BY: DEBORAH HARRIS

The United States of America has a long and, in many cases, painful relationships with Black women. From its early horrific treatment of female slaves to today’s often begrudging acceptance of Black women as business owners, writers, actors, musicians, scientists, dedicated stay-at-home moms, and many other note-worthy and empowering roles, this country is still struggling to fully appreciate and understand the significant positive impact Black women have had and still have on her.

I remember watching the movie Hidden Figures, and while I thought the film was extremely well done, I left the theater somewhat upset, realizing that there were so many triumphant and important stories of the contributions of Black women that I didn’t know, that had yet to be told. I wanted and needed to learn more.

I spent the next few weeks in my own personal self-education on the contributions of African-American women in the arts and sciences. In the area of literature, I not surprisingly came across the trailblazers Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Zora Neale Hurston. As noteworthy and brilliant as their works are, I was saddened that their work wasn’t a part of the literature that was consistently presented to me during my childhood and young adult education as works that should be studied and revered.

In my literature classes, I was bombarded with Hemingway, Shakespeare, Twain, and other white male authors. I am not saying that their work was not good; I am saying that I was not exposed to contributions, literary, or any other works, by Black women. That was and is still a cultural, educational tragedy. Fortunately, my daughter did have the advantage of at least being offered courses in African-American studies during her education. For that, I am grateful.

Regardless of what I was being taught in the classroom, I was very fortunate to have had Black women as positive role models. These women were caregivers, educators, leaders in the church, and in the community, and I was always in awe of them. However, the one thing that was always missing for me was the presence of black women in mainstream American literature, business, the sciences, medicine, and engineering. This list is not exhaustive, but I hope it drives home the point that just as in the movie Hidden Figures, and the book written Margot Lee Shetterly, the contributions of Black women in America have often been conveniently not addressed or not considered to be significant. How many of you knew that the mathematical work of Dr. Gladys West, an African American female, and mathematician, led to the development of today’s Global Positing System (GPS)? She was only recently recognized and inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame at the Pentagon on December 6, 2018. Why is this date meaningful? It is meaningful because she completed this work in 1956. She was recognized for her contributions 62 years later.

My research, albeit brief, for more notable Black women in the sciences (Earth and Space, Social, Life, Physical and Formal), was very illuminating. I learned of Patricia Bath (1942-2019), who pioneered laser surgery to remove cataracts, Georgia Mae Dunston, Professor at Howard University and founder of the National Human Genome Center, and Alice Ball (1892-1916), a chemist who developed an injectable extract that was the most effective treatment for leprosy during the early 20th century. One of the most significant contributions of Black women in the sciences actually came from someone, whose name was never even mentioned until decades later. Henrietta Lacks (August 1920 – October 1951) whose cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line, unknowingly contributed the first immortalized human cell and one of the most important cell lines in medical research.

While I do appreciate the acknowledgment that is now given to Black women for past and current contributions, I sometimes feel as though many in the mainstream of this country are thinking if not asking out loud “Haven’t we been recognized enough?”

One need only look back a few years ago to when we had the first African-American First Lady of the United States, Michele Obama, to begin understanding the answer to that question and why many Black women feel that we have yet to be truly recognized and appreciated. Mrs. Obama, an Ivy league educated, distinguished law school graduate, articulate speaker, and dedicated mother, was often the subject of demeaning remarks and criticism. Her most feverish attacks came as a result of her words while on the campaign trail for her husband Senator Barack Obama. It was 8 February 2008 and she said “ People in this country are ready for change and hungry for a different kind of politics…and for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback.”

Her words were swiftly taken out of context by many critics and in particular by Bill Kristol, who was at the time editor at large of the conservative Weekly Standard Magazine. He commented: “She was an adult when we won the Cold War without firing a shot, she was an adult for the last 25 years of economic progress…I don’t think the American people think on the whole that the last 25 years of American history is a narrative of despair and nothing to be proud of.”

