African American Women: Where We REALLy Stand -"It's Time to Stand Up For Black Women and Girls"

Earlier this year, NBC Nightly News aired a series called "African American Women: Where They Stand". The series was touted as in depth, but it was anything but. The response was overwhelmingly disappointing. So I put out a call to WAOD readers and asked them to tell us where Black women REALLY stand. Our first entry was from Tami in a post called “The Black Women I Know”. The second was from Black Feminist Nationalist in a post called “Holding the Reigns of Our Lives”. Here is the final entry by WAOD reader A Thompson in a post called “It's Time to Stand Up for Black Women and Girls ”. I had to break this one up because it covered so much material, but I will definitely be posting portions in the future. This exercise has also convinced me to move forward with the anthology I mentioned on the podcast a looong time ago.

Moi will be coming off of vacation with a vengeance tomorrow. Just because I went on vacation doesn't mean that FOOLISHNESS did. I got an email box full of tips to wade through and I'll be doing a post called “Old Year's Resolutions.” But aren't y'all proud of me, I only did ONE post in the past seven days, I haven't taken this much time off from the blog since... well never. I'll tell you what I have been doing during the down time. Let' just say we're bringing WAOD to the WORLD! *Hillary Clinton cackle* Stay tuned!

IT’S TIME TO STAND UP FOR BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS

By: A. Thompson

It’s hard to be a Black woman or girl when everything and everyone around you is telling you that you are less than; you are not as good as; you’re not enough. In an increasingly multicultural America, the tools of exclusion, ridicule, and degradation are being used as a means to control our rise and success. Black women’s strength and personality are now being used by many to falsely accuse us of not being supportive of our men and our communities, as being too aggressive, as being unfeminine. In order to control us and keep us - the other half of the race - in degraded positions, to never rise up to be the cream of the crop that we and all other humans were put on this earth to be and to keep us quiet, we are being excluded from all other women and being made to feel less than, told that we are ugly, or whores or hos. These attacks on Black women and girls are coming from several aspects, including in the music being made by certain Black people, especially a segment of Black men in popular music, white and Black men in popular media, the internet, Hollywood movies and films, and most other public means of communication.

To all Black women and girls: You have GOT to hold on. You have GOT to keep your pride. You have GOT to remain true to who you are, true to your self no matter what it said. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Remembering Who We Really Are – When We Were Queens

As Black women in America, we have the absolute RIGHT to be recognized for who we REALLY are and for what we have done. It is not in the tradition of Black American women to be unquestioning and passive. Our fiery, vivacious, survivor personality is what got us through the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow, and helped the civil rights movements to succeed. It was Harriet Tubman, a Black woman called Moses for good reason, who suffered unspeakable torture, rape, and brutal hardships to save the lives of not only Black women, but even more Black men and children. It was a Black woman, Mrs. Rosa Parks, that stood up for all Black people and to the end of segregation everywhere, it was the strong willed, hard working single Black women all over America that have served to keep what little family structure still exists in Black America today. And it was my Black-Indian great grandmother who paid hard earned money to her former enslaver to free her beloved husband from the further horrors of slavery.

We are killing our girls esteem for the sake of our boys and men’s egos. We are the only race in America that publicly castigates our women to the whole world, who pretend that the problems that exist between men and women and in relationships are somehow uniquely only the fault of Black women, not typical of relations of men and women world wide. When in a bad relationship, the response is to blame all Black women (usually in a public forum), instead of focusing on maybe that one woman with whom you happen to have bad relations. Instead of recognizing this, fuel has been added to the fire so that now everybody from anywhere can take potshots at Black girls and women and there is no outcry or support. There will never be an outcry for a hated group of people, especially when your own are the acceptors and purveyors of the majority of the hate. This is terrible and the worst crime ever committed in our community. Black girls are being raped, killed, and assaulted in record numbers because of the unfettered HATRED that exists towards us, mostly by some of our own men – ignorant and self-loathing, who want to see themselves solely represented as “the Black man”, but who want their children to look less and less Black. They choose to ignore the fact that to birth a Black man like themselves, they need a Black woman. Many Black girls and women are now getting naked onscreen and engaging in sex acts at too-young ages in real life to try to prove that they too are beautiful and sexy – the result being disease and teen pregnancy, and ruined esteem early on in life.

Where are Our Defenders?

Black women and girls are being systematically excluded from first class citizenship and no one is speaking out. Black women and girls images are being degraded and there are many in the Black community who are accepting of this – I reject this.

We have worked to specifically defend Black men and boys against racism, where are the groups working to specifically defend Black women and girls? Why are we allowed to be stripped naked and shot and killed in movies by men of all types, the only group of women in America where this is allowed in Hollywood blockbusters? Where are our defenders? Where are the people who write books about the destruction of young, Black girls? What about the conspiracy against Black girls? I have listened to words of low self worth coming out of the mouths of little Black girls. I have seen Black girls who have been put on Ritalin and other drugs to “control” them in the classrooms and who have been “tracked” into failure – highly intelligent, energetic, beautiful Black girls. And I hear no outcry from our so-called leaders, from all of the Black authors who have written great works on Black psychiatry, works on how Black boys are tracked into failure in school, where is the outrage for this in regards to Black girls? The lie has been told that oh so many Black females are in colleges, higher education, and corporations, taking spots from Black males, purposely trying to outstrip Black males, being given an advantage in education over Black males. And for this reason, people have come to falsely believe that Black women and girls are 100% happy success stories, with no problems, being given all the advantages – which is of course false. Women in America, in general, are now outnumbering men in higher education – this is not some Black female phenomenon. Not only that, Black women are still woefully underrepresented in all levels of the educational system in America and in corporate America.

