Part Three: We are the hope for our future!
A diverse group of women came together to discuss issues related to politics, race relations, social media and celebrity activism. Starting off in Part One — women of color opened up with their thoughts. Then in Part Two — their white counterparts shared their perspectives.
Now in Part Three, a different group of women of color will express their viewpoints on the aforementioned issues.
This series was started in an effort to encourage conversations on how certain issues matter and profoundly affect us. Our white allies need to seek and demand change because minorities can’t unite the country alone.
Today’s participants are: Bridgette Bowman, Max Lopez, Shakeia Taylor, Astasia Williams, Jasmine Watkins, Shireen Ahmed, Janice Frazier-Scott, and Jamie Nesbitt Golden.
1) As a woman of color, how has the political climate affected you?
Bridgett Bowman: The current political climate has made me more sensitive to everything around me. It reminds me of the feelings I experienced on the campus of Howard University in the early 1980’s. My race, ethnicity and culture were on high alert because of the apartheid issues of South Africa and other political agitators. I was at risk of becoming what I despised…a person full of bitterness and hate. I had to be careful then and I have to be careful now. I surround myself with good people and I’ve been fortunate that they come in all colors.
Max Lopez: As a woman of color, I think the current political climate has affected me to be more outspoken in taking my stand on certain issues. Politics in this country changed because things have gone “beyond politics” now. I was raised to be politically neutral and to affect change through a grassroots community level, as in volunteering, rather than trying to affect any change from the political system. Now however, it’s gone beyond that because the politics of the day aren’t just politics. It can be the difference between life and death for groups of people. There’s a moral obligation to speak up and to defend your neighbor and yourself. It’s way past politics as usual.
Shakeia Taylor: As a Black woman, the political climate has affected my day-to-day life. It always has, but I am hyper aware these days. I worry about hearing conversations in public. I worry about being in spaces where I am the only Black person. I find myself reaching out to non-Black friends when they invite me to places and spaces to inquire about the demographic makeup of the other folks invited. I am avoiding being in situations where I can end up “representing” the entire Black community. And everyone is always like “my friends aren’t like that.” But yes, yes they are. Even the most progressive white people still say and do racist things and I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to try to figure out a stranger’s intent.
Astasia Williams: This political climate has forced me to be more comfortable with myself as a black woman; not that I wasn’t before. But at this time, it’s important for me to have that tough skin and to not be afraid to speak up and speak when it’s necessary. I’m using my voice more. I’m not hiding in this box anymore.
Jasmine Watkins: I’ve become more aware of things happening in politics when a few years ago, they wouldn’t have interested me as much. I’m reading more current news and learning as much as I can so that I can make a difference. Now is not the time to be silent on issues. Every time I see something negative happen to a woman of color, my first thought is, “that could’ve been me.” It hits home and makes me want to do more to help change my community. Above all else, I’ve become more outspoken in a world that would probably prefer I remain silent.
Shireen Ahmed: This current climate is not dissimilar to the other ones but it is more intense. Folks in the margins have always known that this is not new. I am aware of my environment and surroundings. Being cognizant of my physical safety is new for me. Since attacks on Muslim women have increased, I think about it a lot.
Janice Frazier-Scott: The current political climate has just intensified the reality of being a woman of color. During the Obama administration, of course I realized that racial tensions had heightened in this country. Since there was resentment that President Obama had been elected as the leader of the free world, but honestly, I never felt unsafe. In the last eight months, I have felt unsafe because of the blatant racism that is being displayed throughout the US with the election of Donald Trump as president. People have been emboldened to say anything that they think or feel, no matter how hurtful it may be to someone else. And from what I’ve observed, those who lash out have not been attacked or even involved with those they are attacking. People generally mind their own business and yet can’t be respected.
That being said, I know that the upcoming 2018 midterm elections are probably the most important that we have faced in awhile and that people of color must not act like voting is irrelevant or unimportant. Nothing will be achieved unless we have a Congress that is willing to tackle the hard issues that face most Americans. Sadly, a Republican Congress is attempting to undo economic progress in this county so that the top 1 percent can have even more, while poor and marginalized people will have even less.
