Muslim Woman Demands Obama Apology

A Detroit Muslim said that she was refused a seat behind Barack Obama’s podium at a campaign rally because she was wearing the traditional head scarf. What do you think?

Kambri Spencer,
Systems Analyst
“I thought we agreed to keep the Muslims in the nation’s attic until the election was over.”

Christian Bauer,
Sculptor
“I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t let anybody sit behind me in Detroit

Doug Simmins,
Store Detective
“Maybe she just wasn’t worthy of sitting behind the head Muslim.”

Today’s photo of the day also doubles as our Embarrassing Negro Moment. WTF?

Today’s video of the day comes from Soulja Boy, who recently recorded this video response to Ice T. For those who don’t know, Ice T recently blamed Souljah for “singlehandedly killing hip-hop”.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell

Marc,

I am not sure what took me over the edge.  Maybe it is FoxNews referring to Michelle Obama as Barack’s “baby mama”.  Maybe it is the R. Kelly acquittal.  Maybe it is just having to share blog space so close to Jimi Izrael’s unrelenting misogyny.  One thing is for sure, I have had enough of how we talk about, think about and treat black women as objects deserving sexual ridicule and abuse.

 The myth of black women as lascivious, seductive and insatiable has consistently been used to create moral space for everybody else while limiting the lives of sisters.  By framing black women as hypersexual breeders, Southern enslavers could justify the abuse of black women and the control of their fertility to maximize plantation profits. Today our government can use the idea about black women’s warped sexuality to promote state control of black reproduction in an  effort to  “reduce the welfare rolls.”  

Of course black communities are equally guilty.  Black men, not white, are the main perpetrators of sexual assault against black girls and women.  African  American culture from the music, to the church, to the academy, is quick to define black girls and women as promiscuous, “nasty” and “fast”. Far too many of our own folks argue that black women’s sexuality and the children it produces are destroying the community’s values.

I am really sick of it. The deliberate and painful characterizations of us are everywhere. Now, Marc, I am no prude. I don’t think we need to lower hemlines and use PC language in order to set the world in order.  Quite the opposite; I am convinced that the politics of respectability is always a failure.  The vast majority of black women try to live with dignity and modesty; to make choices about their own sexual partners; control their own fertility and work to form lasting, loving relationships with men and with other women. But these choices occur in a context of profound degradation of black women’s characters and real threats to black women’s physical safety.   The real lives of black women make little dent in the ugly lies told about us.  

In other words, I don’t think we can fix this problem by being “good girls.”  I think most sisters are good girls in every meaningful moral sense. The issue is a deeply racist and sexist culture that sees us with a warped vision.  

I am sick of it. I am sick of seeing black women’s sexual vulnerability treated as a joke, a personality flaw, a parenting failure or a genetic trait. I am tired of black women being silent and complicit in the face of appalling and vicious attacks on our sisters, daughters and nieces.   

Enough all ready.

Melissa

Marc Lamont Hill

Melissa,

Thanks so much for your comments yesterday. Like you, I was overwhelmed by the recent barrage of  reminders that black girls still aren’t worth very much in society. For me, the most painful reminder of this reality was Friday’s not-guilty verdict in the R. Kelly trial.

For the first time that I can remember, I was actually disappointed that a black man wasn’t convicted and incarcerated. Why? Because, like most black people, I have little doubt about R. Kelly’s guilt. Although I hoped that Kelly’s trial would be fair, I knew that its outcome would not hinge upon his guilt or innocence, but upon the prosecution’s ability to prove what we already know. Unfortunately, this informal consensus has failed to translate into any credible reaction from the black community. In this sense, R. Kelly has become a metaphor for the black community’s tragic indifference to the welfare of black female bodies.

Unlike the allegations against Michael Jackson or even OJ Simpson, which remain hotly debated by many observers, the R. Kelly scandal is generally believed to be true by most observers. From standup comedians to barbershop conversations, most black people will happily concede the point that R. Kelly has had inappropriate relationships with underage girls. Beginning with his mysterious affair with 15-year-old singer Aaliyah to the now-infamous sex tape, R. Kelly’s pedophilic proclivities are a taken-for-granted assumption within the black public sphere. Nevertheless, R. Kelly has received a virtual free ride within the Black community.

Since being leaked to the public, the videotape showing R. Kelly (or his evil doppelganger) having sex with a teenager has spread like wildfire. Through millions of purchases and Internet downloads, the “R. Kelly Tape” has become a lucrative commodity in the ‘hood. To be sure, such consumption is not restricted to black public culture, as artists like Tommy Lee, Dustin Diamond, and Fred Durst have proven to be equally profitable in the “reality porn” industry that has become a staple of 21st century life. Unlike the aforementioned celebrities, all of whom were adults, the R. Kelly Tape is willfully marketed as a sexual encounter between a man and a child. By categorizing it as another “celebrity sex tape” rather than child pornography, the viewing public is able to sidestep its own culpability. As Mark Anthony Neal points out, such maneuvers conspire to conceal the black community’s own failure to prevent or appropriately respond to the sexual abuse of black girls.