How About Saving Black Women and Girls for a Change

It is time to make specific the campaign to save Black girls. I remember all the sympathy-inducing messages back in the ‘90’s sorrowfully telling us of the impending “extinction of Black men”, the fact that most would die before reaching 25, with a common utterance to this day being “I’m just a Black man living in America”, or that we must “save Black boys”, and we must end the “conspiracy against Black boys”. Attention-grabbing headlines that spurred the development of numerous articles, books, academic texts, discussions, public and private forums, advocacy groups, nonprofit agencies, youth programs and other efforts in the Black community to specifically battle the injustices heaped upon Black men and boys.

But where is all this public outcry in the conspiracy against Black women and girls? Where are all the attention-grabbing headlines pleading for the survival of Black women and girls?? Why is no one outraged by the negative media portrayals/lack of portrayals of Black women? And where are the gut-wrenching headlines about Black female rape and murder victims? Why no nationwide organizational efforts in defense of Black women and girls? Because they were too busy focusing solely on Black men.

And Black women wholeheartedly supported the efforts of these organizations when it came to Black men. And why not? These were our brothers, fathers, uncles, spouses, friends, and boyfriends, our family. But where is the wholehearted support from Black men for programs such as these for Black women and girls? We are your sisters, mothers, aunts, spouses, friends, and girlfriends – family. The time for being quiet is over.

We Can No Longer Accept The Destruction of Black Females

We are pushing our women and girls into destructive patterns of depression, suicide, eating disorders, stress-related autoimmune disorders, substance abuse, and violent, envious and jealous behavior because of how we are treating them.

We cannot keep accepting this, we cannot be quiet about this anymore, after all that we have been through, after all of our suffering, and after all that we have contributed towards the race, we cannot allow certain Black men (in the entertainment industry especially) and others to happily buck dance their way to acceptance while using Black woman as scapegoats. We cannot keep allowing our Black girls to be victims of violence and then be afraid to speak out in fear of being labeled as a “feminist” or against Black men. We are women who have suffered at the hands of whites too long to be relegated to the bottom of the barrel for the insecurity of some Black men. We cannot allow Black girls to grow up believing they are to blame for society’s ill, for bad attitudes, for lack of achievement, for drug problems in the community, and every other of society’s ills. We cannot allow our Black girls to believe they are less than everyone else, that they are undeserving, that they should sit back and be quiet, or listen and laugh while being denigrated.

We cannot allow our Black girls to feel that education is not important, that they should hold themselves back, we cannot allow this. Black American women were at the forefront of all American movements to free our people, Black people, and should not take such insults lying down. We cannot accept Black gangster-ism and misogyny to define our communities – they are destroying us! In their words and actions. The idea that Black gangsters are somehow these unrecognized defenders of the race is the worst notion ever developed. Black gangsters are criminals and are wreaking havoc in our community, killing our success stories, drugging young minds, violating our youth, and demoralizing our girls – and boys!

There are no more excuses for this behavior. As long as we keep making these excuses, the longer the whole community will suffer. We can’t do this anymore. The Black community is suffering and no one will speak up because to see Black people act like animals towards one another is what much of America has come to accept as normal and therefore loves to see. To see Black women falsely labeled as evil, mean-spirited, ugly, lazy, and every other negative adjective in the English language is destructive, especially when so many of us have helped to open doors to other races in America and have worked tirelessly towards the success of the Black community.

BLACK WOMEN/GIRLS – FORGOTTEN AND SCAPEGOATED

Many Black nationalists, Black journalists, popular Black psychiatrists and Black doctors have forgotten Black women and girls. The self-serving interests of Black nationalistic movements and other groups told us that Black men and boys were treated worse than Black women and girls throughout American history. They told us that Black women were not victims of lynching. They told us that rape during slavery was a privilege or deny that it happened at all. They told us that Black men and boys were the only “true” victims in a racist society and were therefore the only ones truly deserving of efforts to be saved; the nationalist movements that spread the lie that Black women and girls were purposefully being put in better positions in schools, given better jobs, were outstripping our men and boys in every profession. For these reasons, myriads of book have been written, forums have been held, problems have been addressed in regard to how to save Black men and boys – as they should have been and should still be. However, Black women and girls for the most part were forgotten, left out, or scapegoated as being successful at the expense of Black males.

The 2 Most Destructive Myths In The Black Community Towards Black Women:

There are two major myths circulating throughout the Black community that are being used to breed envy and hatred of Black women by Black men and to convince Black women to accept mediocrity and failure. Many Black women are trying hard to be better, to push for excellence, to succeed, to be professional, and to live up to the empowering, but emotionally limiting idea of the “strong Black women”. But many others are falling through the cracks. Many Black men, in their selfishness, pretend to not understand just how Black women have been affected, had to struggle for what little we have. A common utterance is that Black women are thriving and leaving Black men behind because they have been accepted wholeheartedly, in large numbers, into corporate America, business, higher education, and other professional fields.

The truth is that Black men still make more money than Black women, Black women are not heavily represented in corporate America, are about equal to Black men in attainment of higher degrees, and still profit less as entrepreneurs than Black male entrepreneurs. Plus, many Black women still suffer from racial discrimination, violent crimes, mental and physical health issues, and struggles at home.

Myth One- Black Women Are Accepted Into Corporate America With Open Arms

• According to a report from the Executive Leadership Council in Washington, D.C. African Americans hold 8.1 percent of the board seats, or 449 seats, on Fortune 500 companies. George E. Curry, editor of Emerge Magazine, reports that of those 449 seats, Black men hold more than three times as many seats than Black women. Black men hold 344 of the total board seats, or 6.2 percent, and Black women hold only 105, or 1.9 percent.” (1)

• A 1995 report by the federal Glass Ceiling Commission observed that 95 to 97 percent of all senior managers at Fortune 1000, 2000 and 500 companies are white and male. The remaining 5 percent of senior managers is comprised of virtually all white women (1).

• The differences between Black women vs. Black men in higher educational attainment is very small, with Black women earning 15% and Black men 13% of bachelors degrees of those 25 and older. (4) The truth is that ALL Black people should be emphasizing education and higher educational opportunities, instead of telling one half of the race to stop accomplishing.