Jamie Nesbitt Golden: I’ve gone from cautious optimism to an angry vigilance in a matter of months. While I believe that a Trump presidency was inevitable given this country’s love affair with mediocre white guys, I’d hoped against hope that the less racist, more logical choice (Hillary) would prevail. When that didn’t happen, any optimism about America’s promise, disappeared. Now, I’m more guarded, more focused on making sure me and mine are safe.
2) What are your thoughts on Trump’s comments on what happened in Charlottesville and his stance regarding the confederate monuments and statues?
BB: The comment made by the person elected to be the 45th President of United States came has no surprise. I learned long ago to accept people for who they are and learn from them. “45” has not demonstrated good moral character nor effective leadership since accepting the responsibilities associated with the “position.” It came as no surprise that he had neither the moral capacity nor the intestinal fortitude to stand up to domestic terrorists in Charlottesville.
ML: They’re unsurprising, which is a sad thing to say but they really weren’t anything unexpected. Especially the need to make false equivalencies with other groups. To try to spread the blame around a little. It shouldn’t be hard to flat-out say that right-wing /fascist/ Neo-Nazi/racist groups are wrong full stop. But no, he had to throw in the “must be two sides” argument. Also, its just breathtakingly stupid, on multiple levels, to defend having any kind of Confederate monuments. But again, not unexpected. The thing that surprised me most in all his comments on Charlottesville probably would have to have been the fact that he lied about Heather Hayers mother complimenting him. That was just such a new low, and really so unnecessary. I remember sitting at my desk at work on my break and reading that bit so incredulously. It was a little unbelievable to me until I saw multiple outlets reporting that yes he said it. I mean, just when you think you’ve reached the bottom with him, it falls out and you reach a new low.
ST: Comments from the guy who is supposed to live in the White House do not surprise me. I never expected him to be anything and his comments show exactly where he stands; with racism. I have the guy muted and blocked everywhere I can to preserve my sanity and my online experience. I am already constantly outraged, I don’t need to know every little thing he says.
AW: Trump’s comments didn’t surprise me because that’s how he won the presidency. Those exact same words is how he campaigned. Then to see people say “This is not my America”. Yes, yes it actually is. It’s never changed. People just wanted to put a bandaid on a gun shot wound and decided everything was changed.
JW: I’m definitely against Trump’s comments on Charlottesville. I thought they were reckless and not well-thought out. I feel he was given a relatively easy task in denouncing white supremacists and other hate groups that were there, but instead he balked and tried to play both sides. To me that was his way of saying what they were doing out there was okay. A woman standing up to them lost her life and he showed no sympathy. It’s the same thing with the statues, he called them “beautiful” but I highly doubt he understands the true meaning behind them, either that or he just doesn’t care.
SA: He is vile. And I expected this, I don’t look to white folks — especially known predators and misogynist for allyship.
JFS: Frankly, I wasn’t surprised by any of his statements about Charlottesville because he has revealed who he really is all the time. He is only concerned about himself and wants praise from his supporters. It doesn’t matter who those people are or what their ideology may be because he doesn’t have a moral center or any ethics. With regard to the monuments and statues, I doubt he even knows who the people were, what they stood for and the fact that they were traitors to the United States. What’s even funnier to me is that he’s always said he doesn’t like losers and clearly, those who are memorialized with the monuments were losers because they fought on the Confederate side. Of course he doesn’t know that because he’s never read a book in his life.
JNG: What 45 has shown us in these last two weeks is who he has always been, so I wasn’t surprised by his remarks or his take on the removal of Rebel statues. (I did enjoy a certain amount of schadenfreude watching the same media responsible for his success be overcome with shock and disbelief after watching that press conference.) Of course, they soon resumed heaping praise on him for his ability to read a teleprompter.
3) What role do you think social media has played in exposing division in the US?
BB: Social media could play a better role in groups discussing the hard topic of race in America. Currently, I believe it plays a more negative role in this country’s inability to handle the realities of our past. Social media allows people to be self-promoting while hiding behind cute emojis, hurtful words, their religious convictions and the First Amendment. Social media is used to sensationalize social justice issues that should be strategically studied and successfully addressed. Social media is more often used to expose non-important details of our personal lives that rarely impact the quality of life for the individual or corporate body.
