Duchess Harris, "The State of Black Women in Politics Under the First Black President"
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Final Thoughts and Future Projections

In his 2008 inaugural speech, Obama said, "We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." But ironically for African-Americans, and black women in particular, the administration has not been as inclusive of the "we" that we had assumed it would be. Instead, in America's first black President, we have someone who is paralyzed at the very mention of race, we have someone who is more concerned about appearing partial than providing leadership to a still racially divided nation, and we have someone who is unable to even defend himself in the face of egregious racist slurs, preferring to be "above it all" while letting his political opponents slay his popularity by tapping into the latent xenophobic and racist fears that have long plagued this country. His appointment of Sonia Sotomayor suggested a serious effort at diversifying the government, and immediately following his election, Obama's appointment of numerous black women to staff and cabinet positions within his administration seemed like the first rewards for the support African-American women gave him. Eleanor Holmes Norton, in speaking of Valerie Jarrett's authority, euphorically stated, "I'm not sure there's ever been a black woman who has enjoyed as much of the President's's confidence as Valerie Jarrett. She has not been compartmentalized and is used in a variety of ways that I think is a first. The Obama women are a sign of how far we've come."[55] But Obama's lukewarm and slow responses to the resignation of his Press Secretary and Sherrod's firing, and the exclusion of black female candidates for Supreme Court consideration, suggest the importance of those early appointments has been forgotten.

Perhaps Teresa Wilz's idea of trickle-down improvement is shared by Obama. She suggested that the mere sight of these successful black women in Obama's cabinet will make the notion of an educated, African-American woman less unusual, more mainstream. Based on Obama's aversion to talking about race, it seems that he is also hoping for the trickle-down effect, but Malveaux is right—we must force the conversation. The Shirley Sherrods, Desiree Rogers's, the Leah Ward Sears's and all the other black women who supported Obama in his campaign are ignored at the peril of his political future. If this is truly the post-racial America we were promised in 2008, then qualified black women should be sought for positions of power, and when attacked, should be defended with the same fervor of any presidential appointee. If this is truly a postracial America, there should be no fear or aversion to discussing issues regarding racism at a national level.

In other words, if this is truly a post-racial America, Mr. President, prove it.

Endnotes

1. Alex Johnson, "Barack Obama Elected 44th President," MSNBC.com, 5 November 2008. [Return to text]

2. Adam Nagourney, "Obama Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls," The New York Times, 4 November 2008. [Return to text]

3. Mark Hugo Lopez and Paul Taylor, "Dissecting the 2008 Electorate: Most Diverse in U.S. History," Pew Research Center, 30 April 2009. [Return to text]

4. Lopez and Taylor. [Return to text]

5. Nagourney, 1. [Return to text]

6. Sam Ali, "Obama Vs. Bush: Scorecard on Cabinet Diversity," DiversityInc.com, 4 November 2009. [Return to text]

7. Krissah Thompson, "The Ties That Align: Administration's Black Women Form a Strong Sisterhood," The Washington Post, 18 March 2009. [Return to text]

8. Brian Montopoli, "Obama Signs Equal Pay Bill," CBSnews.com, 29 January 2009. [Return to text]

9. "Equal Pay for Equal Work: Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act," ACLU.org, 6 September 2010. [Return to text]

10. Lynn Sweet, "Obama Signs Order Creating Council on Women and Girls," Chicago Sun Times, 11 March 2009. [Return to text]

11. Barack Obama, "Presidential Proclamation—Women's Equality Day, 2010," WhiteHouse.gov, 26 August 2010. [Return to text]

12. Teresa Wilz, "Obama Effect' for Black Women?" More.com, October 2009. [Return to text]

13. Thompson, 3. [Return to text]

14. Wilz, 1. [Return to text]

15. Thompson, 3. [Return to text]

16. Wilz, 2. [Return to text]

17. Wilz, 2. [Return to text]

18. Guy-Uriel Charles, Anupam Chander, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, and Angela Onwuachi-Willig, "The White House's Kagan Talking Points are Wrong," Salon, 7 May 2010. [Return to text]

