Today I was on the MLK Panel for the Maine Humanities Council and NAACP conference at USM. It was held in a university lecture hall, so as I walked onto the stage mentally kicking myself for my wardrobe selection (why did I choose today to wear my jean jacket of all things?), my confusion about the panel itself (the topic I was told it was going to be, actually wasn't the topic in question), or just the intimidating fact that not only was I the youngest, the only woman, the only one without a grad degree, and of all things--wearing a jean jacket. Wow.
The panel was actually fun, much to my surprise! And the crowd was incredibly insightful and responsive to our commentary. And, yes finally we can start talking about King's contribution as part of a network of social movements that have happened, currently occurring, or will occur.
Here's part of my contribution I gave for the panel... I changed some parts so it's not the complete thing:
It’s true that we typically don’t hear the two words “struggle” and “movement” on Martin Luther King Day. I’d also offer another word that we don’t hear: organize. For the last six years I’ve been in Maine, I’ve spent it organizing for affordable housing, racial justice, higher education, labor, and health care, with some of the most talented and creative student groups and organizations.
Truthfully, I don’t know if I could be doing the kind of work I’m doing today if I didn’t learn from Dr. King that the conditions of one’s oppression could be changed and that organizing can be a powerful tool to bringing about that change.
I like to think that King’s legacy is still important and extremely relevant even for young people today. However, as an organizer and someone who is fascinated with social movements, my concern about his relevancy asks what aspects of King’s legacy get acknowledged. Much of his work achieved real wins to ensure African Americans could live their lives in dignity and respect, with equal rights that were guaranteed under the law and enforced. But his legacy and meaning is more than just the “I Have A Dream Speech”. What I think is the most relevant of King’s legacy is that the struggle for any kind of equality, any kind of justice is interconnected. What strikes me about King was his last days, he was in Memphis to support the majority Black garbage workers who were on strike because they had horrible working conditions and unfair wages for what was considered a dangerous occupation.
King’s relevancy right now to young people depends on how we utilize his legacy of collective action in a contemporary context. Right now, we are still facing many of the same battles that were fought four, almost five decades ago, in the areas of institutional racism, gender equity, even how to build and maintain sustainable coalitions across race, gender, and class to promote broad systemic change. It’s become easy amongst those who are marginalized to play into the “Oppression Olympics”, which we can even see played out in the presidential debates right now: between gender and race; which subjugated identity is more oppressed? It does nothing to change the conditions of those who suffer, only to promote more divisiveness amongst groups whose oppression stems from the same source.
Lastly, I want to say that what makes King’s legacy relevant to young people today, is how they take that history, the lessons of the Civil Rights Movement, and how it can be used as a tool for real community change. When I was learning about the Civil Rights Movement and heard about the incredible work of Dr. King… I was thinking: who is going to be the next Dr. King for our generation? It’s important to have heroes and leaders, only so much that those leaders are able to inspire or teach us how to be lead in our own right. Because often times, we often think we should be waiting for that special, charismatic someone who will lead us the fight against one injustice or another. So many people are taking action in our community, everyday heroes who are living King’s legacy, yet who don’t get recognized.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Upcoming Event: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
For more information, go here: http://www.portlandmlk.net/
Martin Luther King, Jr., Observance 2008
Building on a Legacy: The Construction of Social and Economic Justice
Interfaith Dialogue
Wed., Jan. 16, 7:00 p.m.
USM Glickman Library, 7th floor, Portland
Event details >>
Reconsidering Martin Luther King, Jr: A public conference on his role and legacy
Organized in partnership with the Maine Humanities Council
Sat., Jan. 19, 9:00 a.m.
USM Hannaford Hall, Portland
Event details >>
23rd Annual Music & Gospel Concert
Sun., Jan. 20, 6:00 p.m.
Merrill Auditorium, Portland
Event details >>
27th Annual Breakfast Celebration
Mon., Jan. 21, 8:00 a.m.
Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland
Event details >>
Eyes on the Prize
Screenings and Discussions
Mon., Jan. 21, various times
starting at 11:30 a.m.
Maine Historical Society, Portland
Event details >>
RELATED EVENTS
NAACP Portland Branch - MLK Observance
P.O. Box 18198, Portland, Maine 04112, (207) 253-5074
Interfaith Dialogue
Liberty And Justice For All…If Not Now, When? If Not You, Who?
Wed., Jan. 16, 7:00 p.m.