ML: I think social media has definitely shown that we are not post-racial by any means. But also I kind of think it’s had some benefits. I don’t think that racism is instantly cured by exposure to other cultures but I do think that it helps. It humanizes and shows that people are people. I think Twitter is kind of unique, in that people, (at least the ones I know) they don’t really follow people they know in real life. Their timeline is mostly made up of people that they don’t know, that they’re not connected to and that aren’t necessarily like them.
ST: Social media has allowed everyone around the world with access to an internet connection to see, in real time, exactly what we face here in the U.S. Institutional racism isn’t new, nor is it exclusive to the U.S. It’s just being shared far and wide in tweets and videos. We are finding solidarity in the struggle with people worldwide.
AW: Social media has shown America in a different light. There wasn’t twitter or Facebook in the 60’s. Now that we have it, everything has escalated and caused everyone to be more in the know of what’s going on. But social media can also be an enemy at this time. Because I’ll see some outrageous tweets from younger social media users tweeting facts that are just out the box wrong. That’s when I’m like, “please go read a book”.
JW: It’s played a major role in exposing everything going on. Without it, we’d have no idea what’s really happening in Charlottesville or Ferguson or anywhere else for that matter. We’d only get the piece that the news chooses to show, which could be biased depending what outlet you watch. Social media is really shaping the minds of the younger generation. For example, some of the guys in Charlottesville would have never had their identities tied to their true ideologies and exposed to the world if it wasn’t for social media.
SA: The media is still tightly controlled by privileged white, straight, able bodied men. But social media helps amplify voices of brilliant marginalized people. This is a good thing. Taking back the narrative is essential.
JFS: Social media has played a very prominent role in exposing injustice in America. People of color always knew that we were victimized regularly but social media has exposed the naked truth about how often injustice occurs. On a positive note, it has also helped to attract allies to push for social justice. This doesn’t “legitimize” our concerns but it does help that there is an acknowledgment by people with privilege that injustice exists and that they have a responsibility to fight it as well.
JNG: It’s definitely been eye-opening for a lot of folks who weren’t paying attention, I think. Seeing how much people of color are targeted and harassed online just for TALKING about race has made them more aware, but we need more than awareness. We need intervention. We need folks to call the shit out, not just shake their head and click away. I’ve seen some of them step up, though, so that’s been encouraging.
4) Do you think America has taken a step back in racial unity or are wolves simply removing their sheep’s clothing?
BB: I don’t subscribe to either of the options. I don’t think America has ever lived far beyond its history of division and inequality. We conveniently disassociate poverty, lack of opportunity and unequal access as conditions created by America’s history. The issues of racial inequality have been falsely measured by the number of black and brown people who have “made it.” Unfortunately, many don’t understand the cost of “making it.” I can’t speak for anyone else but the wolf has always been around and I was taught early to identify him no matter his clothing.
ML: A lot of people thought we were a lot closer to racial unity than we were before. We have made great strides; but systemic racism is very entrenched. People that are shocked that things are how they are when it comes to race relations were probably blissfully ignorant and may see it as a step back. To me, it’s regressed only in the sense that it’s more blatant now, but it was really there all along.
ST: I don’t think this is a step back, I think this is step into the light. All of the issues are being highlighted now. America was never great. I wish people would stop saying things like “…part of what makes America great…” because it was never great. A country founded and still ran on the oppression of others cannot be great. Unless maybe great means different things.
AW: Wolves are simply removing their sheep’s clothing. Like I said, nothing has changed. It’s only being exposed. No one can hide anymore.
JW: That’s a tough question. I can’t remember a time where things were ever 100 percent ok when it comes to race relations. So I think, due to Trump’s obvious preference for some over others, many are more outspoken when it comes to racist views. It’s really people bringing their true feelings to the forefront and not being afraid to hide anymore because they see how their president is acting. The “build that wall” crew is out in broad daylight whereas before they may not have been so brazen with it.
SA: I don’t think we as Canadians or Americans have ever been as “united” as we think. White supremacy has always festered.