• In 2000, there were only 10% more Black women in management occupations than Black men, but still earned almost 15% less than Black men in all occupations. Black women earned only $85 for every $100 earned by Black men and were more likely to live in poverty than Black men. (5)

• While Black women drove start-up growth in Black entrepreneurship in 2002 and owned more businesses than ever before, annual revenues lagged far behind businesses owned by Black men, with Black women averaging $39,000 compared to $114,000 for Black men. (7)And both groups profited significantly less than white owned businesses

Myth Two - Black Women Are Thriving In America While Black Men Are Dying

• Black women and girls are subjected to double discrimination based upon race AND gender.

• Black women are suffering disproportionately from many health issues.

• Black women are suffering disproportionately from violent crimes.

• It is reported that African American women are nearly twice as likely as African American men to have suffered a bout of major depression. (13.1 percent vs. 7.4 percent). (6)

• Family households maintained by Black women with no husband present was nearly 3 times the proportion for all family U.S. households (30 percent)

In reality, none of us, Black women or men, are doing as well as we should. By encouraging Black women to be less, to do even less, is detrimental to the Black community and beneficial to those in power that want to see the entire race fail. For Black women like myself who were taught by our mothers AND fathers that independence, excellence, education, and professionalism were the keys to bettering ourselves and the Black race, who have instead received hatred, jealousy, looks of disdain, called overly-aggressive, and trying to out-compete or be better than our men, we have been betrayed. For the professional and educated Black women, we are being punished for trying hard, for keeping our backs straight, for keeping high standards, for trying to live up to the idea of the “strong Black woman”.

IN SUPPORT OF BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS

In the Black community, we have got to start making every effort to support Black girls’ education and emotional well being. For those that won’t help in this matter, move on; there will always be others willing to see a Black girl rise. You don’t have to be the ho or whore to be accepted, you don’t have to worry about being called a bitch or mean for being intelligent, spirited, and independent, you don’t have to worry about being called overly-aggressive just because you are not submissive because of the pride and confidence you’ll have in yourself. You don’t have to dye your hair blonde to try to mimic anyone else, be your beautiful self and dismiss everyone else who wishes to degrade you, including Black men and women who want to denigrate you. The Black men who never had the backbone to stand up and support you in Hollywood or in your communities and other places should not be supported – don’t give money to entertainers, comedians, or movies that either exclude you or cast you in a negative light.

Keep your education, ambition, drive, and love for family at the forefront. Don’t feel the need to postpone your success to wait for a Black man or anyone else to catch up – it just helps to hold us all back. Love your family, love your spouse/boyfriend, but also always keep your dreams and reach for your success at all times. Your success is his success, just as his success is also yours. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you are less than or wrong for trying hard to do and be better – emotionally, spiritually, physically, and economically. Don’t ever stop, don’t ever stop, don’t ever stop reaching to be the best. Don’t ever stop, even in the face of violence. Black women have the right to this and deserve this as much as any one else, male or female. Keep your strength, let the “haters hate”, let them castigate you, but don’t change who you are for anyone. Be the bad-ass Black woman you were made to be – quiet or loud, strong or delicate, loving or rough-around-the-edges, conventional or not, neck rolling and finger waving, calm or passionate, studious, ambitious, intelligent, and beautiful!

What We Must All Do Now For Black Girls

* Remind a Black girl that women and girls the world-over are being encouraged to become educated. Black females should be no exception. Education should be priority. Her education is not a hindrance to the Black community.

* Emphasize education and higher education no matter what. Education of Black girls is NOT detrimental to our community; rather it is beneficial and helps to improve her person specifically and to improve the community as a whole.

*Support Mentoring programs for Black girls and Personally mentor Black girls

*Support positive media like Akeelah and The Bee

* If you travel, try to take Black girls with you to another country to see African-descended populations everywhere (when it is economically feasible) and the varied cultures of every continent. If you cannot take her, tell her all about your journeys. This expands the mind, increases exposure to new and different ideologies, and removes limitations.

*Denounce gangs and gangsterism, pimps, and criminals in every way, publicly whenever possible. Gangsters in our community are not “lost Black heroes or warriors”, they are students of the teachings of satan (in all its cultural forms and religious representations), the kkk and white supremacy; misogynistic, ultimately racist against their own, blood thirsty, destroyers of life and soul of the Black community.

*Volunteer and financially support groups that make the success of Black girls as much a priority as everyone else.

*Work with organizations founded and run by Black women like One World that expand the minds of youths of color. The One World Foundation - TheOneWorldFoundation.org

*Write a letter to your representative/congressman/naacp/urban league to take the safety and education of Black girls seriously and make it a number one priority. I am sending this letter, hopefully you will also send yours.

*Write a letter to Blck movie stars to fight for and present more balanced, positive roles for Black actresses.

*Black women-founded organizations going around the world doing good things!

*Make a vow to our girls that we will not allow them to become an invisible group or accept being denigrated from any race, including our own. We are here and are here to stay.

*teach young girls the history of great Black women too when teaching about history

*send your letter of discontent to as many decision makers in network media as possible to end their campaign of hate against Black women. They are purposefully only allowing for the most negative portrayals or the complete elimination of Black women from normal and positive images. (movie producers/companies, network tv, satellite, cable, music industry producers)

CONCLUSION

People can say what they want, but I didn’t write this as one who hates Black men or as a “feminist”, but as one who sees the danger in the acceptance of all of this. It is time to check ourselves, because certain highly-visible and violent groups in our communities are worst than the Klan ever was. We should no longer be silent. No more allowing Black gangsters and thugs to slide by on excuses of being poor, lost, Black men that we have to wait patiently for to improve. They are killing us and killing the image and physicality of Black women and girls and Black men too. No more acceptance and support of Black entertainers who are profiting off the backs of Black women. The time is now to speak up and end this.

