Who is Fannie Lou Hamer?

This video is showing Fannie Lou Hamer and how she addressed the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia (1964)

Outside Your Race, Inside Your Gender: The Sweet Taboo of Homosexuality within the African American Community

Homosexuality is not a subject that very many people would like to discuss when it comes to sex. This is such a taboo within the African American community that when it hits close to home, it is swept under the rug and hidden. It's time to role back the carpet, or for better terms, come out the closet.

It is now 2011 and the notion of the "down low brothas" seems to be out of the question. Most "brothas" who decide to be homosexuals do not mind showing their pride for who they are. The question I would like to know is, how do black women feel about this? We all know that it truly hurts some black women to see a black man with a white woman because some women think there aren't enough of "our men" to go around. But what if "our men" preferred to be with another man? What if "our men" preferred a white man?
Homosexuality is rarely addressed in black communities because people are afraid to acknowledge that it is happening whether they like it or not. Black men who are hyper-masculine find it especially hard to accept because their hyper-masculinity causes them to have homophobia which could possibly lead to them being a brotha on the down low. Some black women would probably rather see a black man with another man than a white woman because they may feel like this is a slap in the face. Because black women were oppressed and depressed for so long by both white and black men as well as white women, it could be helpful to them if they received a little love from their own men. So. If the black man chooses the white woman, the black man, and the white man, what does that leave the black woman with? The kids?

We Wear the Mask

             by Paul L. Dunbar

    WE wear the mask that grins and lies,
    It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
    This debt we pay to human guile;
    With torn and bleeding hearts we smile
    And mouth with myriad subtleties.
    Why should the world be over-wise,
    In counting all our tears and sighs?
    Nay, let them only see us, while
            We wear the mask.
    We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
    To thee from tortured souls arise.
    We sing, but oh the clay is vile
    Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
    But let the world dream otherwise,
            We wear the mask!

Interview #2

Interview #2

Interview #2 looks into the life of Ms. Pauline Smith Elliott. In this interview Pauline explains what life was like in the rural parts of Tallahatchie County during her childhood and how she managed to overcome obstacles that she faced during her life.

Q: What is your name?

A: Pauline Smith Elliott.

Q: Where were you born?

A: Tallahatchie County, Mississippi in August of 1948

Q: What were your parent’s names and occupation?

A: Lucille and Claude Smith. My mother was a housewife and worked in the houses of white people taking care of their laundry and my daddy was a sharecropper.

Q: Do you have any kids?

A: Yes. 4. Barbara Smith, Michelle Elliott, Eddie Elliott, and Hiram Elliott

Q: Do you have any siblings?

A: Yes. 4 brothers and I was the only girl.

Q: What was your life like growing up as a black girl in Tallahatchie County?

A: I went to school and I worked in the summer. My brothers and I worked in the fields but my mother wanted us to receive an education more than anything.

Q: Did you ever encounter racism?

A: No. Not in my younger years because my parents always kept me close to them. My brothers may have but I didn’t until I had grown up and left my mother and father home.

Q: What if anything do you remember your parents telling you about race?

A: Regardless of color or kind if they mistreated us we got to love our enemies to see Jesus. I grew up in a very religious home.

Q: What did your parents tell you or instill in you regarding being a woman, specifically a black woman?

A: Always know your place and stand up for self and to put God first.

Q: What was it like in school for you as a black female?

A: School was not integrated. We also got beatings in school if we did not turn in our work. Classes were held in the same place church services were because we could not go to school with the white children. The teachers then were strict on us because they really wanted us to learn and know the material.

Q: Where did you graduate from and did you attend college?

A: Yes. I graduated from Allen Carver High School and I did not attend college because my parents got sick.

Q: Did you get married? To Who? Were there any problems facing the preparations for the marriage?

A: I married Hiram Elliott Senior. There were no problems at all in getting ready to be married.

Q: Are you still married now?

A: No.

Q: After your marriage ended, what was your relationship towards men?

