth of positive statistics concerning black women. The authers described how they were routinely challenged when they presented statistics that didn't jibe with many scholars beliefs about black women.

Example: The researchers were challenged over and over again about the statistic that asserts that 82.6% of graduation-aged black girls finished high school in 2007.

Academics simply could not believe that black girls finished high school at those rates, and seriously challenged that number. The researcher said that she had to repeatedly return to the Dept of Education to garner more and more evidence to support that statistic.

The 82.6% number is correct.

There was a question and answer session at the end of the presentation, but I was a little disheartened by the kinds of questions that were asked by the audience. It showed me that some of the sisters who were in the audience with me really weren't getting it.

For example, the very first question was asked by an attractive 24-ish college student. She noted that the report cost $14.95 and wanted to know why the researchers were charging for the report. Shouldn't it be free? Even after the contributors explained the expenses involved, she just couldn't let it go of the fact that they were charging for it.

SISTERS: We simply MUST stop doing this! Why do so many black women expect freebies from other black women for things that they need, but gladly pay top dollar to Polo, Baby Phat, and Nike for the things that they don't? I really wanted to sternly speak to that girl after she went on and on about it, but I just had to keep whispering to myself: "This is not my house. This is not my house..."

As a favor to Shecodes, please do not email these women asking them for a 'complimentary copy' of the report. Let's support our sisters financially!

In the upcoming weeks, you will be able to talk directly to the researchers on our The Queens' Council podcast. The report is the first annual one, and it is a good start.

I mentioned that I hoped that this group will become better funded so that they can conduct their own sampling and questioning in the future, instead of needing to depend on mining long and obscure governmental reports. They hope to move in that direction in the future as well.

Please consider purchasing and downloading the report. It was commissioned by a think tank for black women entitled The Law and Policy Group... it's about 39 pages long, and can be read in one sitting.

We are going to discuss the information and arm ourselves strategically with data like this on The Queens' Council podcasts. You can purchase the report by clicking here. Tell them Shecodes sent you!

Another gang attack of a black woman while neighbors ignore screams

2008-06-26T11:21:00.008-04:00

One year after the Dunbar Village incident has passed. No progress has been made.

Yesterday, in Philadelphia, a black woman was forced into her apartment and raped for four hours by several men. According to ABC news, quite a few neighbors said that they heard this sister's screams, but 'didn't think to call the police'. A female neighbor heard her screams and said and I quote: "I heard her screaming , 'Oh my God! Oh my goodness! Oh my God!'... Then I didn't pay attention and laid back down."

The first rapist (who forced the victim into her apartment when she tried to pass him in the hallway) was so confident that her neighbors would not do anything, that he called two of his friends to come over to join his rape party. They happily and viciously accepted the invitation.

The victim had to walk a mile to the police station herself. Does that sound familiar?

A similar incident had happened a few blocks away shortly before.

Read the whole story here.

As many of you know, the violent gang rape/torture that we call The Dunbar Village Incident was the final straw that turned many of us into black female activists. Most of us immediately recognized that heinous crime as an ominous harbinger of things to come.

I still remember the day that I heard about it -- I was in Washington DC at a Congressional Hearing entitled "From Imus to Industry", which pretended to investigate the denigrating and stereotypical imagery of (black) women in media. I was sitting next to Gina McCauley from What About our Daughters when she told me the horrific story during a brief recess.

We had just finished sitting through hours of white male media execs and black male entertainers as they piously and vigorously defending their 'right' to denigrate, demean, and lyrically rape and abuse black women. At that point, I knew that I could no longer hide in the shadows; I would have to step forward and forcefully speak up for Black women and girls.

When we review the historical background of societies that regularly mutilate and destroy women, we learn that these horrors occur over time: in an escalating progression, with obvious markers and signifiers -- and many chances to change course.

The way to mass atrocity is always paved with disregard to the pain of others and a willful disbelief of how widespread the problem is. The inroad to open and mass violence against black American women is being been paved right before our eyes... and some of the pavers are other black women.

When a black woman can actually lie down and take a nap while listening to the screams of a another black woman being gang raped, the way has been paved. We all KNOW that something is seriously askew when black women jump and shout for joy when an obvious sexual predator of black girls is found 'not guilty'.

Let's get out our tools and start tearing up this road, before it's too late.

'Status of Black Women and Girls' conference is today

2008-06-26T01:34:00.014-04:00

Alert to New Yorkers/New Jersey-ites:

Please consider changing your plans tonight to join me and several of my readers at a press conference about Black women and girls.

