What Tami SaidWhat Tami SaidOne black woman's sometimes surprising musings on race, sexism, politics and pop culture. Articles
The goddess Jemima
2008-05-01 13:50:00 The direct inspiration for Aunt Jemima originates from a minstrelsy/vaudeville song of the same name. Chris L. Rutt of the Pearl Milling Company saw the song being sung by blackface performers Baker & Farrell wearing an apron and kerchief, and appropriated the character.[2]Aunt Jemima is depicted as a plump, smiling, bright-eyed, African-American woman, originally wearing a kerchief over her hair. She was represented as a slave and was the most commonplace representation of the stereotypical mammy" character. (SOURCE)I've been listening to "Gardening the Soul," an interview with Alice Walker. The author and womanist has an interesting view of the much-maligned character of Aunt Jemima, who she sees as a Black Madonna:"In life there are needs that people have spiritually...for things like goddesses. But when you dominate a group of people, you tend to destroy or distort their goddesses or their gods. But if these goddesses and gods are very powerful, they will survive in some ot... More About: Goddess
I was a feminist once
2008-04-29 19:26:00 This post has been a long time coming. I have played with the words in my mind. I have written down scraps of feelings and bits of anger. I have created more rabid drafts and deleted them, more gentle drafts and thrown them away.Part of my hesitation was that in recent weeks so many women of color bloggers have laid it down so eloquently:Latoya Petersen at Racialicious here and here.Sudy at A Woman?s Ecdysis here and here (Hell, just read what Sudy?s been writing for the past week. It?s awesomely fierce.)The Angry Black Woman here.I also have been loathe to write this post because I wanted to believe that there was reconciliation to be had between the feminist movement and women of color. I wanted to believe that my split with feminism was temporary?sort of a cooling off period. I co-hosted the Women?s History Month blog carnival with Heart at Women?s Space so that we could all talk it out and come together. But I ended the carnival a lot less hopeful than I let on.Do I believe that... More About: Feminist
A word about blaccent
2008-04-28 22:08:00 I was reading reaction to Bill Moyers? excellent Jeremiah Wright interview over at MyDD.com and came across this criticism of the reverend from what I presume is a white commenter:What was particularly interesting to me was that he appeared to totally drop his dialect.Another person chimed in:You mean like the one Michelle and Barry put on when they?re in front of an AA rally? So Rev. Wright talked straight this time?http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/4/25/ 223023/660Huge sigh.Lately, I?ve heard several blacks in the public eye taken to task for what some in the mainstream view as nefarious use of a black accent, or the cynical unleashing of a ?hidden? black accent when among other African Americans.Oprah was criticized for the way she addressed a largely black South Carolina audience on Barack Obama?s behalf. A couple weeks ago I listened to talk radio as a white Hillary Clinton supporter voiced that she is skeptical of Barack Obama because he sometimes uses ?Ebonics? to address black a... More About: Word
700 Barack the vote in Noblesville, Indiana
2008-04-27 15:53:00 This Saturday, more than 700 people gathered on the square in Noblesville, the county seat of Hamilton County, Indiana , to get out the vote for Barack Obama . No, the man himself wasn't there, neither was Michelle. But I was struck by the people who were there. All those who think they know small town America ought to think again. The crowd Saturday was a mix of young and old, professional and blue-collar, black, white, Asian...and everybody was fired up about the promise of an Obama candidacy. Yep. Even in this red, red town, in a red, red county in a red, red state. I can't tell you how inspiring it was to see so many folks out on a gorgeous, sunny day, coming together in the name of democracy. In the shadow of the local government building, we all enjoyed great music (awesome band...even played this song by Ray LaMontagne, who I love), good food and fellowship.I came, I cast my early vote for Obama at the county building across from the rally, I bought a t-shirt and grabbed a sc... More About: Vote
This is the Jeremiah Wright I know
2008-04-26 16:02:00 ...and no doubt the one that so inspired Barack Obama . This Jeremiah Wright is a very different man than the media seeks to portray. He is fiercely intelligent; unashamedly black and of African descent, but a citizen of the world; concerned with the marginalized and forgotten; and dedicated to seeing the country he served as a member of the Marines and the Navy live up to its professed ideals. This is the man who is my former pastor. This is truth. Bill Moyers is a consummate journalist and a patriot.Watch his interview with Rev. Jeremiah Wright on last night's Bill Moyers Journal:http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal /04252008/watch.htmlWe are an incurious citizenry and unless we mend our ways it will surely be our undoing. We can no longer rely on corporate-owned media to be the Fourth Estate. Anyone who has watched the snippets of Rev. Wright's sermons that have been played ad nauseum on the mainstream media and compares them to this researched, reasoned and factual interview must k...
