Ranting....

Yesterday I went to my women's psych class prepared to hear a guest speaker. Now, I don't mean to write a second blog that has anything to do with racism, but I'm starting to get pissed off.

First, as a woman, I'm tired of hearing about how victimized I am. Everyone is a victim. I learned this in women's studies. A woman is discriminated against, but Latin and black women are even more discriminated against. Now, don't get me wrong, I know there is truth to all of this, it's just getting tiring. So, anyway, yesterday a speaker comes to specifically speak about myths of black women. Okay, heard it all 100 times. I could have told the class we're going to talk about the Welfare Mother, the Mammy, the Jezebel, etc. Anyway, I'm sure some people haven't heard it and really it is an interesting thing to note, so I listened attentively again. The speaker was a nice, intelligent woman who had strong feelings on the subject. I listened about and took notes on how black women are portrayed and how this portrayal doesn't fit them at all. It's all good until we get to a section entitled: Obstacles Black Women Face When Being Hired. I was taking notes still until I saw Number 2: White employers expect white interviewees. I re-read it. I looked for some qualifications to follow. Nothing. That was it, stated like it's fact: white people only want white people. I refused to write that down in my notes. Actually I refused to take anymore notes. Did I seriously just sit through 45 minutes of hearing about how perceptions of black women are so misconstrued and then get asked to believe that all white people are racist? Does this intelligent woman really want us to believe this and more importantly, does this intelligent woman really believe this? Just as I'm sure it's hard for any hard-working and struggling black woman to encounter people who embrace the Welfare mother myth, it was hard for me, as a non-racist white woman, to read that. That statement is clearly a myth. Just like the other myths of black women. Sure, some black women fit the mold, but not all of them. Just like the white employers. It's a myth, too. I was so glad at the end of class when she asked us to take out a piece of paper and write our thoughts. Poor Whitney had to wait for a while for me to finish. I wrote:

I enjoyed your presentation. I have encountered several of these myths before and I'm glad you are taking time to educate people further on the matter. HOWEVER, when I read what you had to say about white employers expecting white interviewees I was a little disturbed. Isn't this too a myth? This is not true of all white employers, just like all black women are not lazy, welfare-mothers. Sure, you'll find some, but not all by any means and isn't that the very definition of a myth?