USM Glickman Library, 7th floor, Portland
Free and open to the public
2008 represents the fortieth year since Dr. King’s assassination. This year’s event will take a brief look at his legacy as a means to specifically address issues of racial discrimination and bigotry, socio-economic disparities, and the status of civil/human rights in Maine. We will discuss what is/is not being done by the interfaith community and whose responsibility it is to advocate for equality and justice. We will expand the discussion to analyze how the business community, political parties/leaders and educational institutions are treating these issues. The goal of the program will be to generate tangible action-oriented ideas to incorporate into existing efforts of eliminating racism and inequality in our state. If not now, when? If not you, who?
Reconsidering Martin Luther King, Jr:
A Public Conference on His Role and Legacy
Organized in partnership with the Maine Humanities Council
Sat., Jan. 19, 9:00 a.m.
USM Hannaford Hall, Portland
Forty years after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, this public conference will examine his lasting significance. Presentations and workshops will include a review of current scholarship on King, examination of his radicalism, how the civil rights movement was represented in photographs, approaches for the classroom, and how Hollywood depicts the civil rights movement. There will also be an opportunity to learn about Maine’s role in the movement and to meet Mainers who took part in it. CEUs are available for teachers.
For more information and to register, please visit http://mainehumanities.org/mlk/index.html.
23rd Annual Music -- Gospel Concert
I've Been to the Mountaintop
Featuring the Windham Chamber Singers
Sun., Jan. 20, 6:00 p.m.
Merrill Auditorium, Portland
TICKETS: Available online through PortTix or by calling (207) 842-0800.
Purchased in advance: $12/adults, $5/youth 12 and under
At the door: $15/adults, $8/youth 12 and under
This year's concert theme, I've Been to the Mountaintop, is taken from the last speech delivered by Dr. King on April 3, 1968. We will take this opportunity to replay portions of that speech in opening the concert so we are immediately connected to the purpose of the evening in honoring Dr. King. The concert will feature the Windham Chamber Singers, the gospel choirs of Brunswick Naval Air Station and Green Memorial AME Zion Church, Rock My Soul, ASERELA Sudanese Choir, and Sounds of Angels Central African choir. Other performers include the Iranian Choir and the traditional Peruvian instrumental sounds of Sergio Espinoza.
27th Annual Breakfast Celebration
Mon., Jan. 21, 8:00 a.m.
Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland
Followed by a wreath-laying dedication at Monument Square
TICKETS: (Ticket Request form)
$20/adults, $8/youth 12 and under
Tickets are not available at the door and must be purchased in advance. Please use our Ticket Request form to purchase tickets (You'll need Acrobat Reader, which you can download here). Please call 253-5074 for more information.
Dr. Susan Rice, senior fellow on foreign affairs at the Brookings Institute, will serve as this year’s keynote speaker. Dr. Rice is from an African American family that traces their roots to the early 1900s in Maine.
Eyes on the Prize: Screenings and Discussions
Mon., Jan. 21, various times starting at 11:30 a.m.
Maine Historical Society, Portland
Free and open to the public
Partnering with the Maine Historical Society, Maine Humanities Council and the University of Southern Maine President’s Office, the NAACP will show approximately 5 hours of the 14-hour series with guest facilitators leading discussions immediately following each segment.
Other Related Events
Making Freedom: Maine’s African American History Series
Monday, January 14, 2008, and continuing on dates listed below
The NAACP has partnered with Primary Source, a non-profit educational organization, in offering a series on Maine’s African American history. The series begins on January 14 and will continue on January 21, 28, February 4, 11 at Portland High School Auditorium. For the annual NAACP Black History Month program, our presentation on Malaga Island will serve as the Making Freedom class on February 4. Guest speakers will be featured throughout the series. CEU credits are available for educators. Registration required. For more information, call 942-7146 or visit www.primarysource.org.
2008 Election Year: “Constructing Democracy”
UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND'S Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration
Featuring Staff From The Highlander Research And Education Center
Various dates in January (please see below)
As part of the 21st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, the University of New England hosts a residency with staff from the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee. The Highlander Center, which celebrated its 75th anniversary last fall, has a long history of supporting social justice movements, grassroots activism, and bringing individuals and groups together to envision and effect social change. It was one of the leading training centers for many of the country’s best-known activists during the civil rights movement. All of the Highlander Center’s programs are unified by the common theme of “Constructing Democracy,” which means building a society in which all people can participate in the decisions that affect their lives. Elandria Williams, a youth and community organizer on the Highlander’s Education Team, will be the featured speaker on the University Campus in Biddeford January 22-24th. Anasa Troutman, a Highlander staff member who uses arts and culture for activist organizing and social change will be the featured speaker on the Westbrook College Campus in Portland January 30-February 1st.