Injustice!
2008-04-25 23:25:00 NEW YORK -- Three detectives were acquitted of all charges Friday in the 50-shot killing of unarmed groom-to-be Sean Bell on his wedding day, a case that put the NYPD at the center of another dispute involving allegations of excessive firepower. (SOURCE) More About: Injustice
How much does that cheeseburger value meal cost?
2008-04-25 19:31:00 The What Tami Said Read-a-long begins?Your choice of an evening meal may cost you more than the $5.00 you paid for it.People of color suffer disproportionately from the epidemics (heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and cancer) that are fueled by excess meat consumption. They are the ones most harmed when the Food Pyramid continues to push frequent meat consumption.The cancer incidence among African-Americans compared to whites in the United States is 26 percent greater.The prostate cancer rate among African-Americans compared to whites in the United States is 36 percent greater.The lung cancer incidence among African-Americans compared to whites in the United States is 53 percent greater.The likelihood of an African-American woman dying of breast cancer compared to her Caucasian counterpart is 67 percent greater.The hypertension (high blood pressure) rate among African-Americans compared to whites in the United States is 40 percent greater.The heart disease rate for His... More About: Cost , Cheeseburger , Meal
Clinton, Obama and the race chasm
2008-04-23 16:20:00 Interesting article by David Sirota at In These Times. An excerpt:Google the phrase ?Clinton firewall? and you will come up with an ever-lengthening list of scenarios that Hillary Clinton ?s presidential campaign has said will stop Barack Obama ?s candidacy. The New Hampshire primary, said her campaign, would be the firewall to end Obamamania. Then Super Tuesday was supposed to be the firewall. Then Texas. Now Pennsylvania and Indiana.For four months, the political world has been hypnotized by this string-along game, not bothering to ask what this Clinton tactic really is. The ?just wait until the next states? mantra has diverted our attention from the firewall?s grounding in race and democracy. But now, with only a few months until the Democratic National Convention in Denver, the firewall?s true composition is coming into focus. Whether Obama can overcome this barrier will likely decide who becomes the Democrats? presidential nominee.The Race ChasmSirota posted an update of sorts, t...