The press conference will discuss a new data-based national report that presents the findings of an in depth study of black females of all ages.

Thanks to Sojourner Truth for the heads up on this event! I plan on getting very acquainted with the authors of this report in the near future. I encourage those of you who can not attend this event to obtain a copy of The State of Black Women and Girls in America.

I'll also be sure to update everyone about the content of the press conference and report at our next episode of The Queens' Council.

Here are a few details:

New York, NY; June 5, 2008--- The Law and Policy Group, Inc. will present its Report on the Status of Black Women and Girls® at a press conference on Thursday, June 26, 2008, at 6:00 p.m.

The location for the press conference and panel discussion is Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art (MoCADA), 80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

An ongoing national report on Black women and girls is a much needed instrument for research, advocacy, and action. The Law and Policy Group, Inc. is taking on this challenge because of the great need to provide an ongoing national report, that is data-based, on the state of Black women and girls in America.

The Law and Policy Group, Inc.'s first Report on the Status of Black Women and Girls® provides a detailed overview of the state of an important, and often undervalued, demographic in America - Black females. The report is unique in
that it covers areas that affect all Black women: Health, Employment, Family
Status, Business Ownership, Education, Criminal Justice/Incarceration, Religious
Affiliation, Family Status, Political Participation, and Military Enlistment.
(read more)

Copies of the Report on the Status of Black Women and Girls® will be available at the June 26th press conference. Additionally, The Law and Policy Group, Inc.’s Founder and Executive Director, Gloria Browne-Marshall and others will be on hand to discuss the genesis and purpose of the Report on the Status of Black Women and Girls®.

Also, if you're up early reading this blog, check out a radio show that will discuss GIRLHOOD, WOMANHOOD, and VIOLENCE, and puts the R Kelly verdict in a larger context. (Thanks to Ananda Leeke and Sojourner Truth for the heads up!)

Here are the details:

Listen to "Wake Up Call" on WBAI 99.5 FM
THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2008
A Full One Hour Special
(7:00 am - 8:00 am)
on

GIRLHOOD, WOMANHOOD, and VIOLENCE (a focus on sexual violence, domestic violence judicial violence, and societal violence as recently evidence in the R. Kelly verdict)

featuring
ESMERALDA SIMMONS Executive Director of the CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE at Medgar Evers College/CUNY http://www.clsj.org/

and authors Brenda L. Thomas and DeShannon Bowens and YOU! (phone calls welcome). Tune in for all details!

Hosted and Produced by
journalist, activist ESTHER ARMAH

Listen Online at http://www.wbai.org/

Finally, Black Exploitation Television (BET) is hosting their second installation of Hip Hop vs America tonight... in order to 'discuss' (but not do anything about) misogyny in Hip Hop. My nemesis, rapper David Banner, will be on the panel, as well as Michael Eric Dyson and activist Kevin Powell.

Somebody please watch this hotmess and let us know how it went!

Looks like today is the day that Black Women will take center stage for a change!

Bad faith -- plagiarism is WRONG

2008-06-24T18:54:00.007-04:00

Hello everyone:

It saddens me to say that I have been made aware of a fairly sophisticated pattern of plagiarism against this blog. I need a few more days to decide what to do about it.

At first, I did notice the activity but felt complimented because I believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I am proud to have been influenced by great bloggers like Gina McCauley, PioneerValleyWoman, Mes Deaux Cents, focusedpurpose, Professor Tracey, Tami, Attorneymom and many other bloggers. They have all improved my writing and critical thinking skills. Since we spend a lot of time conversing, a lot of us tend to sound like each other sometimes. This is not what I am talking about when I mention plagiarism.

I have learned that certain person(s) are claiming authorship of fairly unique concepts that came from daily meditation during my three year sabbatical, that I promulgated on BWV out of solidarity and comraderie with my readers.

These concepts were laboriously fleshed out right here on Black Women Vote during meaningful and intimate conversations between my readers and myself. I thank readers like Khadija, Anxious BlackWoman, and many others for raising the level of discourse here -- and I have contacted several readers and asked if I could quote them in my upcoming book. It is called 'intellectual integrity.'

However, I have been advised that certain person(s) are going to other blogging circles and repeating what was written here, claiming that they came up with it.

I am pained by this.