For more information on the University of New England events listed below, please visit www.une.edu/studentlife/multi/multicultural/mlk.
All MLK, Jr. events on the University Campus in Biddeford will be facilitated by Elandria Williams from the Highlander Center and are free and open to the public.
Socrates Café: Racism and Oppression in our Community?
Tuesday, January 22 at 7:00 p.m.
St. Francis Room, Library, UC Campus in Biddeford
UC Keynote Address: “Constructing Democracy”
Elandria Williams from the Highlander Center
Wednesday, January 23 at noon
Multipurpose Rooms, Campus Center, UC Campus, Biddeford
A Service & Community Involvement Fair will be held at the same time and location.
“Leadership for Activism” Workshop
Wednesday, January 23 at 7:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Rooms, Campus Center, UC Campus, Biddeford.
To register for this workshop email ehavu@une.edu
All MLK, Jr. Events on the Westbrook College Campus in Portland will be facilitated by Anasa Troutman from the Highlander Center and are free and open to the public.
WCC Keynote Address: “Why We Can’t Wait”
Anasa Troutman from the Highlander Center
Wednesday, January 30 at noon
Ludcke Auditorium, WCC Campus, Portland
Socrates Café: Racism and Oppression in our Community?
Wednesday, January 30 at 5:00 p.m.
Cahner’s Lounge, Hersey Hall, WCC Campus, Portland
“Initiating Conversations: Tools for Change” Workshop
Thursday, January 31 at 1:00 p.m.
Alexander 07, WCC Campus, Portland
“Engaging Communities through the Arts” Workshop
Thursday, January 31 at 6:00 p.m.
Alexander 07, WCC Campus, Portland
Other UNE Martin Luther King, Jr. events will include UNE Days of Service and Read-In Events at local elementary schools in Biddeford and Portland. For more information visit www.une.edu/studentlife/multi/multicultural/mlk.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Observance 2008
Building on a Legacy: The Construction of Social and Economic Justice
Interfaith Dialogue
Wed., Jan. 16, 7:00 p.m.
USM Glickman Library, 7th floor, Portland
Event details >>
Reconsidering Martin Luther King, Jr: A public conference on his role and legacy
Organized in partnership with the Maine Humanities Council
Sat., Jan. 19, 9:00 a.m.
USM Hannaford Hall, Portland
Event details >>
23rd Annual Music & Gospel Concert
Sun., Jan. 20, 6:00 p.m.
Merrill Auditorium, Portland
Event details >>
27th Annual Breakfast Celebration
Mon., Jan. 21, 8:00 a.m.
Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland
Event details >>
Eyes on the Prize
Screenings and Discussions
Mon., Jan. 21, various times
starting at 11:30 a.m.
Maine Historical Society, Portland
Event details >>
RELATED EVENTS
NAACP Portland Branch - MLK Observance
P.O. Box 18198, Portland, Maine 04112, (207) 253-5074
Interfaith Dialogue
Liberty And Justice For All…If Not Now, When? If Not You, Who?
Wed., Jan. 16, 7:00 p.m.
USM Glickman Library, 7th floor, Portland
Free and open to the public
2008 represents the fortieth year since Dr. King’s assassination. This year’s event will take a brief look at his legacy as a means to specifically address issues of racial discrimination and bigotry, socio-economic disparities, and the status of civil/human rights in Maine. We will discuss what is/is not being done by the interfaith community and whose responsibility it is to advocate for equality and justice. We will expand the discussion to analyze how the business community, political parties/leaders and educational institutions are treating these issues. The goal of the program will be to generate tangible action-oriented ideas to incorporate into existing efforts of eliminating racism and inequality in our state. If not now, when? If not you, who?
Reconsidering Martin Luther King, Jr:
A Public Conference on His Role and Legacy
Organized in partnership with the Maine Humanities Council
Sat., Jan. 19, 9:00 a.m.