Because I need a laugh this morning: The comic genius of Larry Wilmore
2008-04-23 13:24:00 "Melanin works like baby powder." Bwah! More About: Comic , Larry , Morning , Genius , Laugh
Damon Wayans thinks violence against pregnant women is funny
2008-04-22 18:38:00 In the clip a young teenage girl calls her boyfriend to announce she is pregnant. After he belies her fear that he is angry, she expresses her happiness about the prospect of having a baby. Immediately after hanging up the phone with his girlfriend, the boyfriend sticks his head out the window and calls for help from Abortion Man, a "super hero," his chest emblazoned with a baby with a red line drawn through it. Abortion Man then goes to accost the teen girl as she is walking on a sidewalk. He calls her a "fein" and then ' punches and knees her in her stomach. She falls to the ground where he stomps on her stomach and a bloody baby flies out of her womb.Funny , no?Visit What About Our Daughters and check out Damon Wayans ' new misogynistic masterpiece, brought to you by the fine folks at Toyota. More About: Women , Pregnant , Violence
You don?t know me (Part I): Tackling disturbing memes from the 2008 preside
2008-04-22 02:37:00 I?m sick of condescension. And it is rampant in the 2008 presidential election. I?m sick of hearing other people attempt to explain my values, beliefs, biases and motivations through the lens of their own values, beliefs, biases and motivations. I am tired of men explaining the female vote, whites explaining the black vote, and Beltway/New York City talking heads explaining what folks in the Heartland think. To the punditocracy (and, yes, even some of my fellow bloggers): You don?t know me.You don?t know me, so stop speaking as if you do. I know everyone has a right to an opinion. And I understand that in America everyone has a right to voice their opinion. But your opinion is not fact. And your certainty about who I am offends.As a black woman living in Indiana, the two condescending memes that aggravate me most are 1) Barack Obama has the majority of the black vote because he is black, and 2) Midwesterners aren?t much on the book learnin??a smart politician best speak real slow an... More About: Hillary Clinton , Memes , Part
The eyes have it
2008-04-20 22:25:00 I've never really loved my eyes. Oh, I never hated them so much as I viewed them as a physical flaw to work around, like my big feet, wide hips and unbootylicious backside. It used to bother me that I don't have big, doe-eyes--y'know the look that is branded beautiful and ultra-feminine. My eyes are small and squinty--moreso since I am hopelessly nearsighted and really am squinting half the time.Back when I used to bother to wear eyeshadow, I desperately wanted to do that smoky eye thing where you darken the crease of your eyelid and end up looking all mysterious. But since I have very little crease in my eyelid, I wound up looking like I had been punched or my mascara had run or something. I never got it right.Then there is the poor eyesight thing. I've worn glasses since the third grade. I got them the same summer that I had to cut all my hair off because of perm damage. That was NOT a good summer. As a looks- obsessed high schooler, I got my first pair of contacts. But as I g... More About: Eyes
Shhhh! Yes we can!
2008-04-19 23:30:00 The mainstream media doesn't want you to know this, because the story is getting little play on major cable news and affiliated Web sites, but Barack Obama drew a record crowd at a rally last night in Philadelphia. Some sources are saying that 40,000 to 60,000 people were in attendance. The Philadelphia Inquirer says more than 35,000.Check this out!Tell me this doesn't make you feel good about democracy--all these folks excited, in the streets and wanting to participate in the democratic process.
Enough is enough
2008-04-18 17:29:00 If you missed the Democratic presidential debate on ABC Wednesday night, Editor & Publisher called it "perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years."Moderators George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson spent the first 50 minutes obsessed with distractions that only political insiders care about--gaffes, polling numbers, the stale Rev. Wright story, and the old-news Bosnia story. And, channeling Karl Rove, they directed a video question to Barack Obama asking if he loves the American flag or not. Seriously!I just signed a petition to ABC and other media that says: "Debate moderators abuse the public trust every time they ask trivial questions about gaffes and 'gotchas' that only political insiders care about. Enough with the distractions--ABC and other networks must focus on issues that affect people's daily lives."Want to sign it too? We need a bunch of signers for ABC to take this concern seriously.Click here to sign:http://po...
Woman, know thy place!
2008-04-18 13:18:00 What is it with these male conservative talking heads that being challenged by a woman drives them round the bend?Last night, smirky frat boy Joe Scarborough through a tantrum and walked off David Gregory's MSNBC show "Race to the White House" when Air America host and Countdown contributor Rachel Maddow refused to let him interrupt her. More...And this isn't the first time Maddow and Scarborough have clashed. Just note the oozing condescension from "Morning Joe" in this clip:Oh, the entitlement! Now, remember, it wasn't too long ago that Pat "blacks should be grateful for slavery" Buchanan lost his shit and told Keli Goff to shut up on national television.Keli, Keli, Keli...that's no way to be grateful.Someone needs to send a memo to Scarborough, Buchanan, Chris Matthews and their ilk, that it is no longer 1802 and women have as much right to air their opinions as any male pompous blowhard.P.S. Rachel Maddow rocks! More About: Woman , Place
Really? Really, ABC?