19. Charles. [Return to text]

20. Diane Lucas, "The Racist Breeding Grounds of Harvard Law School," Feministe.com, 30 April 2010. [Return to text]

21. Hazel Trice Edney, "Despite Widespread Appeals, Obama Fails to Nominate Black Woman to Supreme Court," TheSkanner.com, 10 May 2010. [Return to text]

22. Edney. [Return to text]

23. The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, "Who We Are," 2010. [Return to text]

24. Krissah Thompson and Hamil R. Harris, "White House Seeks to Defend Kagan's Diversity Record," The Washington Post, 12 May 2010. [Return to text]

25. Roland Martin, "The Delicate Dance Between Obama and Black Leaders," RolandSMatin.com, 14 May 2010. [Return to text]

26. Sophia Nelson, "A Supreme Snub by Obama," The Root, 12 May 2010. [Return to text]

27. Amy Chozick, "Desiree Rogers' Brand Obama," The Wall Street Journal Magazine Online, May 2009. [Return to text]

28. Peter Baker, "Obama Social Secretary Ran Into Sharp Elbows," The New York Times, 11 March 2010. [Return to text]

29. Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Janie Lorber, "White House Blocks Testimony on Party Crashers," The New York Times, 2 December 2009. [Return to text]

30. Lynn Sweet, "White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers to Step Down," Chicago Sun-Times, 26 February 2010. [Return to text]

31. Jodi Kantor, "White House Social Secretary Resigns," The New York Times, 26 February 2010. [Return to text]

32. Baker, 2. [Return to text]

33. Baker, 1. [Return to text]

34. Baker, 2. [Return to text]

35. Shirley Sherrod, "Address at the Georgia NAACP 20th Annual Freedom Fund Banquet," American Rhetoric.com, 27 March 2010. [Return to text]

36. "Timeline of Breitbart's Sherrod Smear," Media Matters for America, 22 July 2010. [Return to text]

37. Media Matters for America. [Return to text]

38. Media Matters for America. [Return to text]

39. Media Matters for America. [Return to text]

40. Krissah Thompson, "Shirley Sherrod Turns Down USDA Job After Video Controversy," The Washington Post, 24 August 2010. [Return to text]

41. Media Matters for America. [Return to text]

42. Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Shaila Dewan, and Brian Stelter, "With Apology, Fired Official is Offered a New Job," The New York Times, July 21, 2010. [Return to text]

43. Maureen Dowd, "You'll Never Believe What This White House is Missing," The New York Times, 24 July 2010. [Return to text]

44. Bob Herbert, "Thrown to the Wolves," The New York Times, 23 July 2010. [Return to text]

45. Roland Martin, "The Delicate Dance Between Obama and Black Leaders," RolandSMatin.com, 14 May 2010. [Return to text]

46. Ricky L. Jones, "What Changes if Republicans Win?" Leo Weekly, 18 August 2010, 10. [Return to text]

47. Dowd. [Return to text]

48. Barack Obama, "Remarks by the President on Education Reform at the National Urban League Centennial Conference," WhiteHouse.gov, 29 July 2010. [Return to text]

49. Frederick Cosby, "Obama Calls Shirley Sherrod, Apologizes for Firing," BlackAmericaWeb.com, 23 July 2010. [Return to text]

50. Stolberg. [Return to text]

51. Jeff Winbush, "Barack's Black Woman Problem," The Domino Theory, 22 July 2010. [Return to text]

52. Faye Anderson, "Shirley Chisholm Presidential Accountability Commission Launched," Anderson@Large, 18 June 2010. [Return to text]

53. "Dr. Julianne Malveaux on President Obama," Essence.com, 15 October 2009. [Return to text]

54. Essence.com. [Return to text]

55. Thompson, "The Ties That Align: Administration's Black Women Form a Strong Sisterhood," 1. [Return to text]

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