USM Hannaford Hall, Portland
Forty years after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, this public conference will examine his lasting significance. Presentations and workshops will include a review of current scholarship on King, examination of his radicalism, how the civil rights movement was represented in photographs, approaches for the classroom, and how Hollywood depicts the civil rights movement. There will also be an opportunity to learn about Maine’s role in the movement and to meet Mainers who took part in it. CEUs are available for teachers.
For more information and to register, please visit http://mainehumanities.org/mlk/index.html.
23rd Annual Music -- Gospel Concert
I've Been to the Mountaintop
Featuring the Windham Chamber Singers
Sun., Jan. 20, 6:00 p.m.
Merrill Auditorium, Portland
TICKETS: Available online through PortTix or by calling (207) 842-0800.
Purchased in advance: $12/adults, $5/youth 12 and under
At the door: $15/adults, $8/youth 12 and under
This year's concert theme, I've Been to the Mountaintop, is taken from the last speech delivered by Dr. King on April 3, 1968. We will take this opportunity to replay portions of that speech in opening the concert so we are immediately connected to the purpose of the evening in honoring Dr. King. The concert will feature the Windham Chamber Singers, the gospel choirs of Brunswick Naval Air Station and Green Memorial AME Zion Church, Rock My Soul, ASERELA Sudanese Choir, and Sounds of Angels Central African choir. Other performers include the Iranian Choir and the traditional Peruvian instrumental sounds of Sergio Espinoza.
27th Annual Breakfast Celebration
Mon., Jan. 21, 8:00 a.m.
Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland
Followed by a wreath-laying dedication at Monument Square
TICKETS: (Ticket Request form)
$20/adults, $8/youth 12 and under
Tickets are not available at the door and must be purchased in advance. Please use our Ticket Request form to purchase tickets (You'll need Acrobat Reader, which you can download here). Please call 253-5074 for more information.
Dr. Susan Rice, senior fellow on foreign affairs at the Brookings Institute, will serve as this year’s keynote speaker. Dr. Rice is from an African American family that traces their roots to the early 1900s in Maine.
Eyes on the Prize: Screenings and Discussions
Mon., Jan. 21, various times starting at 11:30 a.m.
Maine Historical Society, Portland
Free and open to the public
Partnering with the Maine Historical Society, Maine Humanities Council and the University of Southern Maine President’s Office, the NAACP will show approximately 5 hours of the 14-hour series with guest facilitators leading discussions immediately following each segment.
Other Related Events
Making Freedom: Maine’s African American History Series
Monday, January 14, 2008, and continuing on dates listed below
The NAACP has partnered with Primary Source, a non-profit educational organization, in offering a series on Maine’s African American history. The series begins on January 14 and will continue on January 21, 28, February 4, 11 at Portland High School Auditorium. For the annual NAACP Black History Month program, our presentation on Malaga Island will serve as the Making Freedom class on February 4. Guest speakers will be featured throughout the series. CEU credits are available for educators. Registration required. For more information, call 942-7146 or visit www.primarysource.org.
2008 Election Year: “Constructing Democracy”
UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND'S Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration
Featuring Staff From The Highlander Research And Education Center
Various dates in January (please see below)
As part of the 21st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, the University of New England hosts a residency with staff from the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee. The Highlander Center, which celebrated its 75th anniversary last fall, has a long history of supporting social justice movements, grassroots activism, and bringing individuals and groups together to envision and effect social change. It was one of the leading training centers for many of the country’s best-known activists during the civil rights movement. All of the Highlander Center’s programs are unified by the common theme of “Constructing Democracy,” which means building a society in which all people can participate in the decisions that affect their lives. Elandria Williams, a youth and community organizer on the Highlander’s Education Team, will be the featured speaker on the University Campus in Biddeford January 22-24th. Anasa Troutman, a Highlander staff member who uses arts and culture for activist organizing and social change will be the featured speaker on the Westbrook College Campus in Portland January 30-February 1st.
For more information on the University of New England events listed below, please visit www.une.edu/studentlife/multi/multicultural/mlk.
All MLK, Jr. events on the University Campus in Biddeford will be facilitated by Elandria Williams from the Highlander Center and are free and open to the public.
Socrates Café: Racism and Oppression in our Community?
Tuesday, January 22 at 7:00 p.m.
St. Francis Room, Library, UC Campus in Biddeford
UC Keynote Address: “Constructing Democracy”
Elandria Williams from the Highlander Center
Wednesday, January 23 at noon
Multipurpose Rooms, Campus Center, UC Campus, Biddeford
A Service & Community Involvement Fair will be held at the same time and location.