2008-04-17 13:20:00 UPDATE: Call ABC at (818) 460-7477You call that travesty that aired last night a DEBATE? First, what paragon of journalistic values thought it was a good idea to have the debate moderated by George Stephanopolous, one of Bill Clinton's former senior political advisors? And what's with the 45 minutes of trivial "gotcha" questions aimed at Barack Obama , followed by softball questions that allowed Hillary Clinton to expound on her platform?I am an Obama supporter, so I could just be biased, but...ooops...no, Tom Shales at the Washington Post agrees with me:To this observer, ABC's coverage seemed slanted against Obama. The director cut several times to reaction shots of such Clinton supporters as her daughter, Chelsea, who sat in the audience at the Kimmel Theater in Philly's National Constitution Center. Obama supporters did not get equal screen time, giving the impression that there weren't any in the hall. The director also clumsily chose to pan the audience at the very start of...
Five reasons to be bitter
2008-04-16 23:51:00 I am a 38-year-old, middle-class, black woman. And I am bitter.I am bitter because I am not doing better than my parents did. That is the way it is supposed to work, isn?t it? Each generation is supposed to advance on the achievements of the last. My mother is the product of a working-class family; my father?s parents were farmers. My grandparents did not go to college, but my parents did. They earned bachelors and masters degrees. They became educators and they raised their children in suburban comfort. I did the right things, I think. I went to college and I have a good job, but my hold on middle classness seems ever more tenuous?a constant struggle, a balancing act. I commute more than 40 miles each day and gas is inching toward $4/gallon. The cost of groceries is rising. My husband and I have a heavy tax burden. Our energy bill is outrageous. The car?our only car?needs new rear tires. And my stepson wants to play football with all the associated fees. I don?t need to keep up wit... More About: Barack Obama , Bitter , Reasons
STFU, Bob Johnson!
2008-04-15 23:20:00 "What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant (is) if you take a freshman senator from Illinois called 'Jerry Smith' and he says I'm going to run for president, would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote? And the answer is, probably not."Would he also start out with the excitement of starting out as something completely different? Probably not. He would just be a freshmen senator ..."Geraldine Ferraro said it right. The problem is Geraldine Ferraro is white. This campaign has such a hair trigger on anything racial. It is almost impossible for anybody to say anything."--BET founder Bob Johnson in an interview with the Charlotte Observer on April 15Why would anyone listen to racial commentary from this man, who made his billions through promoting minstrelsy, and the objectification and denigration of women? BET remains a scourge on the black community and a hotbed of misogyny even years after Johnson's departure. (While we're asking questions, why does the so-called feminist c...
Prejudiced roommate didn't want to share dorm with Michelle Obama
2008-04-15 19:43:00 Catherine Donnelly shopped at Kmart, settled into her dorm room and soaked up the Gothic stone buildings where, over the next four years, she would grow into her own woman.But her first day at Princeton held a surprise, too. And Donnelly knew it would mean confronting the past.She walked into the historic Nassau Inn that evening and delivered the news to her mother, Alice Brown. "I was horrified," recalled Brown, who had driven her daughter up from New Orleans. Brown stormed down to the campus housing office and demanded Donnelly be moved to another room.The reason: One of her roommates was black."I told them we weren't used to living with black people — Catherine is from the South," Brown said. " They probably thought I was crazy."Today both Donnelly, an Atlanta attorney, and Brown, a retired schoolteacher living in the North Carolina mountains, look back at that time with regret. Like many Americans, they've built new perceptions of race on top of a foundation cracked by preju... More About: Obama , Share , Michelle Obama , Michelle
A must-see film: Banished
2008-04-14 13:34:00 A hundred years ago, in communities across the U.S., white residents forced thousands of black families to flee their homes. Even a century later, these towns remain almost entirely white. BANISHED tells the story of three of these communities and their black descendants, who return to learn their shocking histories.In Forsyth County, Georgia, where a thousand black residents were expelled, the film explores the question of land fraudulently taken, and follows some descendants in their quest to uncover the real story of their family's land. In Pierce City, Missouri, a man has designed his own creative form of reparation—he wishes to disinter the remains of his great-grandfather, who was buried there before the banishment. And in Harrison, Arkansas, home to the headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan, a white community struggles with their town's legacy of hate.By investigating this little-known chapter in American history, BANISHED also takes a contemporary look at the legacy of racial... More About: Film , Banished
What's the matter with Democrats?
