Black women must reclaim their image, Hill says

Black women face the challenge of redefining and reclaiming their image in American society, according to Anita Hill, professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women's Studies at Brandeis University.

Hill gave the first keynote lecture of the Black Alumnae/i Symposium 2008, titled "The Power of Our Presence: African American Women Building Communities, Families, Ourselves," at Friday's luncheon, the first large event of the weekend.

"If we are serious about having a conversation about either race or gender in this country, but particularly if we're serious about both, black women along with other women of color must be reflected in our leadership," Hill said. "The women in this room embody both, and they, like no one else, can have that conversation without having the two competing with each other as to which one is the worst."

Hill outlined five pledges she thought black women needed to take to reverse the image of black women, specifically the one outlined in the Department of Labor's 1965 Moynihan Report, "The Negro Family: A Case for National Action."

The report said that the matriarchal structure of black culture put black men at a disadvantage, and therefore hindered the entire black community from moving forward and gaining economic and political equality. "Moynihan made bruising pronouncements about African American women.

"And I believe those pronouncements stayed in the public conscience even today, yet despite this public shunning, African American women continued then and continue today to believe in and work toward bringing themselves and their families ever closer to the American dream of equality," Hill said.

"We must demand that black women must be seen, heard, and recognized for the leadership and insight we offer," she said. "Black women are neither the overbearing shrews of the Moynihan report, nor Ronald Reagan's lazy cheats, nor Bill Clinton's irresponsible freeloaders, and most importantly, we are not Don Imus' nappy-headed hoes."

The first pledge Hill outlined was moving beyond the idea of just getting access to education. "We can't stop the access drive, but we've got to build on the drive," she said. Hill called for a change in curriculum, how the curriculum is delivered, and the environment in which it is delivered. "We've got to develop a better sense of educational equality," she said.

The second pledge is to integrate America, one workplace at a time. Hill said that the workplace is important because of how one's job defines a person and how they fit into society. "When we think of slavery, when we think about Jim Crow, when we think about all of the burdens of race and gender in the past, the workplace was where its impact, in many ways, was most profound because it held us from any opportunity of developing economically.

"We have to continue to see work as an effort to make sure that all of society understands that an integrated society is what is best for the entire society," Hill said.

The third pledge is to "secure our own safe haven." Hill said black women need to be concerned with not just what goes on in their homes, but what goes on in their streets and neighborhoods. She also commented on the issue of subprime mortgage rates and how that factors into the need to secure one's home.

Hill said that saving the community's soul is the fourth pledge. She said that in traditional black churches around the country, women occupy two out of every three seats. "When the struggle for the soul of the community is at stake, women must participate as leaders," she said.

The last pledge is for black women to take back their images. Hill referred to Dolores Tucker, an African American woman who spoke out about sexual violence and hip-hop lyrics in the 1980s, who said that there is racism, not just sexism, in the way black women are portrayed in music videos.

Hill said they cannot control the content, but can promote women to decision-making positions so that they can control the content. "I don't think we're ever going to be able to eliminate it, but we ought to flood the market with our own ideas and our own values and our own versions of ourselves," she said.

Hill finished her lecture discussing the 2008 election and how politics must be factored into the advancement of black women, women of color, and American society. "We have to become the political leaders we deserve," she said. "Black women's advancement in education, employment, religion, and community leadership must translate into roles as the elected officials at the highest levels."

This is the second Symposium Simmons hosted; the event is scheduled to happen every three years-the first was in 2005 and the next one will be in 2011. The weekend's agenda included other speakers, including Dr. Joy DeGruy-Leary, who spoke about posttraumatic slave syndrome; Dr. Carol R. Johnson, who spoke about her educational agenda for Boston's schoolchildren; and President Susan Scrimshaw, who spoke about her vision for the College, specifically about recruitment and retention of minority students and faculty.

Panels on issues of women in leadership, volunteering, health and well-being, the future of the black youth, among others were also part of the scheduled events. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, the Symposium's attendees were given social and networking opportunities, including a kick-off event at The Beehive in Boston's South End.

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