A: I dated other men, but my main focus was my children and taking care of my parents who were becoming ill as I got older. I’m still not married today and my children are all grown up and so I still have time to be in love, when God sends me a husband I’ll be ready, but I’m not rushing Him.

Q: Where did you work as an adult?

A: Pennico-Hosiery

Q: Did you experience racism on your job?

A: Yes. The black women on the job stuck together but some of them (black and white women) thought they were better even though we were all doing the same job and getting paid the same amount.

Q: What do you think about people dating outside their race?

A: Each to his own. If two people love each other then it is in their hands. No problem.

Q: During the 1960s the Voting Rights acts and the 19^th Amendment was in full force and this gave women a chance to vote and have a voice in elections. Were you effected by this movement, and if so, how?

A: I registered to vote at the age of 18 in 1967 but because so many people were against black people voting within the county, some people packed up and left fearing for their life.

Q: Did you know or had you heard of Fannie Lou Hamer?

A: I never met her, but I did hear things about her. Sunflower County was not too far from here, but we stayed in a more rural area.

Q: Where you effected by the Jim Crow laws of the south?

A: I wasn’t bothered by it because I never wanted to eat their (white people) cooking any way. We had our own café and restaurants within the community so I never worried about sit-ins because we had our own place that cooked food that we liked.

Q: What is significant within black history or history that you remember in general?

A: Martin Luther King’s death- he was only  110 miles away from Tallahatchie county and people were running away because they were afraid  that the terror would spread further south.

Q: How did the television and the media affect your life as a black woman?

A: We did not have a television, but we purchased several newspapers and magazines. One thing I can remember was the first time I saw Emmit Till’s face after he was beaten all night. It disturbed me and when his mother decided to leave his casket opened to show what racism had done to her child I was surprised. I was also shocked by the Selma attacks and the pictures that were in the papers and flyers. Although we stayed in a mostly black community, seeing these things going on outside the walls of Tallahatchie County struck fear into several people’s heart.

*** During this interview several things that were stated about Pauline’s town could be compared to the stereotypes in the book by Zora Neale Hurston’s “the Eatonville Anthology”. In this book she describes a town and gives it several different stigmas because it was a majority black town.    Pauline ventures into some other endeavors and moved away from Tallahatchie to St. Louis and other parts of the country like Illinois and Wisconsin to visit her brothers and find work. In the end, Pauline decided to return home to Mississippi to be with her family and work to provide for them.

Interview #1

Interview #1

This interview was conducted over the phone on June 26, 2011 by Airrellia Thompson. LaShawn Jarice Perryman was interviewed and asked a series of questions regarding race and being a mixed woman who identified herself as being black, as well as education and sexuality.

Q: What is your name?

A: LaShawn Jarice Perryman.

Q: Where were you born?

A: Kansas City, Missouri in May 1973

Q: What were your parent’s names and occupation?

A: Ida Matthews and Willie Perryman. My mother was a school teacher and my dad worked on the    railroads.

Q: Were both of your parents black?

A: No, my mother was black and my dad was bi-racial. His mother was black and his father was Irish.

Q: Do you have any siblings?

A: Yes, a brother and a half-sister.

Q: What was your life like growing up as a black/mixed raced girl in Kansas City?

A: Life was good there, it was simple and education was a main priority within my parents household especially since my mother was a school teacher.

Q: Where did you attend college?

A: Central Missouri State University and Holmes Community College.

Q: What do you think about people dating outside their race?

A: It is fine. Life is about finding love no matter what the race is. Love has no color.

Q: How do you feel about black men dating other black men?

A: Once again, it is all about who you find love with. I have a brother who is gay and if he decides to date a white man as long as that man treats him with respect, it is fine with me.

Q: Have you been given any special privileges or feel like other women have had some sort of hatred towards you because of the way you look?

A: When I was younger because I had long wavy hair or what some would call “good hair” and I was light skinned other girls did not want to be my friends because they assumed I was stuck up or mean. I really wasn’t and spent a large amount of my younger years hanging around boys because they were not as judgmental at the time.

Q: You have decided to identify yourself as a black woman, even though your skin color could allow you to pass for a different race, why? And in your opinion what do you think can hold the black race of females together?