This Week's WAOD Wagging Finger of SHAME Award: Mara Schiavocampo and her hip hop panel participants

Professor Tracey, WAOD Contributor

This Week's Wagging Finger of Shame Award Goes to Mara Schiavocampo and her entire hip hop panel participants except for Kendra G - because nobody knew who in the hell you were. Another segment disguised as being about black women, but ended up being dominated by the black male prespective. I am sick and tired of the media covering rap music and hip hop culture by picking the worst represenatives of the genre they can possibly find.

Mara Schiavocampo – For not doing her research and for putting together one of the worst group of panelists I have ever witnessed. What was the actual point of the segment? Why wasn't there at least one person on the panel that could be considered doing something positive to combat the negative images of black women in hip hop? Why were black men present in this discussion at all? Was Danyel Smith, editor of Vibe magazine, busy? How about Joan Morgan, former Essence magazine editor and author of When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip Hop Feminist Breaks it Down? How about asking an "actual" female rapper about the state of the hip hop industry? How about asking "average" black women on the street about their views of rap music and hip hop culture?

Hip-hop hotties

Karrine “Superhead” Steffans – Isn’t this woman clocking MAJOR overtime on her 15 minutes of fame?

Dr. Michael E. Dyson – This is my boy, but Gina is right, he is a hip hop apologist and prognostitute. I formally asked my girl Attorneymom to place him on her SYAD list.

Melyssa “Jessica Rabbit” Ford – She graduated from BET Uncut to BET Style, sounds like an outstanding career move to me. She doesn’t have to worry about American black women, she’s Canadian, she can escape hip hop hell in America at anytime.

Irv Gotti – First, for being a complete idiot. I haven’t heard a rapper sound this dumb since Cam’Ron said that instead of informing on the serial killer that lived next door, he would move! Two, for how you used Karrine “Superhead” Steffens like a sexual incentive bonus to close business deals. Three, for being an irresponsible parent, would really be okay with your daughter being a video vixen? Four, for being all too willing to sellout every single black woman in the world excluding your mama to make an exploitative dollar!

Kevin Powell - You have come a long way baby, but damn you're over 40 years old, isn't it about time! And please stop referring to black women as "females" - we are women. Females can be anything; lions, tigers, bears, oh my. I wonder if Mr. Powell still hates his mama.

Overall, the NBC Nightly News series on African American women was not a complete failure, but as Chris Rock would say - "two giant steps back!"

Black Women's Long National Nightmare is Over: NBC's "African American Women:Where They Stand" Concludes-- I MISS ED BRADLEY :(

Well, NBC's African American Women:Where They Stand finished the way it started... Laughably!

BWAHAHAHA! Michael Eric Dyson DID manage to bogard his way into this series on the final webisode!

Watch and try not look Dyson in the eyes...You'll turn to stonea video hoochie..So anyway, NBC News gathered what they called "Leading African Americans." ERRRR? Um now I know Manhattan is an island, but are the people at NBC Nightly News really THAT out of touch? In the video, they have interviews with Karrine "Super Head" Steffans ( Wassup Professor Tracey!), Michael Eric Dyson ( Hip Hop Apologist and Prognostitute), Irv Gotti ( He used to be Karrine's "Pimp"), Melyssa Ford ( A "model"), Kevin Powell (MTV's Real World I) and some DJ.

THESE FOLKS are who NBC believes is "leading"?- Somebody lied to their bosses. I will leave it at that.

Behold the foolishness of the final episode on the Hip Hop industry. No new revelations. No hard questions. No investigative journalism to be found.

Hip-hop hotties

Finally, the series concludes with this report that about Black women and interracial dating and marrying. A segment which relied heavily on scenes from the movie "Something New"- that should have been a sign.

Hat Tip to Prometheus 6

Now would be a good time to go back and read Professor Tracey's post "Be Revolutionary, Not Reactionary"- Did she call this series or what. Even BEFORE she saw it:

Black Women and Inter-Racial Dating

So what!!! There are 13 million black people in the United States and less than 140,000 black women have white husbands! This small percentage is NOT an ethnic group changing or family structure altering statistic. Let’s talk about this when 500,000 black women have white husbands and a million black women are dating outside the race. Until then, the real question is why in the 21st century are black women still waiting for the “approval” of anyone to go on a date? I will date anyone in the entire rainbow coalition as long as they treat me with respect, dignity, and compassion!

Professor Tracey was prophetic about NBC's use of statistics to conjure up whatever story they wanted. My question is what story were they trying to tell and why did they choose to tell it in this way.

Just one black woman’s opinion here. What do you think? Personally, I am sick and tired of being defined by others. I am an extremely successful black woman and I have had enough of being told what I don’t have. Let’s look for the good things in our lives and go after what we want in a positive and pro-active manner. No more whining or waiting to exhale in 2008!!! Let’s get ourselves together and make it clear that black women are not going to take anymore mess of any kind and shame on those that get in the way!!! Then, next year’s NBC series could be “what in the hell has gotten into black women and how do we stop them before they take over the world!” Professor Tracey, WAOD Contributor- Written BEFORE NBC aired the series..

You know what fell over me when I was watching this last piece of fluff touted as an in depth series....I was struck by how much I miss Ed Bradley.

Man, this week we needed Ed Bradley to do this series. Now Ed would have been able to wrangle Black Women a segment on 60 Minutes that would have been more in depth than all of these NBC Nightly News segments and webisodes put together. Insightful stuff. Stuff we didn't know before we watched. Man he would ask some questions that would cut right to the bone. He covered everything (Timothy McVeigh), but man when he did those interviews of Black folks like Lena Horne you always walked away knowing something you didn't know before the interview. Ed Bradley was in depth. These folks at NBC Nightly News were just... just.. just.. out of their depth this week.

