Image from jesustheram.blogspot.com
Election season has really allowed for a lot of usually reserved for your intimate group of friends racism, to come to the forefront in a very unattractive way. Most irritating of all the comments, assumptions, and stereotypes that get passed around about all Black people during this time, is to me, the idea that if I’m Black and I support Barack Obama for President, there’s obviously no way I’m capable of supporting him for any of the qualifications or qualities seen in him by his White supporters.
It’s abominable that as a Black person, if I support, defend, or speak positively of anything Black, my opinion is immediately null and void because I’m automatically biased – I can only be praised if I associate myself with someone or something considered non-black, because then and only then have I been able to separate myself from the rest of my race that is silently seen as unintelligent. Though, not only is a White person able to defend and support other Whites with no mention of bias, but when they lend their support to a Black person or any person of color, they’re given this heightened level of standing or intellect for it. I take a class based on the pervasiveness of racism in society, which analyzes the ways in which Black people are discriminated against in almost every aspect of society daily, and it is by no accident that despite the fact that a Black person is of course better apt to discuss the ways in which Black people are discriminated against, the Black people in this class, including myself, wait until a White person has raised their hand and volunteered their agreement with the idea that Black discrimination occurs quietly in daily life, to share our own opinions and stories, because we are aware that it is impossible for a Black person to discuss Black plight without being ignored or shunned – only when a White person discusses it, does anyone listen or take note.
The fact that in this society, I have to walk on eggshells and be careful not to even tip-toe into meeting the qualifications for a Black stereotype or I risk not being taken seriously or having any of my opinions or actions valued, is ridiculous. The fact that if I tell someone I’m a Democrat, because of my skin, they can’t assume that I’m a Democrat because I share the ideologies of the party, No, I must be a Democrat because a Black man is running for President on the Democrats ticket. Despite being a Political Science major, somehow, because I am Black, I’m incapable of being knowledgeable about politics and supporting a candidate whose views I genuinely agree with? I will not adhere to self-loathing, criticism of my race, or pretend to agree with or appreciate the majority views of the Republican Party in order to be given a slightly higher standing than the rest of my race so I can better be appreciated for the talents I already possess as an educated Black woman.
If you’re going to accuse every Black person who wants Obama to win his re-election for supporting him solely because he’s Black, I ask that you ask his majority White supporters, as they are the majority of this nation, why they support him. Then, you can probably assume that the reasons they supply you with are grounds for Black people to support him as well.