A: I was raised by a strong black woman and my family was full of other strong black women and that is what I had to look up to. This is what I knew from a child until now and I’m very proud to say that although I am mixed with several different nationalities, I am a black woman. Black women have always had it rough and as long as they can stick together through obstacles instead of tearing each other down the race itself could rise in triumph.

*** This interview was described what it was like to be a woman who mixed or bi-racial but identified herself as being black. It was not because of stereotypes, but tradition and up bringing that helped her decide just who she was and what she should be. LaShawn Perryman explained that even though she was not completely black she could identify with the problems and racism that black women faced as she was growing up.

To Control the Body & the Mind

 Rape, An Act of Terror

            Rape is a problem that several women face within the African American community. From slavery to the present black women have been victims of rape and other sexual abuse. The article “Rape, An Act of Terror” describe rape as “a political act of oppression exercise by members of a powerful class on members of a powerless class”. This article was interesting because it explained how the laws against rape in New York City seemed to protect the men more than the women who were the actual victims. The law stated that women must prove that the rape was forces and that penetration occurred as well as the rapist being seen in the area of attack. These stipulations made finding justice for women hard and even easier for men to get escape the consequences of their actions.

            The body of women may not be the only thing that is harmed during the act. Rape can also cause mental problems as well, which shows how most men can then control a powerful aspect of a woman, not only her body, but her mind. This is what the oppressor was trying to do and had conquered for many years within women especially women of color.

Bruised but Not Broken

Black women have a great burden to carry when they have to realize they are at the bottom of society. White men use and abuse African American women because they have the power to do so and they (black women) are abused by white women verbally because white women secretly want to be like them. They look at black women as a marvelous wonder, possibly the 9th wonder of the world... Beauty is only skin deep is what people say but when you have a race that can create any color of skin, one must only imagine what else the black woman is capable of. Black men. They find it hard and extremely intimidating when a woman, especially a black woman, can rise above them in anything. As Fannie Lou Hamer explained in so many words we can only be as strong as our weakest link If we are constantly fighting each other there is no way the race can excel to higher levels. Black women as a race & gender are bruised, but not broken.

Dreams by Nikki Giovanni

In my younger years

before i learned

black people aren’t

suppose to dream

i wanted to be

a raelet

and say “dr o wn d in my youn tears”

or “tal kin bout tal kin bout”

or marjorie hendricks and grind   

all up against the mic

and scream

“baaaaaby nightandday   

baaaaaby nightandday”

then as i grew and matured

i became more sensible   

and decided i would   

settle down

and just become

a sweet inspiration

 

Helga Crane: The Definition of a REAL Tragic Mulatto

The character Helga Crane from Nella Larsen's novel "Quicksand" is what the true definition of tragic mulatto represents. The notion of the Tragic Mulatto formed with several other stereotypes of black people in acting or different writings. Characteristics or stereotypes such as Sambo, the Sapphire, the Mammy and other names that describe how others thought African Americans to be. Helga Crane was no different. She was of a mixed race and had a battle within to figure out just who she was. She suffered from identity loss because she did not know where she belonged. She left where she was because she did not like the way blacks were treated, but she did not completely identify herself as being an African American woman. Crane also looked for attention from men, women, and anyone else who could/would give it to her and when they didn't she thought something was wrong with them, but once she moved to Denmark and received the attention she wanted, she did not know how to embrace it. By her being of mixed race and having a voice and opinion for both races inside of her she was confused as to what she truly believed and always paranoid that she was being judged in some type of way. In the end it was a tragedy because even though she had children and had a man that loved her, she did not know if she truly loved him and her situation, because she did not know if she truly loved herself.

My kinky, nappy, twisted, big fluffy hair IS beautifro!