So my question to y'all is this... Have we learned anything from this week-long series other than NBC's staffers are out of touch with reality and have no unique voice of their own and have to rely on magazines, movies, and regurgitated stats everyone already knows? Or am I being too harsh? Man! I miss Ed Bradley!

To read our entire series of posts regarding this "out or their depth" series click here. Did I mention that this NBC series made me miss Ed Bradley?

NBC's African American Women: Where They Stand- Night 5- Black Women Decide to Vote For Mike Gravel - Shecodes is FAMOUS!

WAOD contributor Shecodes just got a shout out on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. He was reading viewer e-mail and he read hers.

Here is the video.


We've got mail Her letter is the second one.


Tonight's series was more the regurgitated MSM dogma that says that the only choices Black women in SC have are Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Hat Tip to Prometheus 6 for YouTubing it.

Courting African-American women voters
Of course we couldn't be choosing to vote in our own best interest, but are merely going to choose between gender and race if you believe MSM. I was heartened to see that the Black women in SC are echoing the sentiments expressed on this blog. They like what they hear about Obama, but they just don't KNOW him and his views on the issues that are important to them. HINT HINT! Like Duh. I have already written extensively about this failure this week and I have no desire to go another round with the Obama-lytes in the comments section.

I thought this dreadful ordeal would be over tonight, but apparently due to interest in the series- BLACK FOLKS ARE GIVING NBC HELL- NBC is stretching it out another night to talk about interracial marriage. I am glad it is on a Saturday when most folks don't visit the blog because I know folks are going to act a fool AS USUAL!

It Does Not Suck To Be A Black Woman

Rev. Renita J. Weems has responded to the gloomy tone of the NBC series with this post in response "It Does Not Suck to Be A Black Woman" over at her blog, Something Within. You sure about that Renita... I don't know we may have to deprogram some folk.
You can follow our discussion and posts about the NBC Series, "African American Women: Where They Stand" but going to this link.

If you want to catch up on the throw down we have been having this week regarding my response to the article called "Michelle Obama Urges Black Women to Vote for Her Husband", you can go here.

• Michelle Obama Urges Black Women to Vote For Her Husband: Um, Why the Heck Should We?


• WAOD invites Barack Obama to the Black Women’s Roundtable(knock down drag out fight in the comments)


• Are We “Picking” On Obama?- The Barack Obama Omarosa Society (BOOS) – aka How to DEMONIZE Black Women Voters 101


• OH Lord: We Do Not HATE Barack Obama... We Just Ain't Enraptured

Please note that we have ESP because this Black women and Obama story was all over CNN and NBC Nightly News today.

You should also check out the second hour of this week's podcast. During the second hour we get into a brawl over Barack Obama's ( AND EVERY OTHER CANDIDATE'S) perceived failure to address the unique needs and concerns of African American women.

NBC's African American Women:Where They Stand Night 4- Are We one Ham Hock Away From a Heart Attack

Tonight was Night 4 of NBC Nightly News' "African American Women: Where They Stand"
This is why I go to an old school Black doctor in the hood. The neighborhood is sketchy, but I get comprehensive care and she does not play.

We are soooo going to do a follow up to our podcast" Black Women: One Ham Hock Away From A Heart Attack"


Black women and heart disease

HAHAHA Brian Williams said that African American Women: Where They Stand is "high interest."

Black folks are giving them HELL! But hey, at least we are watching.

Y'all touch and agree that, during this holiday season, the demon spirit of egg nog, danish butter cookies, and pecan pie don't undo all my hard work this summer. Although today I DID find an egg nog alternative called "Nog"- it is made out of soy milk and if you close your eyes and hold your nose, it is almost as good.

MSNBC - African American Women: Where They Stand

Professor Tracey, WAOD Contributor

Sorry ladies, I wasn't impressed. Tonight's segment was much improved, but once again, poorly thought out. The black women's roundtable was interesting and heartfelt, but represented a limited perspective. I am personally trying to escape the big black monolith. I no longer desire to be lumped in with every single black person in the world and I do not wish to be bunched together with every single black woman in the world. After watching the extended segment twice, all I could think was -

Do ALL black women want the same things in life?

Does EVERY black woman have the desire to be married? Don't we all know at least one friend or relative that seriously has absolutely no interest in marriage?

Is EVERY black woman MEANT to be married? Don't we all know at least one friend or relative that is an awful wife?

Is EVERY black woman MEANT to be a MOTHER? Don't we all know at least one friend or relative that is an awful mother?

Is EVERY black woman that is married HAPPY and FULFILLED? Don't we all know at least one friend or relative that is more alone in their marriage than they ever were as a single person?

I think marriage is wonderful...for some people. I think motherhood is beautiful...for some people. I just don't believe that your life as a black woman is somehow lacking, incomplete or a failure if you don't become someone's wife or someone's mother.

Read the rest of our posts about this NBC series.

NBC NEWS, African American Women: Where They Stand Night 3- Rehema Ellis Redeems Herself - It Wasn't Bad

So tonight was Night 3 of NBC Nightly News series African American Women: Where They Stand.

Here is the video for those of you who missed it ( Y'all know how I do things around here):

Hat Tip to Prometheus 6

Redefining black relationships

Okay Rehema. You redeemed yourself tonight. Rehema Ellis gave us(not us in particular, but bloggers in general) a shout out tonight on NBC Nightly News. Brian Williams had Rahema come to the Nightly News set and Brian and Rahema noted the strong response to the series and that folks were not all ecstatic about it.

I think tonight's was the most “original” piece that NBC has done this week. Sure they regurgitated the same old “Black Women Will Die Old Alone” propaganda, but they managed not to blame us and say we were being to picky and the women that they interviewed weren't irritating in the way that the group they interviewed for the interracial dating panel tapped danced all up under and through my last nerve.

Awesome shout out to Black women who are adopting in historic numbers. I actually thought they were gong to talk about how Black women interact with each other. They highlighted the fact that as a result of the Concubine Conspiracy, entire generations of Black children won't know what it is like to grow up in a two parent household.

