When you look at this image,
what do you see? Do you see the
large animal-like figure that is
front and center? The uncivi-
lized behavior portrayed by
the figure? What about the
small innocent-like characters
in the back? The presence of all
these factors makes this image
the definition of the destruc-
tion that arises from the pres-
ence of any implicit bias held
in society, and in particular,
the Angry Black woman ste-
reotype. This cartoon was cre-
ated to portray a tennis match
between Serena Williams and
Naomi Osaka in 2018. When
Williams expressed frustra-
tion with calls made through-
out the sets, and questioned
the umpire’s intentions and
authority, the umpire made
calls that resulted in Serena’s
defeat. This perpetuated Wil-
liams’ frustrations, causing
passionate responses to the
injustices. This resulted in the
media characterizing her as
an Angry Black woman. This
stereotype
unfairly
classi-
fies Black Women’s emotions
and opinions as unrealistic
and unprofessional in order to
deem us unqualified to occupy
powerful positions and spaces.
This image is a perfect exam-
ple of how dangerous this ste-
reotype is.
The artist makes Williams
the center of attention by mak-
ing her take up the most space,
and making her so apparently
different from the charac-
ters in the background. Her
enlarged head, mouth and body
suspended above the smashed
racket work to exaggerate the
anger she expressed, through
an apparent temper tantrum.
The two other characters are
small in comparison to Wil-
liams, with features that rep-
resent innocence and purity,
to establish her as an animal.
The artist makes Williams’
emotions seem irrational, and
labels her as an Angry Black
woman, something powerful
Black women are constantly
reduced to. The emotion she
expressed during the match
was no different than that
of other professional tennis
players, including the famed
Roger Federer. So why was
she punished with the cre-
ation of such a dehumaniz-
ing and false image?
Seeing Kamala Harris, a
Black woman, make history
by running for one of the
highest occupations in the
United States is empowering
to see as a Black woman, but
also extremely nerve wrack-
ing. As I watched the Vice
Presidential debate a few
weeks ago, I couldn’t help
but shake with nerves the
whole time. Knowing how
the passion Black women
express can be redefined
by others as aggression, I was
scared to see how the media
would respond to her demean-
or. Throughout the debate, I
was constantly refreshing my
Twitter timeline to see how
people were reacting to every
word that came out of her
mouth. I was scared that one
slip of the tongue would cause
her to be labeled as an Angry
Black woman, and create a loss
of respect from everyone, sim-
ply for speaking her mind. Joe
Biden showed an abundance
of emotion in calling Donald
Trump a clown a few weeks
before in his own debate. His
outburst was commended, and
even seen as comical. Aside
from the immature behav-
ior he showcased in the same
debate, Donald Trump’s care-
lessness and negligence dur-
ing his presidency have put
millions of Americans in grave
danger. Trump and Biden were
able to get away with acts of
unprofessionalism, but I knew
from my experience of watch-
ing other Black women like
Serena Williams and Michelle
Obama, that the critics would
not be as forgiving of any
degree of emotion communi-
cated by Kamala Harris.
Now, some may say Ser-
ena’s emotions during that
tennis match did get a little
out of control, and that she
deserved the label. But the
problem is not how much or
what kind of emotion a Black
woman expresses, the prob-
lem is our emotion will always
be exploited and used to twist
the narrative of our character.
When Michelle Obama was on
the campaign trail in 2008,
supporting her husband Presi-
dent Barack Obama’s cam-
paign, she also suffered the
cruel consequences of the ste-
reotype. In her documentary
Becoming, released this past
May, she described how the
vulnerability, passion and love
she expressed for America on
the campaign trail was depict-
ed by the media as anger, and
devalued the abundant success
she had in her life. Much like
the one of Serena Williams, a
caricature was drawn in an
attempt to portray her as an
enemy of the very people she
loved. In the image below, the
artist enlarged Obama’s head
and bulked up her muscles,
giving her an unrealistic and
manly appearance. Her eye-
brows were tweaked to appeal
to an evil facade. The words
“Bully Pulpit” on the podium
described the meaning of her
speeches as expressions of
rage. The image embraced
everything the media said
about her. The artist trans-
formed her into an Angry
Black woman.
Michelle
Obama
admit-
ted feeling hurt by the false
ways the media has portrayed
her. The backlash influenced
her to change her approach
to one that was robotic and
scripted in order to be taken
seriously as the future First
Lady of the United States.