I write to you all, hoping to hold up my share of effort in the struggle to empower and uplift black women everywhere. I don't blog hoping to-make-money or to-get-on-TV or to-garner-disciples or to-make-a-name-for-myself or to-stroke-my-own-ego or to raise-my-visibility or to-become-a-pundit-on-NPR. I do it because I love black women. Period. With all my heart. Seriously.

That does not mean that I do not care if someone mines my work and re-publishes it as their own. Even if you ARE a black woman.

Blogging is an informal, messy business, so please understand: I am not asking my readers to be fearful of repeating anything I have said or written. I PERSONALLY don't even care if I get the credit when you do so, either. Half the time, I can't remember where I read something in order to give proper credit, so I understand. So my faithful readers: please feel free to share anything that I have said or written to your heart's content.

However, it is different when someone goes out of their way to claim authorship of ideas that they got from someone else's blog. Only someone who is consciously stealing does that.

We all have unique voices, and we cheat ourselves by suppressing what we REALLY think in order to speak someone else's words. Every voice counts. So to my parrot: please find yours.

Regretfully, The Queens' Council is suspended for this week -- but we will be back next week, stronger than ever... moving forward powerfully. (and YES, I asked focusedpurpose for her permission to use that inspiring tag line before our first episode. )

Listen to last night's episode of The Queens' Council

2008-06-17T18:27:00.007-04:00

Here are the subjects that we covered:

1. Post R-Kelly verdict: where do black women go from here? We tried to get past ranting and into solution building, but got stuck in the ranting phase. My bad. Next time I'll wait until people are less ticked off to bring the subject up!

2. Barack Obama's speech about black absentee fathers: several people gave interesting views on it -- listen in and let us know what you think. While you're at it, check out some good news about black men: my younger brother created a program for black men called 'Men of Valor', designed to teach black men how to become better fathers, sons and husbands by improving physically, emotionally and spiritually.

The wives and children of the men in the program are giving rave reviews about the changes that they are seeing in the brothers at home. Check it out here.

3. Shecodes' meet-up with John McCain (y-a-w-n) the encounter was deathly boring, but I gave a few highlights. I'm uploading my video and pictures today though.

4. Prognostications on the future of the black female image: We briefly discussed the If Looks Could Kill, campaign -- and will revisit this conversation in the future with a representative from Toyota.

Click here to listen to the show:

ANATHEMA

2008-06-15T09:11:00.002-04:00

The shift in the perception of black women of black women?

2008-06-12T09:25:00.010-04:00

Whatever we are doing to defeat the stereotypes about black femininity, we must keep doing it!

A milestone has been crossed this past Monday. We are seeing the first signs of a less stereotyped view of black women. For the first time that I know of, a product that isn't centered around the black female physical or sexual characteristic is being aggressively marketed to us.

While sisters are often used to hawk products from Pine Sol to Verizon Wireless, we are almost never the target audience for products outside of the beautification industry.

I think that our rising levels of education and purchasing power might be dawning on a few people, especially advertisers like Toyota, the Japanese car manufacturer.

Apparently, Black women aren't buying luxury Camrys, and Toyota wants to change all that.

So they sank millions into an ad campaign, supposedly using empirical data about the likes and dislikes of black women -- and came up with a decidedly un-stereotypical campaign program geared toward African American women.

Now you KNOW that Shecodes would be curious about what they would come up with after studying all of this 'empirical data'! I've decided to invite one of their company representatives to The Queens' Council to talk about how this campaign came about. Stay tuned...

So anyway, I reviewed the website, and learned that black women like suspense/spy stories (who knew?), fashion, romance, and, well... I don't want to taint anyone's opinion, so I will write my thoughts about the campaign after my readers have looked at the website and had a chance to express themselves.

So check their website out here: http://www.iflookscouldkill.com/ and come back to tell the rest of us what you think about this campaign.

What do you think? Is this campaign's perceptions of the average black woman's tastes accurate? Way off base? Are you more or less likely to purchase a Camry? Do you think that this campaign is a harbinger of improved perceptions of black women, or is it a meaningless and ineffective waste of time?

Let's give Toyota (and by extension: all advertisers) some feedback!

Shecodes will talk to John McCain tomorrow

2008-06-12T08:28:00.007-04:00

Sisters, I am encouraged today. At the beginning of this year, I knew from an intellectual standpoint that black women were poised to make a significant step toward progress, but I woke up this morning feeling to the core of my very being that this is the time to take the first step.