2008-04-13 22:13:00 It could be that my bachelor?s degree, non-profit job and home in the heart of the Midwest have turned me into an elitist, but I think Sen. Obama is right:So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people feel most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre...I think they're misunderstanding why the demographics in our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody just ascribes it to 'white working-class don't wanna work -- don't wanna vote for the black guy.' That's...there were intimations of that in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies that it's sort of a race thing.Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about gover... More About: Democrats , Barack Obama , Hillary Clinton , Matter
An Inconvenient Woman
2008-04-11 19:57:00 For those of you who don?t know my real name, it is Tami MaidenName-MarriedName. Yes, I am one of THOSE women. I am a hyphenator.After getting married back in 2001, filling out all the annoying paperwork and taking my new hyphenated name out for a spin, I quickly learned that women like me annoy the hell out of people. It seems that no one is without an opinion about what married women ought to do about their names, and the common opinion seems to be that hyphenators are a bad breed. I typed ?women who hyphenate? into Google when researching this post and uncovered all manner of vitriol and advice:What's with all these women that hyphenate their last names?I can see someone doing it if they are famous (i.e. Chris Evert-Lloyd), and became famous prior to marriage--that helps avoid confusion. To the rest of you, why can't you either produce stools or get off of the toilet, to paraphrase an old saying? I would rather my wife kept her name than combined it with mine, if she wants to k... More About: Woman
UPDATE: Dunbar Village and the NAACP
2008-04-11 19:46:00 We sincerely hope that this post can be the last Open Letter that criticizes the involvement of the NAACP and Al Sharpton in the Dunbar Village case.Although we are not satisfied with the official conduct of the NAACP in the past few weeks, we acknowledge that the finite goals that we originally set for this campaign have been completed.We will continue to offer our support to the victims of this crime, and would like to thank the prosecutor in this case for exercising a high degree of discretion.SynopsisNew readers: this post is the conclusion of a protest in which thousands of African Americans from various walks of life condemned the recent actions of both the NAACP and the National Action Network in a criminal case known as the Dunbar Village Atrocity. Read details of the crime here.Statement We are satisfied that the NAACP will cease to use it?s power of advocacy to demand that the suspects in the Dunbar Village Atrocity case be given the opportunity to be released on bail.We a... More About: Update
My black history: More little gifts
2008-04-09 13:20:00 This is Effie. She is my great-great-great-grandmother.I have written before how researching family history can sometimes be tedious. You can go along for months doing admin stuff, making sure historical documents are properly filed, adding newfound birth or death dates for distant aunts and uncles, trying to dig past some genealogical dead end to no avail; and then you’ll receive some little gift: an e-mail from a long-lost cousin with a wealth of new information about the family tree, an off-hand comment from a relative that sheds light on a research mystery, a great-great-grandparent finally uncovered in a census under a misspelled name.Recently, while cleaning out a drawer, my mother unearthed a handout from a family reunion. Last weekend she brought it to me. It’s just a thin, pamphlet of photocopied paper with “Tillotson Family Reunion, 1994, Oakland, California” printed on the front in a dated sans serif font. But, oh the information in those few pages! It is the perf... More About: History , Gifts , Black , Black History
Gimme that old-time (tribal) religion
2008-04-07 21:14:00 I admire a good ghost story, especially a ?true? one. I read tales of the paranormal. I watch those ghost investigator shows on television. And I?ve been known to take ghost tours in cities that I visit. I am intrigued by the idea of unknown realms beyond our comprehension. I love that glance-behind-you-and-make-sure-the-close t-door-is-shut chill that lingers for days after hearing a particularly delicious spooky tale. And I am fascinated by the places where history and the paranormal meet, like Gettysburg, Pa. But one aspect of ghost stories?true and otherwise?that I am not so fond of is the demonization of the traditional spirituality of people of color.I cannot count the number of times I?ve heard reputed hauntings attributed to Indian burial grounds, angry shamans or the mere fact that ?y?know where your house sits used to be Native American land.? (Cue ominous music?duh, duh, duh, DUH!)Not as popular, but too common, is the ?slaves were here? explanation. Watching a DVR?d episo... More About: Religion , Time , Tribal , Gimme
Who wants to be a princess?
