Why does the Black Man have to always end up at the back of the Bus?

Wow… again? Why does it seem that if you are Black that you are supposed to get yours once everyone else has gotten theirs? That seems to be the story I am getting from this political race. I think about this all the time, because as Cornel West states eloquently in the title of his book, “Race Matters”. If you are to ask me which matters most, gender or race, I am going to chose race every time.

When I think back to all the History classes that I have taken as a student, or even the times that I debated about race, the ability to critically examine race always causes some people to get butt sore, or want to ignore the topic all together. This political season is no different. Think back to Women Suffrage. During this time period, we are taught about the great accomplishments of women like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. One day, we might even be able to put Hillary in that group. I highly doubt it, but I am willing to suspend belief to understand that it is possible. In one way, Hillary is just like them. When it came to look at getting Blacks the right to vote, Stanton refused to support Blacks getting the right to vote, if it meant that women were not included in the group to vote. Now, I am all for women getting the right to vote, but where were they during slavery? I didn’t really here them agitating to get our freedom then either. Identity Politics are rough, but life has shown that white is the first thing that people notice, even over gender. Did everyone forget Sojourner Truth? She tirelessly fought for not just women’s rights (of all shades), but for blacks as well. I have a lot of enlightened friends, who write about enlightening things, but some of them need to step off the pedestal and walk backwards to the starting point that Black men and women have to start from.

If you read this post, the author is railing out against misogynistic behavior of some people on facebook. Without actually going to facebook (since I don’t have one to go to) I would imagine that the vast majority of the participants are white. Yes, the White Man is trying to keep women and blacks down. But, what happens when you are a part of both categories? White women push ahead, leaving their compatriots or the other members of the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants behind to face the cops. Here is Sojourner Truth spitting fire…

Delivered 1851 at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that ‘twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what’s all this here talking about?

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?

Then they talk about this thing in the head; what’s this they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That’s it, honey. What’s that got to do with women’s rights or negroes’ rights? If my cup won’t hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn’t you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?

Then that little man in black there, he says women can’t have as much rights as men, ’cause Christ wasn’t a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.

If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.

Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain’t got nothing more to say.

White people need to get over that their cup aint full, since they are working with the quart size, and blacks are working with the pint cup, and it has holes in it. Yes, Hillary is a good candidate, but she has her warts as well. I mean, anyone remember sniper fire? I had to walk to school 7 miles uphill both ways to get to school, but you don’t hear me complaining…exactly… While I didn’t actually have to walk that distance, people tend to exaggerate what actually happened. In the case of Hillary, she wanted to be part of the old boys club and show her toughness. Barack will have his moment too, where he wants to be part of the gang. We all want to just fit in and find our place. Her place right now is back in the Senate, since the people have spoken. She is losing the electoral vote, the popular vote and now the super delegate vote.

Ms. Clinton says she’s staying in the race despite losing to Mr. Obama by a wide margin in North Carolina and barely winning in Indiana, which helped cement his status as the front-runner. She touts her overall electability in a general election and, pointing to demographics, recently told USA Today in an interview:

“There was just an AP article posted that found how Senator Obama’s support among working – hardworking Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how the, you know, whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.”

It’s clear that Hillary and I agree on one thing… Race Matters and she understands as much. You play the race card, and you have to deal with the consequences.

The bigger issue is how the writer of the argument thinks that it is more socially acceptable to make sexist jokes that racial jokes. From jokes about Nacho cheese (about Hispanics chasing after a wedge of cheese) to Blacks (black man wearing a tuxedo to get a vasectomy… if I am going to be impo-tent, then I should dress impot-ant), there is more jokes about race. Also, which do you hear more of; women are bad drivers, or Asians are bad drivers? It just sounds like another white person who didn’t get exactly what she wants and hasn’t stopped to see that they have more than others. Thinking back to Sojourner Truth, she had to leave the suffrage movement as the tenor and tone of her message became more racist. During the middle to late 19^th century, this question of race and gender was answered by white women, and they chose gender over race. Black women like Ida B. Wells were left to form their own organizations to struggle for rights. Even groups that supported women and their right to vote turned down black women and their right to vote. When you have to make a choice, I guess you go with what is more comfortable. In this case, I am totally going for Barack. It’s about time…