Yesterday, I received several responses to the Black Women's Think Tank, and it appears that black women from all over this country have been on the same socio-political journey that we are on -- and thanks to technology, we are finally finding each other. I see some major shifts in power on the horizon for black women.

I'm ready to step up my game, and hope that you are too.

Tomorrow, I will attend a Q&A Session with Republican presidential candidate John McCain in my home state.

I am counting on a connected family member to get me close enough to John McCain to privately ask him what he believes the office of the presidency can specifically do for black women. If that fails, I will ask my questions at the general Q&A session later in the morning.

If security allows me to bring my laptop and videocamera, I will broadcast the event live on this blog (9:30am).

The War over the Souls of Black Girls (repost)

2008-06-11T10:49:00.000-04:00

"Too often our girls do not rise to their full potential because they are so affected by the image that others project of them". Dr. Dorothy Height

We are in a war over the souls of Black girls.

So far, we have been losing this war horribly. Our dead litter the brothels and the crack houses, our prisoners of war are held captive by the porn industry, and our would-be warriors are enticed away to serve the destroyers of the souls of Black girls. Our survivors wander through a wasteland of damaged social standing, reduced life choices, and meager economic opportunity; many become locked in a cycle of self preservation.

In order to turn the tide around, we have GOT to look at the reasons why we are losing the war over the souls of black girls. It's really hard for me to look this ugliness in the eye, but I'm going to state it as plainly as I can:

Black women are losing this war because we never really understood who our enemy was; we only recognize our enemy’s infantry.

We are losing this war because we only play defense, and consistently fail to play offense. Our defensive strategy is as follows: “Gird and re-gird yourself with “strength,” -- with the impossible goal of becoming an impervious statue: ‘The Black Woman of Steel.’” We have become women celebrate the fact that we can continually absorb earth-shattering, soul-smashing blows to the spirit and still manage to waveringly get up again.

We are losing this war because we confuse “strength” with “longsuffering.”

We are losing this war because Black women take counsel and advice from people who have an economic or social stake in our losing the war over the souls of Black girls.

We are losing this war because we continue to wage wars against amorphous nouns. We rail against beliefs and concepts without neutralizing the people who conceptualize and promote those beliefs and concepts. We heap ridicule on the “War on Drugs” and the “War on Terror” strategies, but use precisely the same method to declare wars like the “War on sexism” or a “War on hip hop”, leaving the specific purveyors of the War over the Souls of Black Girls untouched.

We are losing this war because we confuse arguing with fighting.

We are losing this war because we fail to see with our Second Set of Eyes. We reject the “ I did not start this war” argument from white racio-misogynists, but accept or excuse it from black racio-misogynists. (Black Pass)

We are losing this war because we bunker down in our own safer territories, and rarely enter the enemy’s territory to take their cities.

BUT THE WAR IS NOT OVER.

If we are going to win this war, we are going to have to make some serious changes about how we address all of the points above. Today I'm hoping to just scratch the surface:

Point 1: “We fail to recognize the true enemy, and only see it’s infantry.”

Most of us recognize that ‘the media’ is heavily to blame for the ‘self-image disorder’ of black girls that is described by Daphne Valerius, creator of the documentary The Souls of Black Girls.

But who, specifically, are the key decision makers in the media, and what can be done about them? I will throw out a few names to get the ball rolling:

Our more aware readers know that folk like Bob Johnson, Debra Lee, and Philippe Dauman have made billion dollar empires that are fueled by distorting the souls of
Black girls.

However, none of those people would have the power to do major damage to the Black female image without the assistance of people like Kevin J. Martin.

Look at this picture on the left, and memorize the face. Who is this guy who looked like he just stepped out of high school? He is the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He is the biggest reason that people get away with ridiculing and degrading black women in media.

Appointed by George W. Bush, he forced through changes that plummeted media ownership by minorities in the past few years. He is the person who has been arrogantly handing over massive market share to the very people who profit by portraying black women in the worst ways imaginable.

In a nutshell, Kevin J. Martin’s job at the FCC is supposed to protect the public’s interest in communications. Astonishingly, Mr. Martin has done exactly the opposite, using every trick in
the book to pave the way for media consolidation. Although has was fought by media watchdogs, Mr. Martin has managed to make significant progress:

From October 2006 to October 2007, the number of minority-owned
commercial TV stations decreased by 8.5 percent -- and African American TV
station ownership dropped by an astonishing 60 percent. (source)

Future minority channels are in greater jeopardy, because they will find it difficult to compete with mega-conglomerates who will stop at nothing to squeeze them out of the market by leveraging their media assets in other areas -- assets that they should not have had in the first place.

