Who Protects Black Women
Recent events have again underscored that Black women in America will seldom be protected, will too often be villainized, and that the standards and rules will be shifted against them. This should be newsworthy, but unfortunately it is neither “news” nor “new.”
Exhibit “A” is Sharon Osbourne’s conflict with Sheryl Underwood and her ensuing appearance on the Bill Maher show. After Piers Morgan’s widely criticized racist remarks about Meghan Markle, Osbourne sought to defend them on the show she co-hosts, “The Talk.” When confronted by her Black co-host, Sheryl Underwood, about defending such racism, Sharon immediately defaulted to playing the victim, telling Underwood that if anyone should be crying, it “should be her,” and aligning her defense of Piers’ racism with being put in the “electric chair.” After facing widespread criticism, Osbourne later tweeted an apology, saying she “panicked,” “felt blindsided” and then “got defensive” during the conversation.
This dynamic of the White racist transmuting into the role of the “victim” is all too typical. There is a history of White people who insult and offend, getting upset and seeking refuge in the forgiving arms of other White people. For Sharon, one set of those arms were provided by Bill Maher, and his “Real Time” TV show. Maher welcomed Sharon on the show, asked “how she was doing” and treated her like the victim of some injustice. He did not invite Sheryl Underwood, nor did he even invite them both to clear the air on the issue. Rather, he only hosted Sharon to share HER story, HER perspective and HER narrative. Nobody comparably hosted Sheryl, asked how she was doing, or publicized her story.
This is neither surprising, nor new.
Exhibit B is the latest achievement of the best female gymnast of all time, Simone Biles (undisputably the best, by any objective measure). As you may have heard, Simone recently became the first female gymnast EVAH to land a Yurchenko Double Pike vault in competition. The physical and technical demands of the vault are insanely high. And again, she was the first female gymnast to land this vault in a competition. The first female gymnast in history. The first female gymnast ever.
But was that accomplishment celebrated? No. Quite to the contrary, the “official” scoring system disfavored it. It made the points allowance for a vault that has been too difficult for 99.999% percent of gymnasts ever to even attempt, lower than lesser vaults. Far from being rewarded for her remarkable athleticism and skill, Simone was punished for it.
Again, this is neither surprising or new.
A quick review of history shows similar efforts to “move the goalposts” when Black athletes are dominating. Just like Simone with the Yurchenko Double Pike, Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul Jabaar) faced a similar hurdle when the NCAA outlawed dunking; Black figure skater Surya Bonaly’s ability to do a backflip was criticized as “too athletic” and not rewarded with higher scores; and Tiger Woods faced “Tiger-proofing” of the Augusta National Golf Course and its “Masters Tournament” by substantially lengthening it when he was dominating the profession. The playing field for Black people – and particularly Black women – is only level until we succeed too much, at which point the rules change.
Finally, Exhibit C is Naomi Osaka. Naomi recently announced that she was not going to be doing any press in connection with the 2021 French Open. She made this choice for her own well-being and mental health and agreed to pay any associated fines. But far from providing a comforting shoulder to lean in to, or the safe have that Sharon Osbourne was provided by Bill Maher, Naomi was told to shut up and show up (or face potential match forfeitures). Instead of compromising herself, Naomi elected to walk away. But far from being considered a victim, Naomi has been widely criticized for taking care of herself and her mental health.
She is on her own, like far too many Black women have been, for far too long.
So I ask again, “who is going to protect Black women?” Or will we continue to be left to solely to our own devices to protect ourselves?
I love your blog and insightful observations. I’m curious as to why you capitalize the w in white? There are various styles surrounding Black vs white. The folks at Columbia Journalism Review note, “we capitalize Black, and not white, when referring to groups in racial, ethnic, or cultural terms. For many people, Black reflects a shared sense of identity and community. White carries a different set of meanings; capitalizing the word in this context risks following the lead of white supremacists.” White belongs, white!
You are so right! I go back-and-forth unconsciously between capitalizing white and not. I am aware that I shouldn’t but I need to be more aware of not doing it. Thank you so much for the feedback; and for the support. Love to you!
Thank YOU for this post. I not only agree with this article, as a Black woman I LIVE it. I am utterly exhausted by the Karen-esque boldness and righteous indignation that immediately melts into victimhood as soon as they are met with an equally forceful rebuttal. So again, thank you for this post.