Friday, April 13, 2007
Can Anybody Hear Me?
Well, dang. It's been one hell of a week, hasn't it?No need to explain what happened. I could say one word -- whether it be "Imus," "Rutgers" or "hos" -- and you'd know what I'm referring to.
In the deluge of media coverage this week, I've notice one disconcerting thing -- black women are still invisible. That is, until someone wants to jump to our defense (while bashing black men or hip-hop in the process).
Betty Baye, a columnist for the Louisville Courier-Journal, had a question about who the media sought for commentary on the Imus situation:
Did they ring up the president or the women of Spelman College? Did they call Johnnetta Cole, Julianne Malveaux, Maya Angelou, Angela Davis, Callie Crossley, Vanessa Williams, Nikki Giovanni, Rita Dove, Shirley Franklin, Mae Jameson, Condoleezza Rice, Kathleen Cleaver, Pearl Cleage, Susan Taylor, Renita Weems, Jill Nelson, Sheryl Swoopes or any of the legions of accomplished black women who could bring historical and political context to the harm of calling young women hos?As big as this story has become, the demographic that so many people are jumping to defend is still going largely unheard. The hosts of ABC's "The View" have discussed this story for the past week, and not one discussion included the voice of a black woman. None of the coverage I've seen had any comment from the National Council of Negro Women.
No. Black women were insulted, but the media rushed to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.
Are black women wearing burkas? Are they so invisible that they don't even get to speak first about their own pain?
It's been an entire week... and I have yet to be asked how I feel about Don Imus.
No one wants to know how I feel? continue...
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Powerful post.
On a side note, Larry King had Della Reese, Serena Williams, and the sista that is the new Dr. Phil for the Oprah show on yesterday.
Good conversation. But they didn't hit on the head like you did here.