Many people do not know this, but the TV and radio airwaves are not owned by private
companies, they are public and owned by American citizens. By handing access of our airwaves over to media consolidation, he has effectively exercised a form of eminent domain and given our most precious asset, to an oligarchy that has a proven record of misrepresenting African American women.

What can Black women do about this?

For starters, we can demand that our Presidential candidates actually do something for us in exchange for our votes. Here are a few things that I expect from Barack Obama and John McCain in exchange for mine:

1. Fire Kevin J. Martin the day after inauguration.

2. Appoint a new FCC chairperson who has a proven record of defending the plurality of voices on television, radio, and in print.

3. Vow to veto any bill that's designed to give even more territory to to large media conglomerates.

4. Vow to use your presidential power of persuasion to encourage legislators to write laws that will increase the diversity of media OWNERSHIP (not just representation), especially WOMEN OF COLOR.

5. Use presidential power of persuasion to admonish media corporations to refrain from using the tools of propaganda to profit from stereotypes of women of color.

There are many more things that we can do ourselves -- we have more weapons in our arsenal than boycotts, votes, and protests!

But whatever we do, we must begin to FIGHT for the souls of Black Girls.

Listen to a great Queens Council episode!

2008-06-11T00:00:00.001-04:00

Hello readers and listeners!

We had a really great show last night... we had the largest live audience turnout ever, even though they had no idea that we had a very special surprise guest:

Rev. Dr. Renita Weems

Dr. Weems is more than a blogger and columnist on Beliefnet:

"Renita J. Weems, a minister and teacher, is passionate about helping women find a balance between their spiritual values, their personal lives, and their professional aspirations. Whether it's through her books, articles, sermons, or classes, she sees her work that of as a midwife of inner wisdom, helping both women and men “know what they already know.”

A former contributing writer to Essence Magazine, Dr. Weems is the author of two widely acclaimed books on women's spirituality: "Just A Sister Away" and "I Asked for Intimacy". Her most recent book is "Showing Mary: How Women Can Share Prayers, Wisdom, and the Blessings of God (Walk Worthy/Time Warner Books)".

Ordained an elder in the Methodist tradition, Dr. Weems has written about the waxing and waning of faith all believers endure on the spiritual journey. Her book Listening for God: A Minister's Journey through Silence and Doubt (Simon & Schuster) won the Religious Communicators' Council's 1999 Wilbur Award for excellence in communicating spiritual values to the secular media.

Dr. Weems earned her Ph.D. in biblical studies from Princeton Theological Seminary. She is an associate professor at Vanderbilt University and publishes an online newsletter, Something Within: For Women Seeking Balance and Wholeness. She lives in Nashville with her husband and daughter. " (source)

Listen Here:

Join the Black Women's Exchange

2008-06-08T08:52:00.011-04:00

Alright all... it's time for an experiment!

Yesterday, we talked about entering into new social markets in order to reach out to younger black women.

We agreed that our dialogue about political, social, and economic empowerment must be expanded to include an element of mentorship, and found it unacceptable that younger women's voices are not being heard sufficiently.

Most of us also agreed that Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube were the best venues to begin to branch out to extend our network to younger women (ages 16-24).

For my more 'technologically challenged' friends: Facebook is a social networking system that is geared toward young professionals, college students, and working adults. MySpace is geared toward everyone, but especially teenagers and 'free spirit' types.

Both websites are lightening-fast ways to expand your social network.

I have created a group in Facebook, entitled "The Black Women's Exchange." The purpose of the group is to start the dialogue about a black female movement for 'non political junkies', especially to black female college students. I do not plan to control this group, but will let members say whatever they think and conduct their own discussions.

You will be able to post new discussion threads, alert women to local events, find similarly-minded people in your area, promote your blogs, and much more.

Here is what I propose: let us meet our sisters where they are. Let's join Facebook, MySpace and other social networking organizations, and invite them to join the conversation about the Black Female Agenda. Let's expand our rolodexes!

Here is how to get set up on Facebook:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/

2. Sign up for the free membership.

3. Find my profile in the 'search' box: "Arlene Fenton".

4. I will send you an invite to the Black Women's Exchange group, or you can do a search on it yourself in the 'groups' folder.