At seven years old, I vaguely
remember watching the news
and hearing this narrative be
constructed of her. They
turned my idol into a mon-
ster. Everything negative
the media said about her
was hurtful to hear, being
my first introduction to
the Angry Black woman
persona in real time. It
hurt even more because I
saw myself in her. Every
time they picked her apart,
I felt like they were picking
me apart as well. I started
to become weary of how I
acted in public spaces in
order to avoid being falsely
stereotyped, because when
you start seeing parts of
yourself being told they
don’t belong, you start to
believe it.
Kamala Harris is pursuing
a dream the Black community
has had for a long time. The
rarity of her situation should
be celebrated. In addition to
the praise we give her, it is
important to note that Kamala
Harris is a politician and cor-
ruption is inevitable. In her
career as an Attorney, she has
already done some pretty con-
troversial things. Harris faced
scrutiny over her claims of
working to decrease the racism
in the criminal justice system.
Many have argued that these
statements are hypocritical
with her failure to investigate
shootings
involving
police
officers and implement reform
bills that would help decrease
police brutality. It is important
to hold politicians accountable
for the decisions they make,
but while we are condemning
her harmful actions toward
minority
communities,
we
need to recognize the implicit
biases that may influence how
we perceive her actions. She
is the first Black woman in
American history to be a vice
presidential nominee for a
major party, so she will be held
to an extremely high standard.
Because of this, when we criti-
cize her decisions we need to
make sure that the criticisms
don’t
diminish
her
worth
based on the stereotypes held
of Black women. While we
acknowledge her accomplish-
ments, we must also address
her faults appropriately.
Reflecting
on
Michelle
Obama and Serena Williams’
experiences I can’t help but
wonder how much of herself
Kamala Harris is concealing in
order to avoid the creation of
another Angry Black Woman
caricature. I worry that young
Black girls today will be driv-
en to change themselves in
order to appeal to the masses
because of the false narrative
the media may use to portray
her. Despite the implicit bias-
es that I know will be held
against her, seeing her in that
high space gives me hope that
there will be positive change
in the systemic racism this
country
embraces.
I
hope
little Black girls are able to
look up to Kamala Harris the
same way that I looked up to
Michelle Obama.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan In Color
6 — Wednesday, November 4, 2020
puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com
By Mike Peluso
(c)2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
10/21/20
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
10/21/20
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2020
ACROSS
1 “... where the sun
/ Came peeping
in at __”: Thomas
Hood
5 Willie Mays, twice
8 Bowler’s test
13 Carpet calculation
14 China setting
15 Soccer star Rossi
16 *Old bowling alley
employee
18 Cry of dismay
19 Country singer
Womack
20 Even things
22 Part of ESL: Abbr.
23 *Pass prevention
strategy
28 Editor’s change
of heart
30 “I agree!”
31 It’s north of Afr.
32 Not very exciting
35 Seasickness
symptom
38 Cautionary
workplace axiom
... or a hint to
the starts of
the answers to
starred clues
40 Elk
42 Pre-discount
prices
43 Not well
44 Dollop
46 Pacino’s voice, at
times
50 *Bad homes for
critics?
55 Golf standard
56 Deal with
57 Capitol feature
59 Like four Sandy
Koufax games
61 *One-on-one golf
competition
64 It’s good in Chile
65 Agree with
66 Shoppe modifier
67 Shakespearean
forest
68 2000s TV
forensic
technician, to
pals
69 Fly high
DOWN
1 Breakfast
condiment
sources
2 Get one’s
bearings
3 Go back on a
promise
4 Org. in the
biodrama
“Hidden Figures”
5 WY winter hrs.
6 Compete
7 Pre-Rose Bowl
tradition
8 Many an “SNL”
skit
9 Two-time U.S.
Open winner
Stewart
10 Illicit rendezvous
site
11 La Corse, par
exemple
12 Play (with)
14 53 for I, e.g.
17 Split __: New
Zealand band
21 Court sport
24 Astro’s finish?
25 Harris of country
26 Take to court
27 Stat for Justin
Verlander
29 Spicy cuisine
33 Time and again,
to Yeats
34 Driver’s license
datum
36 Poetic verb
37 Cold War letters
38 Made waves?
39 Slight fabrications
40 Freak (out)
41 Every bit
45 Rose ominously
47 Swing era
Harlem hot spot
48 Tea since 1892
49 Supplication
51 River to the
English Channel
52 Resolute about
53 Danish shoe
brand
54 NFL defensive end
Ndamukong __
58 Med. plan
options
59 Home to Kings:
Abbr.
