In the midst of public scrutiny regarding his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and public comments regarding rural voters, Obama began to lose support among white women. (When Clinton was supposed to have wrapped up the nomination) Many of these Clinton supporters have said they will vote across party lines in November. They would rather vote for John McCain than Barack Obama. Why? They are essentially the same candidate except for the fact that one is a white woman and the other is a black man. What has Obama done differently since February? Has he made a comment? No. Has he proposed some policy that would be detrimental to women? No. Is it just the fact that he is not a WHITE woman? Possibly.
This year’s Democratic Primary did not merely highlight the racial division within the Democratic Party; rather it showed us that racial division still exists here in the United States. It showed us that not unlike the Kerner Commission report, there are still remnants of “two nations.”
Interestingly, the rights, hopes and dreams of African-Americans and women have always been somewhat tied together. Many members of the women’s suffrage movement were also abolitionists during slavery and the Civil War. But when it came time for passage of the 14th and 15th amendments the women’s rights movement did not approve. "As the celestial gate to civil rights is slowly moving on its hinges, it becomes a serious question whether we had better stand aside and see Sambo walk into the kingdom first,” said Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the key figures in the Woman’s Suffrage Movement.
Eighty-eight years ago suffragists had to make another decision: support African-American rights or gain passage of the 20th Amendment, which would give women the right to vote. The suffragists chose the latter and that decision has haunted the woman’s rights movement ever since.
The faces of the feminist movement became increasingly, if not wholly, white and middle-class women who fought for the rights of white women. While these were women out fighting for suffrage, there were other invisible women at home taking care of the suffragists’ homes and children. These women, mostly poor women and Black women, were left off the agenda and out of the fight. (Consequently, although the 14th and 15th amendments granted African-American males with the right to vote, because of Jim Crow and segregation it was not until 1965 that these rights were finally realized.) The feminist movement has been split ever since its leaders decided to support strictly their race and gender and forget the issues of African-Americans. While feminism fought for the rights of women only. “Womanism opposes all oppression based on race, sex, class, sexual preference or physical ability.” The split between feminism and womanism (black feminism) has lived on ever since. It has created a huge pothole in the intersection of Race and Gender that is more evident today, than at any other time since the 20th amendment.
The pothole at the intersection of race and gender needs to be filled by bringing together the historic struggles of women and African-Americans. If you want the right to be represented, then you have to fight for the representation of others. Clinton’s campaign is just as significant and as much of a milestone as Barack Obama’s. Her candidacy is as much a valid movement as his was/is and should be recognized. 17,717,698 is a lot of votes. Those women don’t need to be ignored, but brought into the fold. An Obama/Clinton ticket would be the first step towards bridging that gap and realizing that the strength of any movement for human rights lies in its ability to have a universal message and participants stretches across race, gender, class and religions. One reason the Civil Rights Movement was as successful as it was in no way was it exclusive to a particular race, gender, class or religion. It was about Civil Rights for ALL people.
The pundits and many Obama supporters have said that it would be a horrible idea for Obama to choose Clinton as Vice-President. They say she represents the old politics of Washington. They say that Clinton is too divisive a candidate and that choosing her as Vice-President would go against the “change” message. (Although I can not remember the last time a woman was the Vice-President of the United States.) While it is true that the primaries were hard-fought and sometimes a bit snippy, trying to win an election can be like that. They say her and Obama are not the best of friends. Real change and growth can only take place when people are put outside their comfort zones and forced to think long and hard about what they want and what is really important. Is it about identity or policy? What is more important? Personal relationships or working relationships?
Now, I am in no way saying that Barack Obama NEEDS to choose Hillary Clinton as his Vice-President. Obama can win the election on his own merits with someone who “balances” the ticket more like Joe Biden (D-Del.), Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) or Ed Rendell (D-Pa.). However, he cannot win without her full support. She is too significant a figure, not only in the Democratic Party, but in the feminist movement.
Two extremely intelligent, skilled and caring public servants can now bridge that rift, created eighty-eight years ago. Two senators, who have unique voices, yet share the same belief in human rights fort ALL. It is time for Obama to address all of the misogynists. It is time for Hillary Clinton to address all the racists. Together they can have a unified message that resonates with everyone. Men women, whites, minorities, rich, poor, immigrants, etc. That message can be stronger than any message about policy. If you can change the way people think, you can change the way they act. As Barack Obama said in Minnesota the night he clinched the nomination, “Millions of Americans cast ballots for the first time, voted in records and inspired a nation… let us work together and chart a new course for America.”
--Akil E. Kennedy
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