5. Seek out groups where sisters are complaining about our issues, and invite them to join the Black Women's Exchange to talk about what can be done about it.

6. If you are a blogger, feel free to post a link to your blog.

It does not diminish a candle to light another candle. Let's start to expand our territory. See you on Facebook!

Hillary's transition from candidate to champion PART 2

2008-06-07T13:10:00.008-04:00

SHE DID IT.

While I have made it no secret that Hillary Clinton had managed to cross over to my bad side this past week, I am honest enough of a person to give honor where it is due. Senator Clinton delivered a wonderful address; one that should go down in the history books.

In my mind, it was not just a concession speech, but actually something much greater: it was a speech of encouragement, reconciliation, grace and empowerment.

Keeping her word, Clinton made a strong effort to unite the Democratic party, and threw her support behind Barack Obama ( not grudgingly, either). Although not all of my friends agree, I believe that she was being sincere about supporting Senator Obama.

I guess the turning point for me was when she painted a new vision for women in America: one of strength and hope.

She successfully made the daunting transition from challenger to champion, and while she did not clinch the nomination, she still came out like a winner should.

While it will take more than an impassioned speech for me to let go of a few serious problems that I have had with her campaign (e.g. partnering with Bob "Beelzebub" Johnson), I think that her new talking points are a strong step in the right direction.

Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama have made their mark in the history books, and may we all learn from this political season and become better citizens because of it.

I am closing comments to this particular post, because I believe that we have all said what we need to say about Hillary Clinton for the time being on this blog. I invite you to comment on today's earlier post, which is about reaching out to younger black women & inviting them to the political table of conversation.

Where are the political voices of the young black females?

2008-06-07T09:01:00.004-04:00

I spent several hours looking for in-depth interviews -- in any medium -- of young black women concerning the conclusion of the Democratic primary and about American politics in general. Other than an occasional 'voice on the street' opinion poll, I found none.

I don't want to sound ungrateful, so I will begin by saying that the conversation at Howard University in the above video is crucial, powerful, insightful and did my heart good. However, I was struck by the glaring, recurring absence of black female voices.

The video begins with a discussion about the movie 'Something New' and the marriage question with black women. However, the panel is comprised of two white men, a white woman, two black men, and one single solitary black woman who looked way out of her element up there.

This was set at HOWARD UNIVERSITY folks, (read: "young black female-land"). It was a good conversation. An important conversation. However, it was an unconsciously and intensely skewed conversation, because it did not include the perspective of the largest portion of the black community.

Even the college professor (who NAILED IT, in my opinion) was visibly upset that there weren' more blacks on the stage, but didn't seem to notice or mind the gendered under-representation of black women in the discourse.

I found this video above on the MSNBC website, which is simply entitled "Obama's win more than a primary win". I found myself extremely proud of how well these young men expressed their optimism for the future, but also very disappointed at the glaring absence of young black female voices.

Are we doing enough to include young black women (16-24) in the political and social discourse? I fear that our 30 and 40-something generation is making the same mistake that we hold against elder black Americans -- we might be failing to engage and mentor the group of younger black women and girls coming up behind us!

What can we do to include young black women and girls at the table of political conversation?

One of the reasons that I do not allow low class behavior, profanity or 'verbal violence' on this blog is because I want a safe and healthy space for younger black girls to learn about black female issues.

But that isn't enough. We must begin to create forums that will not only lecture to younger black women, but will also allow them plenty of time to speak their minds as well. A real conversation must begin.

Hillary's transition from candidate to champion

2008-06-05T09:59:00.018-04:00

This Saturday, Hillary Clinton has promised to admit what everyone already knows: that Democratic nomination as the POTUS is no longer within her reach. She is saying that she will endorse Barack Obama and will campaign for him.

Sadly, her exit from the race has lost it's moment to become a unifying, energizing event -- and instead, the acrimony in the Democratic Party has soared to the highest levels ever. Black women and white women now eye each other with the highest levels of suspicion.

Hillary Clinton's persona is even more polarizing today that it was before she entered this race.

I hope that can change. The only way for the Democratic party to heal it's deep rift would be for Hillary to quickly make this transition from nomination candidate to Obama champion... but I find it hard to believe that she could really do that.

I do not believe that she thinks that Obama is cut out for the job of POTUS, and wonder how she could suddenly become an Obama champion after claiming many times that he was inexperienced and would not be ready to lead.

