Thomas Jefferson’s explanation, or defense as I see it, for what he said about Blacks in his book Notes on Virginia is what many people still see Black people as today. This is just an opinion, but I feel as though many White people think that Blacks can do and have done many great things but because they are Black they still cannot compare to a White person. For example, even though a black person may have invented the traffic light society will claim that a white man perfected it. Jefferson says “…but whatever be their degree of talent, it is no measure of their rights”, today examples of this thought process are not as prevalent as they were 20 years ago. People still think this though. Young Black women are often at the brunt of this assumption. Even though Black women have to raise children on low budgets, work multiple jobs, deal with the stresses of being both a woman and black, they make many great accomplishments. Surviving each day is an accomplishment for some of these women. Yet it’s still looked at like “oh well she made it, but she’s still a woman, or she’s still a black woman”. I feel that it will take a very long time for black women to be seen as equal in the eyes of American society. Women in general have had to deal with people who think like Jefferson. For many, many years women and men would be dong basically the same job but they man would get paid more just because he was a man. A woman was denied the right to equal pay just because she was a female. After non-colored women got their right to equal pay among other things such as voting, Blacks especially Black women still found it difficult to receive equal pay and in some states Black men and women could not vote after the law was passed that said that any American citizen could vote. Even though others could receive equal pay and vote, Blacks were denied this right just because they were black. A Black secretary could type a report in half the time a white woman could but the white woman would still get paid more. Not because of her efficiency at work but because of her skin color. That’s not fair and the saddest part about this is that it still happens today. Not like it used to, but on a more low key kind of level. -Mary Williams
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is sad but true. Black women work the hardest out of everyone but still they are subect to discrimination and sexism. We have to worry about how we are perceived as women and as Blacks. Though this is unjust and unfair, there will come a time when Black women will be valued more, but most importantly, we must always remember to value ourselves.
ReplyDeleteJasmine Bryant
Though I agree with most of what you're saying, I disagree with the following point "Even though Black women have to raise children on low budgets, work multiple jobs, deal with the stresses of being both a woman and black, they make many great accomplishments.Surviving each day is an accomplishment for some of these women." I believe that this statement sets very low standards for Black Women. Simply surving should not be a daily goal. Black Women should set out to thrive so that eventually they will be seen as power figures rather than just Black Women trying to survive on a day to day basis.
ReplyDeleteVernee Pelage
Although I have not experienced any of these oppressions or maybe it has never been clear to me if I did, I can recall my mother having an oppressive experience in her Cooperate America job. A few years before my mother retired from the Coca-Cola Company here in Atlanta, Georgia there was a position she applied for. To be eligible for this position the main requirement was to have a college degree. Many applied for the position and on the second session of interviewing the job would be given to my mother or a Caucasian woman. My mother was not offered the job, it was offered to the other applicant. In trying to decipher why my mother was not offered the position she discovered that the other applicant did not have the cooperate training my mother did nor did she have a college degree. Stunned and scared by the discrimination my mother made an appeal with the Human Resources department of the company. My mother won the appeal, was offered the job and a formal apology. From this experience my mother showed me that Black women are discriminated against and as a Black woman I must be very precise in my actions and develop business savvy to ensure I am able to deal with a situation as hers if it ever appears.
ReplyDeleteJasmine E. Williams