In the 72 months following his arrest, R. Kelly has sustained, if not increased, his popularity among black consumers. While he lost some of his crossover appeal –prior the scandal, “I Believe I Can Fly” was set to become the next pop standard—Kelly’s music continues to rule the urban Top-40 music charts. This success cannot be merely attributed to collective amnesia, since Chocolate Factory, which debuted at number at #1 on the Billboard charts and has sold more than 3 million copies in the United States, was released barely a year after the scandal broke.

R. Kelly’s prolific sales numbers are particularly staggering given the overwhelming number of young black women that comprise R. Kelly’s fan base. Unlike many gangster rap artists, whose prolific sales are often attributed to voyeuristic suburbanites, Kelly’s actions are being financed by the very people being abused on the tape. As a father, this literally makes me cry.

Of course, R. Kelly’s popularity among consumers is only possible because of the continued support of his industry peers. To date, Kelly has yet to be banned from any major award shows, even those sponsored by black owned and operated companies. Since the release of the sex tape, R. Kelly has continued to produce, write, and perform with dozens of mainstream artists. Even image conscious superstars like Jay-Z and Usher have collaborated with Kelly, largely because there are few stakes attached to working with someone accused of abusing young black girls. Now, with an acquittal in his back pocket, the sky is the limit for Kelly’s career.

Another measure of the black community’s indifference is the lack of outcry from traditional black leadership. Despite the existence of tangible evidence, far more than what was available during the Duke rape case, there have been no calls for protest marches, economic boycotts, or other sanctions against R. Kelly and his backers. When questioned on the subject, many leaders have suggested that they are “waiting until he gets his day in court.” Such a response is both disingenuous and ahistorical, given the breakneck speed at which the black activist community has responded to the videotaped beatings of black men like Sean Bell and Rodney King. Sadly, the videotaped abuse of black women does not warrant the same outrage. After all, how different would the public outcry be if the girls were white instead of black? More interestingly, how different would the black community’s response be if the videotape featured little boys instead of girls?

It is not my intention to suggest that the black community is uniquely or exclusively engaged in the mistreatment of black girls. Without question, the exploitation of black female bodies is a quintessentially American practice inaugurated by white patriarchal authority. Still, as we enter the 21st century, the black community must come to terms with its own failure to take seriously the plight of black women. As the R. Kelly verdict reminds us, however, we have a long way to go.

Hillary’s Homecoming
[col. writ. 6/8/08] (c) ‘08 Mumia Abu-Jamal

The concession speech recently rendered by Senator Hillary R. Clinton (D.NY), was not, truth be told, a concession speech.

For she did not end her campaign; she suspended it.

Some may say that this is splitting hairs, but she’s a lawyer, and obviously knows the difference.  To concede would’ve meant the relinquishing of her delegates; to suspend is to hold her delegates in suspension, in the event, say, of a floor fight at the convention when they may be needed.

That said, she did endorse her opponent (Sen. Barack Obama (D.IL), and she urged her supporters to do likewise.

And she did so in a manner, and in a speech that may’ve been her best of the presidential campaign (If not in her political career). For she spoke of grand themes, broad visions and the surging sweep of history.

If this had been the face of her candidacy it is quite likely that she would today be the nominee, rather than the runner-up.

For, on the advice of experts, she muted her feminist roots, and indeed deprecated the political value of speechifying.

Inspiration is an invaluable political tool, as many presidents have used this to achieve their ends.

Yet, experts advised her to play it down.

Like old generals, experienced political experts often fight past battles – not current ones.

They become creatures of habit, unable to adapt to new conditions.

During this campaign, her generals failed her, and gave her advice that failed her during the long war to the nomination.

What was once thought to be her greatest asset, former President Bill Clinton, instead became her greatest liability, especially among Black voters.  For Clinton had a genuine (if inexplicable) base of support among Black voters, who defended and supported him throughout his impeachment, when many of his fair-weather friends flew the coop.  He squandered that base.

Sen. Obama’s Black votes weren’t inevitable.

Two years ago most Black voters  didn’t know his name.

And in any race, the known always trumps the unknown.

At the beginning of the primaries, Sen. Hillary Clinton was the inevitable candidate, and even her staunchest opponents all but conceded her victory in November, given the Clinton name, the aura of an ex-president, a wealth of funding, and a ready organization at the highest levels of the Democratic Party.

Yet, as we’ve learned in politics as in life, ain’t nothing inevitable.

–(c) ‘08 maj