Like my reader Faith, I hope that Hillary Clinton's concession speech will be the Speech of Hillary's Life, one that will stop the bleeding in the Democratic Party, and begin to rehabilitate her relationship to the many Democrats who were hurt by things she and her surrogates have said and done.

She must also find a way to soothe the hurt feelings of her own supporters, because many of them are so deeply upset by this loss that they will not be able to hear anything that Mr. Obama has to say. Right now, I am actually hearing a few accusations of sexism and reverse racism because of my rant against her yesterday. My my my... I guess sexism and outright racism is something that black women couldn't possibly know anything about.

This rift between black women and white women should never have happened, and that division was caused by HRC herself. She MUST own that.

Hillary Clinton could have been the next President of the United States, but it was not sexism or reverse racism that kept her from capturing that title, although those two evils did rear their heads during this race.

Mrs. Clinton lost because she did nothing to curb racist innuendo against Barack Obama, but demanded that he immediately curb sexist innuendo against her.

Mrs. Clinton lost because she underestimated how seriously black women take racial injury, and was slow on the uptake to address statements made by her surrogates that were racially tinged.

Mrs. Clinton lost because she has many 'old guard' black male politicians on her team -- who are precisely the kind of people that black women are sick of.

Mrs. Clinton lost because she tried to run a Karl Rove-esque campaign, which would have worked with right-wing Republicans, but never with Democrats. If Democrats wanted Republican methods, they would have become Republicans. That should have been obvious to her strategists.

Hillary Clinton's good ideas (and there were many) were eclipsed by personal pot shots against her opponent, ugly innuendo and doublespeak by her surrogates , and poor logistical mobilization. Those things, combined with a constantly changing message, and took her down.

To simply claim that it was sexism and reverse racism is a cop out.

The fact that Bob Johnson (founder of BET) was the first voice out of the gate yesterday morning, proved to me that Hillary Clinton truly doesn't get it when it comes to black women. Her deep commitment to Bob Johnson sealed my opposition to this woman and made me write the first rant on this blog.

To send the black man who became a billionaire by lifting black minstrelsy and black female exploitation to a world stage, and to allow him to try to strong-arm blacks in Congress into supporting her VP bid was a slap in our faces.

Bob Johnson wasn't making a 'suggestion' to the CBC. He was basically telling them that their gravy train would stop if they didn't support Hillary Clinton as VP.

This talk about Hillary not sending him is nonsense. Nobody can convince me that The Greatest Negro Opportunist of All Time made that move out of the goodness of his heart. He did it because he had something to gain by a Clinton presidency. That fact alone seals it for me that the Democrats made the right choice.

My warning to the CBC: you should not have been taking that man's money in the first place. We will not forget if you give this man any sway in politics.

This is my last post on Hillary Clinton's poorly run campaign. I hope that she can make the transition from candidate to champion for ALL women, and not just white ones.

The first thing that she can do to mend fences between black and white women is fire Bob Johnson from her inner circle, and denounce the exploitation of and violence against black women and girls done by his evil work. (And I hope that you're taking notes, Barack, because you're next!)

Let's move on and allow the rift to be repaired.

What do you think? Will HRC's supporters 'buy' her sudden turnaround into the role of an Obama champion?

Hillary Clinton: Overplaying her hand will backfire... or at least it should

2008-06-04T15:32:00.005-04:00

What would you do if a woman held a gun to her child’s head in demand for custody? Any sane person would immediately determine that the woman was an unfit mother, regardless of how well she performed her other motherly duties.

In relation to the Democratic Party, this scenario is precisely what Hillary Clinton’s bizarre non-concession speech amounted to last night.

I couldn’t believe it when Hillary Clinton defiantly pretended that she had not lost the primary, and instead used cunning and guile to use her supporters as a battering ram into the VP position.

That speech was a thinly veiled threat that she will cause deadly division in the Democratic Party if she does not get what she wants. By recklessly manipulating her ardent supporters with the lie that she is still viable, Hillary Clinton has automatically disqualified herself from the definition of true leadership.

I don’t know about you all, but I don’t respond well to the kind of unnecessary strong-arm tactics that Hillary is trying to employ.

Like the mama with the gun to her child’s head, Hillary’s conduct has firmly erased any lingering belief I had that she could be fit to lead America’s in it's heightened militarized condition.

To reach for ruthless, calculating verbal tools to achieve something that she could likely get through honest, open diplomacy is a clear sign of a deep weakness in Hillary’s character.