But I didn't leave the piece feeling doomed. It actually had a hopeful, poignant bent to it tonight. Rahema looked on the verge of tears. YES I AM GOING EASY ON HER TONIGHT. Y'all know I don't like bullying and I have a soft spot for the underdog and we've given Rahema hell this week. She deserved it after that Monday night debacle, but tonight's piece was much better IMHO.

But I have the feeling that Mara Schiavocampo is about to bring us another bout of “Ignorance personified”. This is what she said on the Daily Nightly, the NBC Nightly News Blog:

And on Friday, I'll be posting a video version of a roundtable discussion on hip-hop's effect on Black women, featuring Irv Gotti, Melyssa Ford, Kevin Powell and Kendra G. Trust me, it's not to be missed. SOURCE

Oh don't worry Mara, we wouldn't miss it for the world. Melyssa Ford and Irv Gotti... Oh I can't wait. My foolishness meter is going berserk right about now.

My only major irritation tonight was that NBC gave a shout out to "Soul Mates" aka “Poor
Little Spinster Sistas”. My friend watched that movie and said it had her despondent and in tears. Don't do it to yourself. Do not watch "Soul Mates " alone. Just. Don't Do It.

Read the rest of our posts about this NBC series.

NBC :Black Women Where They Stand ( Night 2)- Breast Cancer- Black Folks Giving NBC HELL!

For those who missed night two in the NBC series "African American Women: Where They Stand", here is the link:

Black women and breast cancer
To see the full interview of Dr. Funmi Olopade, you can watch it here.

Experts on black women, cancer
The moral of the story is Black women need to look into participating in clinical trials.

If Want to Know Why the Series is Disappointing Blame Mark Whitaker

Somebody find us Mark Whitaker's email. He is responsible for the tragedy that was last night's piece and the gist of this series which is basically "NBC to Black Women: It Sucks to be UUUUU":

Mark Whitaker, senior vice president of NBC News, who happens to be African-American, came up with the idea. He suggested that if we look at the major accomplishments of the nation's 13 million African-Americans in education and in the workplace we would find women leading the way. He then asked us to take a look at what the consequences of that achievement are.SOURCE

Who the heck asks about "CONSEQUENCES" for achievement? So inherently in this man's mind, if Black women are doing well then there must be a down side. Now wonder the series looks the way it does. For real. Get his email! I think we should speak with him about CONSEQUENCES! What ever happened to BENEFITS or PROGRESS? So sisters were doomed going into this series.

Now on to the "controversy". Folks I have been perusing The Daily Nightly, which is the NBC Nightly News blog, and the average posts around there get like 5 or 10 comments. Guess how many comments are on the posts about this series on Black women???

Poor Rahema

Poor Rahema Ellis got so much negative feedback, she put up a post apologizing for her writing.

I have read almost all of the blog entries that we've received. Many of them were complimentary. But some were angry or disappointed in Part One, which I wrote, saying it had not lived up to all of their expectations.

Poor thing. I almost felt guilty, but the piece was shallow and regurgitated stats I'd already heard elsewhere while being touted as in depth and what possessed her to refer to the success of Black women in college as an achievement gap? I gave her a pep talk. She seemed beat down.

Response to Night One

So far there are 111 responses to the first night and they weren't all positive. HAHAHA I am being generous and I see some of my readers have been chilling out at the NBC Nightly News Blog. I recognize WAOD rhetoric when I see it. That's great. We're conquering the world.

Response to the Announcement of the Series

Even more folks have chipped in their two cents on the thread announcing the series. About 200 have weighed in so far.

Series Web Page- Web Extras

If you can't get enough from the broadcast, the web site dedicated to the series has a bunch of video content.

For example, this report on Black women leaving the workforce didn't air.
Trading briefcases for diaper bags

For the WAOD guide on how to view this series and some questions you might want to ask, please read "Be Revolutionary not Reactionary" by WAOD Contributor, Professor Tracey.

Read the rest of our posts about this NBC series.

MSNBC - African American Women: Where They Stand – 0 for 2

Professor Tracey, WAOD Contributor

For the second night in a row, MSNBC presented another disappointing “investigative” segment with information about black women that could have been discovered by simply googling “black women and breast cancer.” I am now officially wondering how much “research” and “investigation” is actually being made in connection with this series.

What didn’t they talk to anyone connected to the National Black Women’s Health Project? This organization celebrates their 25th anniversary in June. My mother who invokes the memory of the Tuskegee Experiment every time I criticized her for not participating in medical clinical trials focusing on black women, has regularly participated in NBWHP’s clinical trials.

Why didn’t they talk to anyone that is actually working hard to get black women the medical care that they desperately need? Black radio personality, Tom Joyner is entering into the sixth year of his annual “Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day”. The Susan G. Komen Foundation has specifically targeted black women to get free mammograms. All black sororities from the AKAs to the Zetas regularly put on local and national programs addressing black women’s health.

A real investigative report would have addressed the following questions –

Why are black women NOT participating in medical clinic trials?

Why are medical doctors using medical research collected from white women to treat black women?

What OTHER facts are contributing to breast cancer being such a devastating disease for black women? Weight issues? Too much stress? Being single and fighting a serious disease?

What kind of preventive measures would specifically help black women avoid or successfully lessen their chances of getting breast cancer?

Are there support groups for black women who are breast cancer survivors?

Borrowing Attorney Mom’s sidebar:

I did not have high expectations for this series, but this is a new low. Since when did a paltry five minutes of news reporting over the course of two days qualify as investigative reporting? Rahema Ellis should be feeling the heat as should anyone else connected to producing this half-assed series.

NBC's African American Women: Where They Stand Night #1 - Did you see it. ( VIDEO INCLUDED)

Once again MSM is trying to convince the winners that they are losers. Now in every other part of the world BILLIONS of humanitarian dollars are expended to educate women and it is considered a success when it happens, but ONLY in AMERICA can black woman getting an education be presented as a tragedy or be couched in terms of what Black men aren't doing.

