Comments on: Black Every Single Day

By: Heather B.

Heather B. — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:06:26 +0000

God, you know how completely ineloquent when speaking about race but here goes: I’m re-reading this and watching The Original Kings of Comedy and you’re correct that people are upset with what Rev. Wright said even though it is stuff WE have heard before. We talk about being black and we do so very honestly and openly. So while we’re used to it many others aren’t all that comfortable with discussing it. It really is a shame. My favorite of course is when people are visibly frightened by the topic. I say something about being black and the response is nervous eyes looking around like “Can she say ‘BLACK’?” Yes I can, thank you very much. Now watch me do it again. Now I’m going to go write an epic post about my hair, living in upstate NY and how much I love watermelon. BECAUSE I CAN.

By: MommyWithAttitude

MommyWithAttitude — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:05:57 +0000

Nothing intelligent I want to add to your excellent post, but I just wanted to say that I was unable to comment on your “typical white woman” post and had wanted to say that I was SURE that I had seen pictures of your mother and that she is black. Absoulutely sure. But now I’m wondering if I’m just a typical white dumbass and assumed she was black from that amazing macaroni & cheese recipe or something… NO! I’m not! I’ve seen pictures here, but apparently I just thought they were your mother.

By: Big Mike In Oz

Big Mike In Oz — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:50:39 +0000

You’re a powerhouse of a woman that I am honoured to draw strength and inspiration from.

By: Kerri Anne

Kerri Anne — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:22:52 +0000

I love this post. Also: Cafe Du Monde coffee. We have two containers on our shelves at home, from a trip we took to New Orleans in January. I still laugh to myself about how awesome everyone looks with their faces joyfully coated in powdered sugar.

By: Belinda

Belinda — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:50:02 +0000

Dangit. JUST when I was leaning back in my chair and stroking my chin, too!

Everyone should read Jason Whitlock’s piece on the LeBron James Vogue cover: http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7955740

I’ve missed you. Where’ve I been?

By: Daisy

Daisy — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:15:11 +0000

I can’t help but think of the first Muppet Movie and the line, “They don’t look like Presbyterians to me.”
But seriously, “…real discourse about race in all it’s messiness and aches and irritations” is a worthwhile goal. Let’s get there.

By: Karoli

Karoli — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:56:17 +0000

I think you’ve hit several nails on the head with one hammer. The most frustrating part of the dialogue (if you can call it that) around race isn’t the ‘issue’, but the automatic rejection of others that occurs on a daily basis.

My mother-in-law is a ‘typical white woman’. Her instinct is to start with a negative when it comes to people of color and wait for them to convince her otherwise. This is what Obama meant when he talked about typical white women. It wasn’t racist, it’s real, and it’s not just a black/white issue. It’s a Middle-Eastern, Asian, Mexican issue, too. Until her daughter started dating an Iranian guy, she was afraid of them, too.

So when you call for folks to get to know you, to *really* know you, to find out who you are and why you like coffee and why you’re passionate about your job, etc., that’s exactly what needs to happen.

I had a commenter say that after the Rev. Wright blowout, he had decided not to vote for Obama despite his belief that he was the best candidate in the race. He was afraid of the “Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan associations”. (Personally, I really like Rev. Wright — I think I’d be going to any church where he was preaching even if I were the only white woman in the crowd). That comment made me sad, not because he’d opted out of voting for Obama, but because he really thought there was something extreme about standing up and shouting out that black folks are just as real as anyone else, with faults and futures just like ours. Moreover, it told me that he was ‘overlooking’ Obama’s race in order to vote for him.

It shouldn’t be overlooked; it’s part of who he is. It’s a part just like his white heritage and his upbringing in Indonesia. There’s nothing wrong with any of that; in fact, I’d argue that it makes him more interesting and multi-faceted.

If I had any message for my white sisters and brothers it would be to stop automatically rejecting and fearing people who are different from them, and take the time to, as you say, love them and know them.

By: smtwngrl

smtwngrl — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:19:40 +0000

Amen! I found myself breathing a sigh of relief when both Obama and Clinton tossed their hats in the ring. In a conversation with my mother soon after I said, “Now maybe race and sex (meaning the disparity between races and sexes and the “isms” that go along with all that) won’t be such taboo topics. Maybe now people will start having real conversations about these things.”

Isn’t it about time?

By: Raquita

Raquita — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:16:02 +0000

I have such a girl crush on y ou right now – I swaer I would wrap Common up and leave him in your bed room holding your favorite bottle of wine you never heard of yet, a platter of starwberries and whipped cream and very explicit instructions to listen to you and do what ever you say…
Can I say amen and what she said and I wish I had said that!!!
MAN..
GROUPIE moment for me RIGHT here!!!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:34:00 +0000

Maybe I’m naive, but I think it’s fantastic that we are living in a time where a black man or a woman could be voted into the presidency. That tells me, as a whole, that people’s perceptions are (rightly) changing. I would hope that people make their decision about who to vote for strictly on policy and not gender or race.