And the world saw it last night.

An otherwise brilliant and capable woman, Hillary Clinton has allowed her character flaws to turn her into one of the most polarizing figures in American politics – which will keep her from ever becoming our President or Vice President.

She is her own worst enemy.

The Obama Candidacy... moving forward powerfully

2008-06-04T07:08:00.016-04:00

Dear reader,

I have so much to say today, that I have decided to spend the entire day blogging! So keep coming back to talk about the massive movements going on today. I plan to write about:

- Hillary's decision not to concede the race
- John McCain's campaign strategy
- More details about Father Phleger's smackdown
- BET's Bob Johnson's sudden reappearance on the political scene (I can smell the sulphur burning even as I write this)
- My brother's primary nomination win in NJ

Let's get this party rolling!

Last night, while we were on our live online radio show The Queens' Council, Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for the Presidency!

I could not have planned timing any better: it simply felt right to experience that historic moment with a core group of powerful black women who will usher in the next generation of political action in this country.

At the moment that Barack and Michelle Obama took the stage and began to address that enthusiastic throng of 20,000+ people, the words of my comrade focusedpurpose resounded in my mind: MOVING FORWARD POWERFULLY.

This primary - as historic as it is -- is bigger than most of us realize. The manner in which Barack Obama conducted his candidacy will forever change the foundational principles of campaign strategy in America. Obama has flipped the script and done the impossible: a relative nobody has made seasoned, connected, wealthy, 'all knowing' politicians scramble for their political footing, and cracked their foundational assumptions about the American people.

It is not often that we see a politician take the high road on a consistent basis in the face of blazing, white-hot, underhanded attacks. Heretofore the prevailing belief was that a political race could not be won by doing so.

On June 4, 2008, that belief changed. For that reason, America is a better place today than it was yesterday.

I do not believe that Barack Obama is the messiah. In fact, I have grave concerns about his ability (or anyone else's ability , for that matter) to unite the deep racial divide, to freeze our economic free fall, and to stop an unjust war with minimal collateral damage.

However, after reviewing the content of three speeches yesterday, that of John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama, I am now completely convinced that Obama stands head and shoulders above his competitors in terms of character and moral leadership... and is best poised to lead this country through the deep political waters onto a more settled shore.

It would serve both John McCain and Hillary Clinton well to rip a page from the Obama playbook, and to finally learn that a political opponent does not have to be considered an enemy to be targeted for personal destruction. The American voter is not a hostage to be taken in your negotiation for power.

Enlarging the scope of the dream for Black Americans

One of the greatest accomplishments of Obama's nomination is a curbing of a prevailing attitude of defeatism in the Black Community.

I am simply shaking my head in wonder today. I've been reading the black message boards, and it's as if many of our folks are realizing for the first time that we are not living in the days of Jim Crow anymore! And I am talking about YOUNG people who should know better...

Now I'm not going to go all Larry Elders on people and say that racism isn't a problem in America, but it's high time for us to recognize that we have a significant amount of untapped power in the black community, which should be used to start solving our economic, educational, and social problems.

To advance powerfully, black people must change from an 'outsider-looking in' mentality, to one of full citizenship, co-ownership, co-dominion, and co-stewardship of this America that we live in.

Let's get the conversation started:

Should Barack Obama consider inviting Hillary Clinton the VP position on his ticket? If he did, would that diminish your opinion of his ability? If you listened to last night's Queens' Council, you know my opinion, but I am open to listening to yours.

I nominate John Edwards for the VP position. (ducking behind keyboard, because I know that certain people won't appreciate my nomination)

YES WE DID

2008-06-03T22:23:00.002-04:00

June 3, 2008 Barack Obama is now the presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee.

My honest condolences to Hillary Clinton supporters. While I definitely believe that this is the right decision, I will not gloat over Hillary Clinton's camp. It is now time for Democrats to pull together and begin the march toward November.

UPDATE: Barack Obama Effectively Clinches Democratic Nomination

2008-06-03T14:41:00.004-04:00

Good afternoon,

With special permission from SheCodes I received this story from the AP newswire via yahoo.com.

Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has effectively clinched the Democratic Nomination for the President of the United States.

I am sure that this too will be discussed on tonight's podcast!

Regards,
BLKSeaGoat

Where: The Queens' Council on Talkshoe

When: 9:00PM EST TONIGHT

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