Recently over at hipmama I posted this article about how the Duke case reopens wounds for black women:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12305991/

I really pondered whether or not to post this there. For one NO one else posted ANYTHING at all about the Duke case, no one. and this woman is a mother. a student. and single. and poor. and works as a stripper. All the things this community supposedly is about and supports. I have seen threads ad naseum about student moms, single moms, poor moms, and moms who work in the sex industry. But then there is this thundering SILENCE about a woman who is all these things who is raped and assaulted. oh yeah, she is also BLACK. so despite fitting the profile of a ‘hipmama’ they just weren’t going to discuss what happened to her. Hipmama, like most predominantly white feminist communities, is not really inclusive of black women.

For two because almost every time I or anyone else post about a race issue it turns into a big fight…I get so tired of people getting offended by any discussion of stuff that affects black people and/or black women. I don’t understand why this is so hard for so many non-black feminists to get, particularly those who claim to not be racist. On this board there has been a persistent denial or refusal to see how our issues are ignored, marginalized, and flat-out dismissed.

I feel as if I don’t say anything when someone fronts over this, if I try to let it slide, then I have allowed myself to be silenced. I have also allowed myself to be shamed at my shock, anger, and dismay over stuff like this. Because when I do say something it is usually interpreted as me starting a fight, or stirring the pot, or causing a ruckus. and my shock, anger, and dismay is interpreted as being unjustified. I am interpreted as being too sensitive. I guess people think I’m not supposed to be angry or hurt or shocked or dismayed anymore at the many ways racism affects my life as a black woman. I guess even white feminists and other non-black women think black people should be ‘over’ it even though ‘it’ is still going on.

I am a member an awesome online community of black women and I have black women friends IRL I can talk to about stuff like this. For some time I told myself I just wouldn’t post stuff like this here on hipmama since it seemed to cause so much ire and discomfort among some people there. and constantly having to defend myself over race issues, on a supposedly feminist and progressive board, is so tiring and draining.

Lately though I have been feeling that this is deeply wrong on many levels. If this is a community I care about and that supposedly cares about me and all the other black people here (while I may be the most visible/vocal I am definitely not the only one), if this a community of women that is supposedly inclusive of everybody, that is supposedly anti-racist, then why shouldn’t I talk about issues that affect black women. ’cause gosh darn it, Aren’t I a woman too? Sojourner Truth said that in 1851…here it is 2006 and black women still have to fight to be heard among our non-black feminist ‘sisters’.

This is why we withdraw. I already have to fight racist white men and women. I shouldn’t have to fight white feminists too.

The response to this post is what usually happens: folks still keep insisting that they should post whatever diversionary crap they want, folks still insist they aren’t being dismissive, folks still insist on changing the subject in order not to discuss how sexism impacts black women, until the discussion is completey derailed. Then all is quiet until the next race discussion, and the same thing happens. Over and over again this happens on hipmama.

I am still going to keep posting about it though. I am not going to let folks silence me. If it’s going to be a big fight every time I post about black women’s issues, then oh well. Because this community includes me. Hipmama includes black women. I am a hipmama. My issues matter.

I totally understand that racism deeply affects white people too, to the point where often their whole worldview is often distorted. I wish more of them would try to change that within themselves; to understand that it isn’t always about them. Ya’ll don’t always have to ‘relate’ or look at things based on your own experiences to understand it, to even discuss it. However good came out of all of this. It made me examine how I define myself. I have been saying feminist/womanist for many years, now I know I am most definitely a womanist. I no longer identify with a term or group of people that consistently exclude me. What is Womanism?

Woman of color feminism (womanism) began with criticism of the white women’s movement for excluding women of color and the issues important to them: poverty, racism, and needs such as jobs, health care, good schools, and safe neighborhoods for all people. Asian-American, Hispanic, and African-American women and men who are activists often choose to join forces with each other to fight racism and classism, even though the women are aware of their oppression as women.
http://www.feministplanet.com/femtypes.asp?id=13

http://www.ou.edu/womensoc/feminismwomanism.htm

http://www.k-state.edu/english/janette/installations/Jacquetta/womanism.html

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