by Tracee Sioux

I was anxious to find the Hillary-supporting women who have been saying they will vote for McCain or refrain from voting all together. I have read their arguments on the Internet and they seemed illogical, hysterical, and easily distracted to me – until I met them.

I was shocked out of my britches to find they were wise black grandmothers who have been down this road before and learned their lesson.

(Please note that the above photo is everyone on the Hillary bus I rode, not necessarily Hillary supporters threatenting to boycott Obama.)

These women told me how they fought through the Civil Rights Movement and heard their men say, Help us and when we get there we’ll help you. They did not. They took the power and kept it for themselves.

Same story with the abolition of slavery. These women fought the fight along side their men and their men took the power saying, we’ll pull you along with us.

They did not.

Same story with the vote. Black men took it for themselves and did not help their sisters get it for 100 years.

The women I met were a generation of black women who have raised their children and their grandchildren as the African American family and African American community has fallen apart and their men have left the family or been imprisoned.

They are a generation of women who are none to thrilled to see their men call them, or their daughters, “Ho’s” on the BET.

These black grandmothers have been down this road before and they know what happens at the end of it. They don’t want to keep making the same mistake over and over again and Obama represents the same mistake to them.

Who’s more misogynist than a white man?

A black man, they told me.

Except for some of the Hillary-loving Hispanic ladies I had lunch with who told me, Oh no, it’s the Hispanic man that’s the most sexist.

From their perspective, black men love racial equality, but gender equality is a whole different story. Seems they enjoy having their women doing all the heavy lifting and getting none of the power or glory. Shit rolls down hill and black men like not be the one on the very bottom, some of the women told me.

Some of those black women had shirts made up that said ONLY Hillary would get their vote. There is talk that they will write her in if Obama doesn’t name her VP. They want her to run as an Independent and split the party. Some even say they will vote for McCain.

Let me tell you something, a black woman I was boarding with told me. If the positions were reversed and Obama came this close black folks would march on Washington and FORCE Hillary to name him VP.

She’s probably right.

They also felt that because Barack Obama’s campaign was heavily online, as were his unheard of donations, that they were manipulated and inflated by Republican participation. In other words, they didn’t believe that many Democrats donated $5 to Obama. They believed that the Conservative Media had encouraged Republicans to help Barack Obama (Rush Limbaugh encouraged Republicans to vote in the Democratic Primary) win because they hate Hillary Clinton something fierce.

they said.

They also felt that a LOT of that money actually was the PAC money that Obama said he wasn’t taking – because you can give anonymous donations over the Internet.

That money’s gonna dry up, they said. Those Republicans who gave Obama money are going to give it to their own candidate now. The big business and PACs who gave money are going to give to McCain now.

I should note here that these women were in the minority among their peers. The majority of black women at the convention were Obama supporters.

Also, the majority of Hillary-supporters at the convention were resigned to voting for Obama and not threatening a boycott.

But one Hillary t-shirt said, “I will not fall in line,” and I believe them. Before I met them, I thought they were bluffing.

The Democratic Party was paying attention because nearly every speech was about party unity.

They had us all join hands – Obama delegate and Hillary delegate – to signify our unity.

I thought it was kind of sweet.

“They can have us hold hands all they want to, I ain’t voting for that snake oil salesman and they’re are gonna regret they did when they see who he and his militant wife really is,” one black grandmother declared.

Please God, let them be wrong about Barack Obama. Let his election be a healing moment for the black men and women in this country.

Read about how some young women voted on Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me.

Images Source: Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me

Post from: Blisstree

Black Grandmothers