2008-04-05 21:37:00 Unfortunately, too many little girls, thanks to Disney's decision to turn their classic tales into cash cows. You can hardly swing a cat in a department store without hitting something pink, sparkly, feathery or emblazoned with Cinderella, Ariel or Belle. Rosa Brooks of the Los Angeles Times wonders what all this princess worship teaches young girls:But don't be fooled by the sparkly magic wands, the pint-sized tiaras and those cute little "animal friends." The Disney princesses aren't sweet and innocent. They're a gang of vicious hoodlums, and they're plotting against you.Start with some light feminist analysis. It will not have escaped you, Mothers of America, that Disney princesses -- Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and the rest -- rarely slay dragons, play sports, pilot jets or do open-heart surgery. Instead, they fiddle with their coiffures, linger over invitations to the ball, flee ineffectually from evil crones and swoon. Read more...I would add this to Brooks' ... More About: Princess
Hear me on Empowered Black Perspectives radio
2008-04-05 15:15:00 Last night I was interviewed by host Rachel Ramone on Empowered Black Perspectives radio. We discussed race and the 2008 presidential election, Michelle Obama, the Rev. Wright controversy, whether black people should vote Republican, a Democratic "dream ticket" and more.I don't sound too bad. My nasty chest cold actually gave me sultry, radio voice. (It also contributed to my heavy breathing early in the call. Sorry about that!)Hear the show at the Empowered Black Perspectives Web site here. More About: Radio
Open Letter: The Silence of Our Friends--Response to the NAACP Interview Re
2008-04-05 00:43:00 Synopsis:On April 3, 2008, Adora Obi Nweze, President of the Florida State Conference of the NAACP and Richard McIntire, NAACP national spoksperson apologized privately for the press conference called by the West Palm Beach Branch of the NAACP and Al Sharpton during a podcast, The Black Women's Roundtable, but publicly claimed they were misrepresented and their views distorted.NAACP employed a ?Muddying the Waters? strategy bringing up unrelated issues when the only criticism levied against the NAACP was its decision to hold a press conference to find injustice without showing that that there has been any injustice.NAACP national spokesman, Richard McIntire, repeatedly stated that the suspects have a right to bail.The Florida State Conference President said that the West Palm Beach chapter was wrong and has been counseled.NAACP said it does not have a stance on Dunbar Village-yet they HAVE spoken on the case, they are just on the wrong side of the fight.A ResponseThursday evening t... More About: Friends , Open , Interview , Letter , Open Letter
Dr. Martin Luther King: Vietnam War Speech
More articles from this author:2008-04-04 21:41:00 It is a shame that some 40 years later, we find ourselves making the same mistakes. More About: Vietnam , Martin Luther King , King , Speech , Vietnam War 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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