60 “__ Gang”
62 Versatile card
63 “Much
appreciated,” in
texts
SUDOKU
Sudoku Syndication
http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/
1 of 1
10/14/09 1:19 PM
SUDOKU
EASY
7
2
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1
9
6
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2
1
3
3
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“60 characters.
Bare your soul.
Get featured in the Daily!”
WHISPER
Introducing the
“I’m just tired
of this
pandemic
stuff”
“I think I’mad-
dicted to tech-
noblade :/”
WHISPER
‘Peace’ in the Middle East
MARIA PATTON
MiC Columnist
The manipulation of a Black woman’s passion
On Oct. 13, 2019, over 100
wildfires broke out in Leba-
non, setting the scene for the
insufferable year ahead. Over
the course of the last year,
Lebanon
has
experienced
an economic crisis, a global
pandemic and an explosion
at their largest port, all while
citizens are revolting against
their
corrupt
government.
Though the wildfires have
been contained, Lebanon has
been up in flames for the past
year, growing more disas-
trous by the day.
On Oct. 17, 2019, the Leba-
nese
thawra
(revolution)
began. The unfolding of an
economic crisis caused the
corrupt, sectarian govern-
ment to announce additional
tax
measures,
triggering
Lebanese citizens to protest
for their social and economic
rights. The goal of the pro-
tests extended beyond oppo-
sition to the additional tax
measures; the Lebanese were
protesting a fundamentally
corrupt and flawed govern-
ment, who for years have
denied them basic aid and
services. They were protest-
ing government officials who
failed to provide them with
stable electricity and waste-
management services, ade-
quate public education and
health services, food security
and a functioning economy.
In the midst of their failures,
those government officials
have made millions of dol-
lars (some even billions) for
themselves. To end the cycle
of corruption, the people of
Lebanon called for all gov-
ernment officials to resign.
Prime minister Saad Hariri
was the only government
official to resign, causing no
substantial change for the
Lebanese.
Equally
guilty
politicians, Nabih Berri and
Michel Aoun, stayed in power.
As the revolution contin-
ued,
Lebanon’s
economic
system continued to weak-
en. Lebanon, the third most
indebted country, with a debt
to GDP ratio of 152%, and
with over 75% of its popula-
tion living below the poverty
line, inevitably was about to
face their worst economic
crisis. Lebanon’s broken eco-
nomic system can be traced
back to their heavy reliance
on imports and the pegging of
the Lebanese currency to the
US dollar. Massive increase
in prices of staples, the crash-
ing of the Lebanese curren-
cy, high unemployment and
limits on bank withdrawals
characterize the effects of
Lebanon’s
economic
crisis
on their people. As a conse-
quence of the economic crisis,
the middle class disappeared
and issues of food and home
security were at an all-time
high. Then COVID-19 hit,
exacerbating Lebanon’s con-
dition and further revealing
the government’s unwilling-
ness to aid their people.
On Aug. 4, a fire at the larg-
est port in Beirut triggered
an explosion, resulting in
over 200 people dead, 6000
injured and at least 300,000
displaced.
The
explosion
further
weakened
health
resources
and
destroyed
valuable infrastructure, leav-
ing the Lebanese people to
deal with a pandemic, an
economic crisis and recon-
struction efforts with little to
no resources or government
aid. Carelessness and disor-
ganization of the Lebanese
government directly caused
the third largest explosion
in history. Angry protests
broke out, demanding the
government would be held
accountable for their actions.
The outcome of the protests
in August was similar to the
outcome of the protests in
October: Hassan Diab, prime
minister,
resigned,
but
it
brought no change for the
people suffering.
Almost one year after his
resignation, Saad Hariri was
reinstated as Lebanon’s prime
minister. His reinstatement is
a clear representation of the
direction of Lebanon. The
purpose of the thawra was
to dismantle the system in
place, completely controlled
by the corruption and greedi-
ness of the Lebanese govern-
ment and propelled by foreign
interests. Saad Hariri repre-
sents everything the people
revolted against. As long as
people like him are the key
players in Lebanese politics,
Lebanon will remain stuck in
a circle of corruption.
MAYA KADOUH
MiC Columnist
A full circle of corruption
At seven years old, I vaguely
remember watching the news and
hearing this narrative be constructed
of her. They turned my idol into a
monster. Everything negative the
media said about her was hurtful to
hear, being my first introduction to
the Angry Black woman persona in
real time.