Well as promised, NBC Nightly News began a five part series that was supposed to be about African American women, but ended up, as usual, being all about African American men. How the heck did that happen. All these wonderful stats about Black women were immediately juxtaposed by some negative statistics about Black men. they should have called the series "African American Men: Where They Stand". Now if Black men outnumbered Black women in college, would Brian Williams have referred to the phenomenon as an achievement gap?

This piece didn't say anything I didn't already know. SO MUCH FOR Investigative Reporting. Reading a couple of Back issues of Essence magazine does not qualify as research. BOOO Double BOOO! GO tell Brian Williams what you thought over at the Nightly News Blog.

64% of Black college students are Black women. Heard that before

The number of Black women businesses increased by %75 in the last five years while only 29% for Black men. NEWSFLASH maybe the number is going up slower for Black men because Black women are playing catch up.

Now this stat is central to the entire point of this blog and our slogan "Defund the War on Black Women": of the $850 BILLION Black folks control in this country, 62% is controlled by Black women. So somebody explain to me why we are begging anybody for anything? Tell me why we couldn't basically tell corporate America to stop subsidizing our degradation and have them act on it.

I don't have anything else to say about it other than I want that 30 minutes of my life BACK. Professor Tracey laid out a very through analysis in her post Be Revolutionary Not Reactionary.

The video that they have on MSNBC is much more in depth than the Nightly News piece.
Video of Angela Murray, Editor of ESSENCE - talking abot Black women working and starting businesses.
The Peacock Network's Anti-Black Woman Propaganda Videos Are Up:

Black women's education edge

More black women taking care of business

Love, in black and white

Girl talk

Why black women succeed at work

UPDATE: Average Bro has responded to the first episode of the NBC series in "NBC to Black Women: It Sucks to Be You"

Be Revolutionary instead of Reactionary

Professor Tracey, WAOD Contributor

If you watch the NBC with Brian Williams series on black women this week, instead of being passive and having the various expected emotional reactions of anger, disappointment, sadness, etc…Get a pen and a pad and take notes! Think about how statistics on black women’s lives are being shaped and presented in the news segments. Is there an alternative view? Is this truly a REAL problem ONLY affecting black women? Why exactly is this particular issue viewed as a PROBLEM for black women? What is a possible solution(s) to the particular issue?

Just a few preliminary observations of my own –

Black Women and Education

Does it really matter that black women outnumber black men in undergraduate education? A degree is a degree. Every statistic supports that a woman’s earning power increases with a college degree. You go to college to earn a degree, not to find a man. The real question is why don’t these same numbers appear for black women in the pursuit of advanced degrees? What is happening that black men still earn more masters and PhD degrees than black women when we out-number them in terms of undergraduate education?

Black Women and Entrepreneurship

The issue is NOT that an education prevents black women from going into business for themselves. The REAL issue is that most black women with degrees go into the workplace with low paid jobs that offer little in terms of future promotion or executive mentoring. Black women are NATURAL entrepreneurs; you only need to go to a local church to find a black woman hustling something; Avon, Tupperware, baked goods, etc…. The truth is black women are NOT encouraged to start their own businesses and are not exposed to the information needed to successfully start a business. This is a FAKE problem for black women and completely easy to solve.

Black Women and Inter-Racial Dating

So what!!! There are 13 million black people in the United States and less than 140,000 black women have white husbands! This small percentage is NOT an ethnic group changing or family structure altering statistic. Let’s talk about this when 500,000 black women have white husbands and a million black women are dating outside the race. Until then, the real question is why in the 21st century are black women still waiting for the “approval” of anyone to go on a date? I will date anyone in the entire rainbow coalition as long as they treat me with respect, dignity, and compassion!

Black Women and Marriage

If this segment brings up the tired argument that black women are over-educated or too picky, and not willing to marry blue-collar black men, TURN OFF THE TELEVISION!!! My questions are - Do black people date? I mean real dates, not dollar menu meals and sex. Where exactly can the average black woman go to find a potential marriage partner? Not at the club or at church for that matter. Does the average black person have the EMOTIONAL, SPIRTUAL, and FINANCIAL means to enter into such a complex and challenging union such as marriage? Does every black woman want to be married? I’ve never had the wedding girl fantasy. I enjoy being single and dating. I’m not sure that I would be the best wife. How about you? What about black gay women? Isn’t it time we stop acting like this group of black women doesn’t exist?

Hip Hop and Black Women

Does hip hop exhibit hatred of black women? Yes! Next question, please! Name one entity in current existence that supports black women? Corporate America? The criminal justice system? The healthcare industry? The black church? The educational system? The government? Tell the truth, if you are a 30+ year-old black woman, single and childless, how EXACTLY does hip hop music and culture TRULY affect your everyday life? Is hip hop in your top ten daily life problems to tackle each day? You can hate how the music and the images negatively reflect and attack black women, but does hip hop REALLY impact your life more than any of the other industries list above?

Black Women and Health Issues

The overall health issues and stress factors facing the average Black woman are already at the crisis stage. Of all the issues they are planning to cover, this one is the most important. I hope instead of bombarding us with depressing statistics about black women’s health, that they will present numerous pro-active plans to improve black women’s physical and mental health. Like black women going into business for themselves, improving black women’s health is an issue that is also completely solvable.

Black Women and Politics

As far as I can see there is NOT one presidential candidate that gives a damn about black women. Who represents us and our concerns? Are we challenging political leaders and activists to meet our needs? We need to start locating, promoting, and supporting candidates at all levels that have our issues as one of their primary concerns. We have a political voice and the potential power to make an impact; the only question remains are we willing to use it?