JFS: I was always amused when people stated we were living in a “post-racial society” after the 2008 election. I knew that was a lie but it made them feel better. I think we’ve regressed to the 50s in terms of the response to racial inequality and the current administration has put key players in place in various government agencies, like the DOJ and DOE to attempt a roll-back in the advances we’ve made. While the FBI investigation of the Russian connection/influence in our recent election is important, there’s a lot going on in these agencies which aren’t being publicized, such as efforts to cut financial aid to students, especially those who can least afford it, along with changes to housing policies which will negatively impact those who need the assistance. The mere fact that Trump was able to present unqualified nominees for the Secretary of Education, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, etc. and they were able to win confirmation even with some opposition says that his agenda can be implemented while our attention is diverted.
JNG: The latter, I think. These people have always existed, and now they have someone in the Oval who validates them. “45" is their ID, their White Supremacist translator.
5) How do you feel about celebrities (athletes, actors, etc) speaking out about race relations and politics?
BB: I think that celebrities have a great opportunity to speak out about race relations and politics. They are fortunate in that their sphere of influence is huge. However, I believe there is not specific duty to use their stage to talk about my issue. One cannot and should not assume that people who look like you share your point of view. Likewise, we cannot ask people to do what they do not have the capacity and passion to do.
ML: I think they should speak up. At the very least it shows where their head is at and whether or not I really would want to be a fan of theirs. Even if they have a horrible, off-the-wall, worst possible opinion, I would rather have them say it and know not to give them my support then to say “stick to ______”
Everyone has an opinion and your occupation should not preclude you from voicing it. Whatever consequences you may face because of what your opinion is and how you frame that opinion is something entirely different but celebrities, like anyone else, should still be entitled to use their voices.
ST: I am in a weird space when it comes to celebrities speaking out. I am generally glad when they do, but I do not ever expect it. I do not look to them to be activists. I don’t look to them to lead causes. Sometimes, I wish they would just be quiet and fund movements.
Occasionally, it feels like people are so caught in what a celebrity is or isn’t saying and is or isn’t doing, that they could be helping out themselves. But I also understand wanting those with platforms to use them for good.
AW: I never look at celebrities as role models. So I don’t expect them to be on the front lines of race relations and politics. It’s always good to see athletes speak up about what’s going on. It’s important to see LeBron James speak up about injustice. But I’m not going to fault Steph Curry for choosing to stay quiet and handle things behind the scenes.
JW: I love when celebrities speak out about important issues in the world. I’ve never been a fan of the “stick to sports” crowd because before anything else, they’re people.
Many weren’t born celebrities or star athletes so they know what it’s like to live and survive in our communities. Of course, they have thoughts about what’s going on so I don’t feel they should be silenced simply because of their profession or the fact that they have money now. Money doesn’t protect you from injustice and I think that’s what many fans who say “stick to sports” fail to realize.
Some stars are idolized by some people; so they have people’s attention in a way that many others don’t. It’s only right to start a dialogue and speak up for what’s right. What’s the point of having a big platform to potentially reach millions if you don’t do anything with it?
SA: I am all for it. If they have huge platforms and want to use them, I support it fully. But asking people of color who are celebs or pro athletes to do more work and still be marginalized is tough. And respect to those who do. At this point, I want more white people to do it. And we have seen it with Steve Nash, Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich, Brianna Stewart and Megan Rapinoe. I want more.
JFS: Celebrities have a platform that few others have but also have the ability to influence the public more than they should. I admit that I’m a progressive or liberal, so I’m more inclined to appreciate those celebrities that share my point of view than those who don’t. I am capable of forming my own opinion on issues so I don’t necessarily need their influence or look for it.
I must say that I am proud of the stance that Colin Kaepernick has taken and appreciate what it has cost him professionally. But as the old saying goes, “someone who is unwilling to stand for something will fall for anything.”
JNG: It’s their right. I do find it hilarious that certain fans have a problem when the black celebrity has the nerve to talk about say, being black in America. You have a lot of people who believe that class transcends race, which I find fascinating because save a few notable exceptions, the inverse has always been true. Now, I don’t think it’s a requirement that black celebs speak on race (and lord knows some of them should just remain quiet), but at the very least, their words usually lead to a broader conversation. And sometimes, that’s important.
