Vice President Kamala Harris is running for president. Because she is a Black woman, the anti-blackness we see directed towards Black women will fuel an increase in hate crimes, racism and misogynoir.
This increase is because of our country’s longstanding history of racism and denial of having Black people in positions of power. Much of our country is unwilling to adjust to the idea of having a Black person in a higher office than them, and this is an idea that has roots in white supremacy and slavery. Hate crimes will target Black women because of jealousy and anger. White people will take their anger out on us because it is convenient, and the inherent value of our lives to them is lesser than because of anti-blackness.
On Albion College’s campus, there is proof of hatred for Black people, specifically Black women. We don’t get treated seriously when we tell our stories. People stereotype us and try to hinder our joy. Don’t ever forget about the ‘person in a Klansman like hood’ in front of Goodrich Chapel.
Misogynoir is prejudice against Black women, almost a “mix” of sexism and racism. It is an intersectional issue of both feminism and racial injustice. There are a lot of opinions floating around about Harris, and regardless of political views, none of them seem to focus on Harris’s actual goal in the presidential race.
Instead of reading about her support of Israel or her stance on Biden administration policies, I am constantly bombarded by attacks on Harris’ identity as a Black woman.
Daily, I hear “she’s not Black,” or “look at how silky her silk presses are.”
Even remarks about her status as an Alpha Kappa Alpha are being made, with questions being asked as to why she is running or even being considered as a nominee. This is a level of attention we haven’t seen since the Obama administration, when Michelle Obama wasn’t allowed to wear braids, for fear it would overshadow anything her husband enacted into office.
Scrutiny like this is a byproduct of white supremacy. White supremacy aims to undermine and intimidate Black bodies to the point of silence. Harris should be neither glorified nor harassed for her status as a Black woman while running for president. If she was seen as anything besides a Black woman, the questions and comments surrounding her would be extremely different.
Harris’ Blackness being called into question is something very familiar and is a power play for other parties and groups of people to generalize and demean Blackness. Demeaning Harris for her racial status opens the door for non-Black people to be comfortable discussing Black people in negative lights that will inevitably lead to anti-Blackness and misogynoir.
This article is not meant to praise Harris – I am certainly not a Harris supporter – but rather a caution to how people, both Black and non-Black, will begin to view Black women due to the scrutiny Harris is already facing.
Being under the microscope forces Black women to act and react in ways we aren’t familiar with and ways that to the outside world come across as snarky and rude. It forces us to conform and proceed in a particular manner that makes navigating non-Black spaces that much harder.
It is constant overstimulation.
In Kellie Carter Jackson’s, “We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance,” she writes that “White supremacy and anti-Blackness are always violent, and the constant refrain is for the harmed to forgive violence, forget injury and forfeit their agency.”
Even within the campus community, there is already much divide. Politics represent only a fraction of why this division exists.
Albion College is a predominately white institution, meaning race is a taboo topic most don’t want to talk about. To many, it seems unnecessary. The way people think and understand Blackness is a construct most Black people do not actually adhere to.
It’s stereotypical, lacks depth and views Black people through the lens of white supremacy, leaving no room for us to be anything besides those stereotypes. Still, we exist and show up in the spaces we are told aren’t suitable for our characters. We act in ways outside the boundaries of the stereotypes placed on us.
I have had white folks tell me I didn’t belong in certain spaces on campus. I understand the turmoil and trauma behind working in places that historically do not support or employ Black people.
Being told people who look like you, have your skin, your face, your color don’t need to be here. Being told that you were chosen for some sort of personal development or to diversify rooms you aren’t wanted in.
I’ve been told I am not a Black person, and in the same breath, been reduced to nothing more than a Black body.
Harris’ status as a Black woman sets her apart from her opponents in a very unique way. She is not going to be given any slack or room for error not because of her politics, but because she has been reduced to a Black body and a revered meme. Harris will have to jump through hoops her white counterparts don’t have to because this system of oppression benefits and was molded to suit white people.
Although Harris running will look completely different from her peers, it doesn’t overshadow the fact that if she wins, my day-to-day experiences as a Black person might change. There’s a chance for her authority to make a difference; Black women might gain some acclaim and even some sort of respect, leading to a decrease in hatred and disdain for us.
However, the reality is that Harris winning will most likely lead to an increase in acts of racism towards us.
Somehow the masses will blame us for her success because when have Black women not been this country’s scapegoat? Anti-blackness will rise and be pushed onto the public in some trendy fashion that deems it okay to disrespect the humanity of Black women.
All of this enacts misogynoir and violence against Black women, it is interconnected at different levels that negatively impact how Black women are forced to navigate the world.
The only solution to systemic issues is to vote, to show up at protests, sign petitions and do the work. It is hard and exhausting, but the impact it has makes a world of a difference. Black women deserve to be heard and to be protected. The only way to keep our agency is to enact the changes we wish to see in the world.
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