Can Obama Reach the Mountain Top Without Black Women?
New America Media, Commentary, 
, Words: Michael Datcher// Video: Ayinde Bell Stampp and YO!TV Crew Posted: Oct 30, 2007
Editor’s Note: It’s no secret that black women are supporting Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama for president, but New America Media contributor Michael Datcher says that maybe they should have a little more faith in black men. Datcher, a journalist based in Los Angeles, is the author of Raising Fences: A Black Man's Love Story.
A recent CNN poll found that black women who are registered Democrats favor Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama 68 percent to 25 percent (several other polls reported similar results). Extraordinary figures when you consider Obama’s fundraising prowess, Harvard Law pedigree, community organizer history, personal charisma, African-American wife—and his own black skin. He’s certainly the most “electable” black person to ever run for the nation’s highest office.
These are all elements that would seem to make him a shoe-in for capturing the majority of black women votes yet, sisters are throwing him shade and overwhelmingly supporting the wife of the first wannabe-black president. It’s hard out here for a wannabe-black president—who actually has some melanin.
VIDEO -- YO! Youth Outlook Multimedia hit the streets of the Filmore nieghborhood in San Francisco to ask people who they would vote for: Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton?
This is a streaming MP4 video - you'll need Quicktime 6 or later to view it.
The reason behind these numbers may be more numbers.
According to a 2005 Census Bureau survey, African-American women with bachelor’s degrees typically earned $41,100 while similarly educated white women earned $37,800. In 2006, with the help of upwardly mobile black women, the gender wage gap narrowed another 0.4 percent to 12.6 (down from 29.5 percent in 1975 when the Equal Pay Act came into effect).
So maybe the alignment of black women-white women pocketbooks is also helping to create an alignment of voting approaches (among Democrats) as well: Vote for the candidate who has the best chance of winning in the general election. The Harold Ford, Jr. debacle in Tennessee reminded America how uncomfortable it is with a black man holding major political power—even when he’s by far the best candidate. Many black women simply don’t trust that enough white folk will do the right thing. So a vote for Obama is a wasted vote. Especially when a vote for Hillary could also make history.
Some have agued that Obama’s lack of black female support is connected to the challenging state of black male-black female relationships. According to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, 81 percent of white women and 77 percent of Hispanics and Asians will marry by the age of 30, but only 52 percent of African-American women will marry by that age. Skinny wallets and healthy discrimination play roles.
During the 2006 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Meeting on Race and Color Discrimination, Georgetown University economist Harry Holzer reported, “The evidence that discrimination in hiring persists is clearest in the many ‘audit’ or ‘tester’ studies of the past 10-15 years, in which matched pairs of white and minority job applicants with identical credentials on paper are sent to apply for jobs. Virtually all of these studies show statistically significant differences in the rates at which white and minority candidates receive ‘call backs’ or are offered jobs ... evidence confirms that employers have negative stereotypes about blacks relative to other employees, and are more fearful of black men than women.”
Yet, many black women say that these are age old problems that most black men should have found a way to work around by now (as many black women have been successful at doing). Black men’s failure to do so has led to a basic lack of respect that more black women are more inclined to reveal, and more black men are inclined to feel.
Is this general lack of respect hurting Obama’s standing with significant numbers of black women? I doubt it. However, could more earned general respect for black men help Obama bring more black women into his camp (especially if he’s forced to run again in 2012)? Probably. Seeing black men, in general, showing an ability to make a way out of no way, bricks without straw, will certainly engender more belief, more faith, from black women, in black men. And faith is what black men want from black women. And secretly, what they need. To have sisters look at us with eyes that say, “I know you can do it, because you know this community needs you to do it.” At times, the expectation of success from a sister is just enough of a push for a brother to get over the top. Even when the mountain is higher than his own faith. Even when the mountain top holds a desk with this name plate: Mr. President.
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User Comments
Sis on Nov 28, 2007 at 08:04:28 said:
I hope the African-American community is not stupid enough to continue to call Clinton "our first Black President" and then NOT vote for a highly qualified presidential candidate who is truly African-American. It is insulting and disgusting at the same time.
Obama is experienced, intellectual and has excellent judgement. He has been such an asset to Illinois and the nation. He brought himself up from nowhere and is not a corporate politician like Hillary Clinton. With a law degree from Harvard he could have just become a corporate lawyer and not cared for the people. But he took his civil rights experienced and help the poor people in Chicago and has pushed for positive change.
When you have rural white people in Iowa voting for Obama, it is a seriously sad state of affairs if ANY African-American would not take this opportunity now and vote for Barack Obama. It is time for change that really matters!
Bobbie on Nov 23, 2007 at 11:37:55 said:
I have to say that I'm still unsure whether I would vote for Hillary or Obama, but clearly I do believe that the black community has some valid reasons for not immediately jumping on the bandwagon for Obama because he is black.His own history as a black man often appears clouded when he discusses his understanding of black poverty and struggle. His black skin cannot be a pass to say that he understands the struggle because often the ivy halls and the alliances that are formed during that time can change who you are in the end. I want the best option for President. I dont think that the black community, male or female will have the luxury of someone who looks like them and has come up through poverty or racism like them, running in the race in my lifetime. We need to close our eyes and listen to what each candidate is saying, and view there resumes without our own prejudice.
Gwen Meadows on Nov 06, 2007 at 03:47:22 said:
I agree with the first commenter which is, why are we promoting this false, fabricated idea that black woman support Hillary over Obama? Like Bill cosby says "C'mon people."
Deborah White on Nov 01, 2007 at 18:51:09 said:
First of all kudos to you for calling Bill what his- is-a wannabe. I really do not like or consider it a compliment for him to be identified as the first "Black President". That title will go to whoever that individual is. It is totally disrespectful to black people that he have that title. I consider it a real insult. We should not encourage that type of identification.
-->I would like to know the demographics of the black women who were polled. I read this information and then see what agency is connected to the polls and question the validity. Why? The agency that is the source of the polls is not without biases. It is not that I do not believe that there is heavy support for Hillary among black women. What I question is the basic information of the women polled? Is it really a broad spectrum of black women voters? Are these women from specific regions of the country? Is this a mixed age group of voting black women Dems? This is information that I would like to see. Not just the end results. The actual demograhic information. Plus the information on how the poll was conducted. That never seems to be available. It would be ineresting to see how it was set up.