Perhaps for Kristol and many like him, that statement was true. Let’s consider the time frame he was referring to and look a few facts that were also true for African-Americans in this country. The year would have been 1983. This was also the year that I graduated from The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. My family was there for my graduation and they as well as I were so very proud of me and what I had accomplished. After graduation, I went back home to where I grew up in Camden, Arkansas. With my freshly minted Bachelor’s Degree, I thought…. now I am ready to enter the world of work and really make my family proud. My dreams were shot down almost immediately as I found myself not able to find work after weeks of going on interviews and applying for jobs. It seemed that I had a couple of things working against me. I was an African-American female in a very traditional, small southern town. So that economic progress that Kristol spoke of didn’t really have any impact on my world. You see, in 1983, these are some of the truths that my community faced:

According to the Pew Research Center, the unemployment rate for Blacks was 21.1% compared to whites at 10%.
The percentage of African Americans age 25 or older (black women were rarely the topic of statistical research during the 1970’s and 1980’s) with a least a Bachelor’s degree was just over 10% compared to whites in the same age group at just over 21%.
The median annual income for African American was approximately 37,800.00 compared to whites at approximately 61,000.00.

I find it interesting that even today when African-Americans and other People of Color talk about lack of prosperity, not having good schools in their neighborhoods, not having access to quality fresh food, and not really living the “American Dream,” conservatives want to talk about the country’s economic prosperity. Maybe… just maybe… Michele Obama was saying that a sense of pride for the country you call home should come with hope for a better tomorrow.

Regardless of the many obstacles that many African-American women and I face in this country we are not hopeless. Today, according to The Root, an African-American oriented online magazine launched in Jan of 2008, black women are now the most educated group in the United States. African-American women are graduating from college at the highest rate of every racial group and are now counted among fortune 500 CEOs and business owners, educators, authors, actors, and most importantly, are torchbearers for their family and communities.

With all of these accomplishments, one might ask…Why is it taking so long for Black women to fully embrace a healthy relationship with this country? For many of us, we thought our country wouldn’t, couldn’t accept us as or true authentic selves. We were often not seen as the standard for beauty, and our contributions, regardless of their impact, never seemed to really matter to her. In the book, Shifting, The Double Lives of Black Women, authors Carisse Jones and Kumea Shorter-Gooden address this pressure that many African-American women feel to compromise their true selves as they navigate America’s racial and gender bigotry.

Yet, I am encouraged that perhaps mainstream America is starting to recognize the intelligence and beauty Black women have always strived to portray inwardly and outwardly. The fact that Black women currently represent the country as Miss Teen USA, Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss World is not insignificant to me, as I understand that the white European standard of beauty is still ingrained in the psyche of many in this country and worldwide. Yes, Black women have accomplished a lot in this country. I smile whenever I see a Black woman wearing a physician’s white coat, cast as the female lead in a movie, dancing across the stage as a prima ballerina, wearing a robe signifying her intellectual prowess in the legal system, and in the educational system, and yes I smile even more broadly when I see her taking up that space behind the pulpit and sharing God’s word. Yes, I have started down the path of forgiveness for how I was treated when we first met and trust me that was not easy to do.

Honestly, I really just want the country I call home to know and love the real me as I love her. I want my grandchild(ren) to grow up knowing without a doubt that they matter and that their contributions matter. This country and African-Americans, women in particular, have a bitter history and a lot of old baggage. It is going to take some time before I can say “Yes, this relationship is wonderful and fulfilling, this country really knows who I am.” You see, I only recently felt comfortable enough to show her my true self, kinky curly hair, weaves, wigs, curves, opinions, intelligence, and all.

So, I will categorize our status this way: current relationship: “It’s complicated.”

*****

A new author in the area of children’s literature, Deborah Delois Harris published Amaris Great Adventures: The Magical Playground in October of 2018. Focusing on increasing the number of books featuring African Americans as the main characters, Deborah plans to write books that are fun for children and their parents, and culturally representative of African Americans and their diverse backgrounds.

Does the Country I Call Home Love me? Does She Know Who I Am?: My Relationship with America

BY: DEBORAH HARRIS