Just one black woman’s opinion here. What do you think? Personally, I am sick and tired of being defined by others. I am an extremely successful black woman and I have had enough of being told what I don’t have. Let’s look for the good things in our lives and go after what we want in a positive and pro-active manner. No more whining or waiting to exhale in 2008!!! Let’s get ourselves together and make it clear that black women are not going to take anymore mess of any kind and shame on those that get in the way!!! Then, next year’s NBC series could be “what in the hell has gotten into black women and how do we stop them before they take over the world!”

NBC to do Week-long Series on Black Women - Let the Gnashing of the Teeth Begin!

Thanks to all of the readers sending me this info. NBC is planning a series on the state of Black women in America. We're important y'all..... at least until the Democratic primary is over.

Some of the stats they list are just downright depressing. Of course they will assemble a panel of folks from the Hip Hop Industrial complex to talk about the depiction of Black women in the industry. Let's take bets as to who will be on it. You know our favorite hip hop apologist and prognostitute in chief is sniffing around... he could smell the bright lights of a network camera. Here is the info. Make sure you go over to the NBC Nightly News website to weigh in and tell 'em WAOD sent 'ya.

NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS"

SPECIAL FIVE-PART SERIES


TO AIR BEGINNING ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26

New York, N.Y. – November 15, 2007 – Throughout the week of November 26, "NBC News With Brian Williams" will take a look at the issues facing African-American women across our nation in a new series "African-American Women: Where They Stand." The series will cover a wide-range of issues from their role in the '08 Presidential race, to the increased health-risks that they need to be concerned about.

Monday's installment will discuss African-American women's progress in the education field. Nearly two-thirds of African-American undergraduates are women. At black colleges, the ratio of women to men is 7 to 1. And that is leading to a disparity in the number of African-American women who go on to own their own businesses. Rehema Ellis will talk to educators, students and businesswomen about why this disparity exists. {Why is the fact that a bunch of Black women are going to college treated as a negative, a DISPARITY. As if by having black women pursuing and education is a BAD thing. Lovely. Just. Lovely NBC. Why not couch it in terms of achievement or success?What other group of folks on planet Earth going to college would be couched in terms of a DISPARITY??? We ought to be HAPPY that Black women are being entrepreneurial.}

Tuesday, Ellis will look at relationships within the African-American female community. Many agree the gender disparity in education and business among African-Americans is having an effect on relationships that African American women have. Some even say the implications could redefine "Black America's family and social structure." In the past fifty years, the percentage of African-American women between 25-54 who have never been married has doubled from 20% to 40%. (Compared to just 16% of white women who have never been married today). Ellis sits down with the members of a Chicago book club and talk about this difference and how it impacts them. {HERE WE GO, the whole " Black women are going to die old, alone, single and be eaten alive by nine cats because they went off to college and got an education. OH I can already see the blog will be hopping next week. FOOLISHNESS ALERT. }

Dr. Nancy Snyderman will discuss the increases risks for breast cancer for African-American women on Wednesday. Mortality rates for African-American women are higher than any other racial or ethnic group for nearly every major cause of death, including breast cancer. Black women with breast cancer are nearly 30% more likely to die from it than white women. Premenopausal black women are more than twice as likely to get a more aggressive form of the disease. And, not only are African-American women more likely to die from breast cancer, but they're less likely to get life-saving treatments. Dr. Snyderman will profile one of the only oncologists in the world who specializes in the treatment of African-American women with breast cancer.

On Thursday, Ron Allen will take viewers to South Carolina -- the first southern primary state -- and ask the question: Will race trump gender or gender trump race? In South Carolina, black women made up nearly 30 percent of all democratic primary voters in 2004. This year, polls show a significant number are undecided, torn between choosing the first African-American or first female Presidential candidate. Allen talks with the undecided, as well the state directors for the Clinton and Obama campaigns, who happen to be African-American women.{Black women in South Carolina have all of this political capital, how are they spending it? Are they obtaining any campaign promises? A guarantee that we will get Black women in the next cabinet at someplace other than the Department of Labor? Are we extracting promises of larger federal grants dedicated to studying all of these diseases Black women seem to be dying from in larger numbers? Don't forget about our January Road Trip to South Carolina.}

To close the series on Friday, Dr. Snyderman will raise the frightening statistic that African-American women are 85% more likely to get diabetes, a major complication for heart disease. And, like breast cancer, more black women die from heart disease than white women. Dr. Snyderman will profile a leading expert and a unique church-based outreach program in South Carolina that seeks to spread the word about heart disease risks to black women congregants.

Mara Schiavocampo, Digital Correspondent for "Nightly News," will address two hot topics in the African - American community: interracial dating and the impact of hip hop music on black women. Interracial dating is a growing trend in the African - American community. An Essence.com poll found that 81% of participants approved of black women dating non- black men. {Oh LORD, the Internet Ike Turners are going to be in a tizzy. Prepare for them to blow an online gasket. Hey, if you like it I love it. Wow and they are attributing it to hip hop hmmmm interesting.}

According to a U.S. Census Bureau report in 2000, 95,000 black women were married to white men. In 2005, that number increased to 134,000. Schiavocampo will talk to experts about the trend and discuss how this defines the "Black family" of the future.

Schiavocampo will convene a panel of leading black men and women from the hip-hop industry for an engaging discussion on whether hip hop lyrics and videos positively or negatively affect black women. The roundtable also will address how these portrayals are affecting relationships between black women and black men. {Who does NBC define as "leading?" FOOLISHNESS ALERT. how much you wanna bet Michael Eric Dyson weaseled a way up in there?}

Consumers can go online to join the discussion and share their thoughts on message boards. They can also read and respond to blog entries at www.nightly.msnbc.com .
Alexandra Wallace is the executive producer of "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams." Bob Epstein is the senior broadcast producer, and Rich Latour is the senior producer for this series.

OH I have the feeling next week will be a doozy 'round here. I say we do our own series reacting to their series. I need volunteers. Pick a night of the week to watch and write a review for WAOD. Hit up the Gmail.