“Leadership for Activism” Workshop
Wednesday, January 23 at 7:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Rooms, Campus Center, UC Campus, Biddeford.
To register for this workshop email ehavu@une.edu
All MLK, Jr. Events on the Westbrook College Campus in Portland will be facilitated by Anasa Troutman from the Highlander Center and are free and open to the public.
WCC Keynote Address: “Why We Can’t Wait”
Anasa Troutman from the Highlander Center
Wednesday, January 30 at noon
Ludcke Auditorium, WCC Campus, Portland
Socrates Café: Racism and Oppression in our Community?
Wednesday, January 30 at 5:00 p.m.
Cahner’s Lounge, Hersey Hall, WCC Campus, Portland
“Initiating Conversations: Tools for Change” Workshop
Thursday, January 31 at 1:00 p.m.
Alexander 07, WCC Campus, Portland
“Engaging Communities through the Arts” Workshop
Thursday, January 31 at 6:00 p.m.
Alexander 07, WCC Campus, Portland
Other UNE Martin Luther King, Jr. events will include UNE Days of Service and Read-In Events at local elementary schools in Biddeford and Portland. For more information visit www.une.edu/studentlife/multi/multicultural/mlk.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Election 08: What's Great and What We're Getting Wrong, Time and Again...
Election time always makes me feel like it's Christmas: I can hardly wait to find out who's going to take over the White House on Election Day. There's so much preparation that must be done ahead of time: you have to research the candidate platforms, banter with your friend about their candidate of choice while you watch debates, and get real excited (or horrified) at media coverage or candidate responses. And this year, the fact that there's a diversity of candidates from different genders, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds vying for the Democratic presidential nomination is the most exciting part of this year's primary. This is the first time we're seeing a White woman and a Black man compete as front-runner candidates in a major party primary.
In previous elections the media talks about how demographics by gender, race, and age will vote for the amazing selection of (White heterosexual male) candidates, but never how the gender or race of the candidate impacts how these demographics will vote. Now that the media is talking about these issues it's slowly becoming the most disappointing part of the election. It's not the fact that we're having this discussion about race and gender in our society that frustrates me, but how this discussion is played out. For those who aren't sure what I'm referring to yet, it's a new buzz topic in the blogosphere known as the "Oppression Olympics": which is the more subjugated identity, race or gender?
Last week Gloria Steinem, a leader in the second-wave of feminism in the '60s, wrote an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times called "Women Are Never Front-Runners" about the issue of race and gender in presidential primary. Just given the title, you can see the position she's taken on the issue. (Funny how she doesn't consider that, if women are never front-runners, how did Hillary win New Hampshire or maintain a front-runner status?)
Steinem argues that gender is probably the most restricting force in American life, and her argument is compelling. Compared to other democratic nations, we have a pretty low rate of electing women into office. Female voters in Iowa were seen as needing to support Clinton, but male voters are supposedly gender-free in how they vote. Women have tough barriers to face to enter into political office. And she also states that she's "not advocating a competition for who has it toughest".
But Gloria. Yes you are. And what's most disturbing is how your analysis of race and gender perpetuates such divisions in the social movement.
In the opening of her article, Steinem claims that a fictional female official with all of Obama's traits (from political qualifications, marital status, and even racial background) would not be considered a front-runner candidate for political office solely on the basis because she is a woman. She may be right that if Obama was a woman, then her political career and even opportunities may be more limited as a woman. But so would Hillary's, if she was Black. Her oversimplified analysis ignores those who are disadvantaged by both race and gender, wondering which "box" do they fit in. Personally as a woman of color, am I suppose to be a woman or a racial minority first? And how do I know I'm not discriminated against because of one and not the other? Or both at the same time?
What makes her analysis of oppression and marginalization so dangerous is because it asks us to compare oppressions of racism and sexism when it is manifested it in very different ways that have various historical, political, and social contexts. How I'm oppressed as a second-generation Asian American woman is different from how a Black man experiences oppression, which is different from how a working-class White woman experiences oppression. Oppression is wrong, but playing the game of "who's been bleeding or suffering harder and longer" is far more wrong and does nothing to change any situation.