Watoto From the Nile Letter to Lil Wayne

Passing & True Beauty: From the Point of View of Lil Wayne and others

Knowing your music and not only what, but who you listen to is a must for today's day and age. Rapper Lil Wayne is no exception to the rules. He set women back over a hundred years and caused controversy among black women in general because of his ideas of the "perfect women". Redish. This brings back the notion of passing. Passing is what most people used to determine beauty and opportunity among African American  women and men who were of a mixed race or fair skinned. Lil Wayne was quoted from his song Right Above It (3:00 minutes into the song) by saying, "Beautiful black woman I bet that bitch look better red" which is his opinion but what does this say to young black girls around the nation? If you are not the same complexion of Nicki Minaj or Lauren London? Is our black not good enough? Lil Wayne believes that if our race is not mixed with with something, its not good enough, "My daughter is the first and last dark skinned child I will have.... I even have an Asian baby momma to be sure my child will gave good hair, too bad be had a son". Now he brings the notion of GOOD HAIR to the picture. Mind you, this is a DARK SKINNED DREAD HEAD who wants light skinned babies with "good hair". One of his affiliates was also quoted on saying that they, Young Money/Cash Money were allergic to chocolate, meaning dark skin women. Sounds like the Hitler syndrome to me when he wanted a race of people with blonde hair and blue eyes, but he didn't even have that his self.
As a matter of fact, how would we as African Amercians react if a person of a different race or nationality said this about black women who were of a darker complexion?
What happens when we (black women) began to discriminate and have racial slurs with each other instead of rising together. Reference to Nicki Minaj Did It On Em (2:48 minutes into the song) and what is the difference between what she said, and what Imus the radio host said about black women?

Their Eyes Where Watching God

The book and the movie Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (personally one of my favorite authors) is very inspirational and uplifting for women. Halle Berry plays the role of Janie who keeps her pride and voice inside because her husband thinks she should basically be seen and not heard. She finds love with a man 12 years younger named Tea Cake and becomes the woman she always wanted to be. Free. Zora Neale Hurston wrote several stories about women who found freedom in different ways and the movie allowed some of her writings to come together and form an excellent setting and story line. The setting was in Eatonville which she (Hurston) had wrote a story about and named it the Eatonville Anthology where she gave the word stereotype a whole new name when she described each character from the highly African American populated town. In this story she tells her readers about a woman who left just as Janie did and returned with more knowledge due to experience. Once she returned people made accusations but no one really knew what she had been through.

Knowledge is POWER!!!

To add to my last post... We all have heard or know of the song with Jay Z and Usher, Hot Tottie... Well.... Allow me to drop some knowledge on my friends who don't already know... Hot Tottie is short for Hottentot which was also related to Hottentot Venus which was ALSO the name of Sarah Baartman... This name was given to her because she was thought to be a freak and that is obviously what Usher and Jay Z are singing about. Knowing your history could help you understand what some male AND FEMALE artist are saying. In the words of some old friends, "they slick gettin' out on you" and we don't even know it because the beat sounds nice....

Doin the Butt: Loving and Respecting Black Women's Body

We all can name at least ONE song that mentions booty shaking. From Nelly's Tip Drill and Snoop Dogg's Drop it Like it's Hot to Doin' the Butt, the gluteous maximus has been the favorite body part to making a song about. What we seem to not know is that there is a woman by the name of Sarah Baartman that was used and abused because of her bodacious body. She had what some would consider to be the best looking body for a black woman in today's society. Sarah was born a into the Khoisan family which were known for having rather large behinds. The significance between her and the women in the videos today is that Sarah as well as some females today are/were forced to parade around half naked in front of men and sometimes women. Sarah and her body made her money to survive, but only for so long. She died in December of 1815, but her legacy still lives on today in learning that respect for yourself and your body as a black woman is imperative. If you don't respect you, who will? 

2pac-gotta keep ya head up

Whats the purpose???

This blog was created as a requirement for my African American studies 362 class. The class tackles certain issues that African American women faced in the past as well as now. We were asked to create a blog so we can share these subjects and other things with people who are on the web (as well as get opinions and insight from others). This blog in particular will address sexuality and how the media portrays African American women. I hope you enjoy and once again feel free to comment and give your opinion. REMEMBER this is not to raise up or tear down anyone, only to inform and educate! :)