Don't get me wrong; Steinem is correct that sexism is a real part of society, one that plays a very big role in how we perceive Clinton's candidacy and electability. But her broad sweeping justification that because Blacks got to vote before women did, and how Blacks in general "have ascended to positions of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women" paints an unfair picture that racism is an issue long-resolved. Regardless of where you grow up and where you live, racism is prevalent: in the choices that Black men face to either become an athlete or in jail; how Native Americans are denied adequate health care or educational opportunities at disproportional rates; or racial profiling towards Asian and Latino immigrants who are constantly seen as "foreign" or "illegal"?
The race versus gender debate presupposes an already existing alliance between those who members of that identity group based on race and gender. It also insists that one oppression is more important than another. A major limitation of this kind of identity politics enables a divisive pull between marginalized groups causes us to fight over scraps instead of demanding equal seats at the table. The tendency for second-wave feminists from Gloria Steinem's generation to universalize the experience of gender without understand how power and privilege operate around to race, gender, age, class, sexuality, history, or even location is the became a topic of major criticism for many subsequent feminists such as bell hooks, Gloria Anzaldua, or Audre Lorde.*
Steinem's analysis is disingenuous to what real social change is about. Through this article, she seems to support the idea we should vote based on our identities, or for those who aren't Black or a woman, vote based on who you think is 'most oppressed'. She doesn't give any consideration to the issues and causes Clinton supports, doesn't support, and what she refuses to take position on. According to Steinem, the women in their 50s or 60s who came out overwhelming in support for Clinton and her centrist political positions surely prove that women get more "radical" with age. Her definition of 'radical' scares me as someone who identifies with that term as part of my social practice and political belief. As an activist, what I have grown to know as radical politics doesn't just mean a fundamental political and cultural change, it means being smart and strategic to how that change can be brought about... To know that your struggle for either racial or gender justice is tied into the struggles against all injustice. Steinem's call for support for Clinton to fight the sex barrier, places a hierarchy of one issue over another. It may break a glass ceiling for women in the U.S., lacks any kind of strategy to developing comprehensive social change for all women or marginalized groups.
This is an exciting time where the Left has a chance to reframe the debate around fundamental quality of life issues, yet we're constantly facing messaging left and right about how we should vote between race or gender. Steinem's Op-Ed certainly isn't representative of the views of many feminists I know, but it's reflective of how gender and race issues are viewed in our society. She reaffirms many of the issues people involved in social movements have struggled to change in how we organize: the universalizing of oppression, the invisibility of women of color, and the race discussion as being only about Black and White. But come the next crucial months, we need to keep our momentum to have our voices heard loud and clear to shift the political discussion towards creation of equitable policies supporting universal health care, funding for higher education, worker's rights, the Iraq war, the environment. The next president is only going to be as good as the policies they put forward, and the leadership to unify. Real change doesn't come from breaking glass ceilings, but through the steps we take so everyone has the opportunity to break them, no matter what gender, race, class, or background they have.
* Some suggested reading about third-wave feminism that I like: "This Bridge Called My Back: Writings of Radical Women of Color" ed. Gloria Anzaldua and Cherrie Moraga, "Feminism: From Margin to Center" by bell hooks, "Sister Outsider" by Audre Lorde, "All the Women Are White, All the Blacks are Men, But Some of Us Brave" by Barbara Smith.
In previous elections the media talks about how demographics by gender, race, and age will vote for the amazing selection of (White heterosexual male) candidates, but never how the gender or race of the candidate impacts how these demographics will vote. Now that the media is talking about these issues it's slowly becoming the most disappointing part of the election. It's not the fact that we're having this discussion about race and gender in our society that frustrates me, but how this discussion is played out. For those who aren't sure what I'm referring to yet, it's a new buzz topic in the blogosphere known as the "Oppression Olympics": which is the more subjugated identity, race or gender?
Last week Gloria Steinem, a leader in the second-wave of feminism in the '60s, wrote an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times called "Women Are Never Front-Runners" about the issue of race and gender in presidential primary. Just given the title, you can see the position she's taken on the issue. (Funny how she doesn't consider that, if women are never front-runners, how did Hillary win New Hampshire or maintain a front-runner status?)
Steinem argues that gender is probably the most restricting force in American life, and her argument is compelling. Compared to other democratic nations, we have a pretty low rate of electing women into office. Female voters in Iowa were seen as needing to support Clinton, but male voters are supposedly gender-free in how they vote. Women have tough barriers to face to enter into political office. And she also states that she's "not advocating a competition for who has it toughest".
But Gloria. Yes you are. And what's most disturbing is how your analysis of race and gender perpetuates such divisions in the social movement.
In the opening of her article, Steinem claims that a fictional female official with all of Obama's traits (from political qualifications, marital status, and even racial background) would not be considered a front-runner candidate for political office solely on the basis because she is a woman. She may be right that if Obama was a woman, then her political career and even opportunities may be more limited as a woman. But so would Hillary's, if she was Black. Her oversimplified analysis ignores those who are disadvantaged by both race and gender, wondering which "box" do they fit in. Personally as a woman of color, am I suppose to be a woman or a racial minority first? And how do I know I'm not discriminated against because of one and not the other? Or both at the same time?
What makes her analysis of oppression and marginalization so dangerous is because it asks us to compare oppressions of racism and sexism when it is manifested it in very different ways that have various historical, political, and social contexts. How I'm oppressed as a second-generation Asian American woman is different from how a Black man experiences oppression, which is different from how a working-class White woman experiences oppression. Oppression is wrong, but playing the game of "who's been bleeding or suffering harder and longer" is far more wrong and does nothing to change any situation.
Don't get me wrong; Steinem is correct that sexism is a real part of society, one that plays a very big role in how we perceive Clinton's candidacy and electability. But her broad sweeping justification that because Blacks got to vote before women did, and how Blacks in general "have ascended to positions of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women" paints an unfair picture that racism is an issue long-resolved. Regardless of where you grow up and where you live, racism is prevalent: in the choices that Black men face to either become an athlete or in jail; how Native Americans are denied adequate health care or educational opportunities at disproportional rates; or racial profiling towards Asian and Latino immigrants who are constantly seen as "foreign" or "illegal"?
The race versus gender debate presupposes an already existing alliance between those who members of that identity group based on race and gender. It also insists that one oppression is more important than another. A major limitation of this kind of identity politics enables a divisive pull between marginalized groups causes us to fight over scraps instead of demanding equal seats at the table. The tendency for second-wave feminists from Gloria Steinem's generation to universalize the experience of gender without understand how power and privilege operate around to race, gender, age, class, sexuality, history, or even location is the became a topic of major criticism for many subsequent feminists such as bell hooks, Gloria Anzaldua, or Audre Lorde.*
Steinem's analysis is disingenuous to what real social change is about. Through this article, she seems to support the idea we should vote based on our identities, or for those who aren't Black or a woman, vote based on who you think is 'most oppressed'. She doesn't give any consideration to the issues and causes Clinton supports, doesn't support, and what she refuses to take position on. According to Steinem, the women in their 50s or 60s who came out overwhelming in support for Clinton and her centrist political positions surely prove that women get more "radical" with age. Her definition of 'radical' scares me as someone who identifies with that term as part of my social practice and political belief. As an activist, what I have grown to know as radical politics doesn't just mean a fundamental political and cultural change, it means being smart and strategic to how that change can be brought about... To know that your struggle for either racial or gender justice is tied into the struggles against all injustice. Steinem's call for support for Clinton to fight the sex barrier, places a hierarchy of one issue over another. It may break a glass ceiling for women in the U.S., lacks any kind of strategy to developing comprehensive social change for all women or marginalized groups.
This is an exciting time where the Left has a chance to reframe the debate around fundamental quality of life issues, yet we're constantly facing messaging left and right about how we should vote between race or gender. Steinem's Op-Ed certainly isn't representative of the views of many feminists I know, but it's reflective of how gender and race issues are viewed in our society. She reaffirms many of the issues people involved in social movements have struggled to change in how we organize: the universalizing of oppression, the invisibility of women of color, and the race discussion as being only about Black and White. But come the next crucial months, we need to keep our momentum to have our voices heard loud and clear to shift the political discussion towards creation of equitable policies supporting universal health care, funding for higher education, worker's rights, the Iraq war, the environment. The next president is only going to be as good as the policies they put forward, and the leadership to unify. Real change doesn't come from breaking glass ceilings, but through the steps we take so everyone has the opportunity to break them, no matter what gender, race, class, or background they have.
* Some suggested reading about third-wave feminism that I like: "This Bridge Called My Back: Writings of Radical Women of Color" ed. Gloria Anzaldua and Cherrie Moraga, "Feminism: From Margin to Center" by bell hooks, "Sister Outsider" by Audre Lorde, "All the Women Are White, All the Blacks are Men, But Some of Us Brave" by Barbara Smith.
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