One Sky, Many Voices

by Jen Nedeau

categories: Essay, Feminism

Published August 27, 2009 @ 08:46PM PT

I got so many great responses to the post, "Lets Talk About Race", that I wanted to highlight some of the comments and continue the conversation.

L.S. Hope sees that classifying groups through an identity such as race or gender actually limits us more than it works to expand the conversation:

I think Affirmative Action has contributed to racism/gender bias, more than it has built an even foundation for fairness and equality. I'm not suggesting to disregard it completely, it does have some good points, but I think it needs to be refined. Classifying by race and gender makes an easy target for hate groups. It also validates detrimental racial/gender stereotypes. We can change our hair color, eye color, even gender, but race isn't optional. The feminist movement is a good place to start; reaching out, educating ourselves, looking at struggles all women face. If we can't identify with racial views, we can identify with each other as mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters.

Juan Portillo asks us to be dynamic in our approach to this conversation, not looking at it in just two dimensions:

First off, maybe you should approach the issue by thinking about the intersection of race and GENDER, not race and feminism.  This is because feminism is not just the invention of white, upper middle class women (though they are the strongest voice in the US).  Asking how race fits into feminism belittles and somewhat alienates women of minority groups, but asking them about how race and gender intersect then you invite them to be part of the movement and enrich it.

PunditMom wants us to look beyond skin color and appreciate each person's individual voice:

That's certainly what some in the audience seemed to be suggesting, but I really disagree with that. And as someone who lives in a family with cultural, racial and religious diversity (and as the mother of a daughter of color), I'd like to think that the fact that my skin is white is only one aspect, not the defining aspect, I bring to the conversation.

Julie Pippert sees how limiting the feminist movement can be, even when it professes to open minds and achieve equality:

I have recently found a distressing amount of bigotry and prejudice in feminism, so I absolutely think we need to discuss race. If the purpose of feminism is to advance women, and we think like this: money and influence = power and decision-making, and white women already get short-shrift, and we know racial minority women get even shorter shrift, then one of the first things we may need to address is parity across women and then how we can make that parity across our culture. That means talking about the instituitionalized racism and being painfully honest about it.

Tina Lee asks for those with privilege to take accountability, stop making excuses and reach out to communities of color in an honest way:

Don’t get me wrong: it can’t be easy for anyone of privilege to own up to benefits that are conferred to them – automatically and systematically – because of their race or gender.  But if white progressives want to work with communities of color to build a strong, long-lasting movement for change, owning up to white privilege will go a long way in moving us toward a peaceful, socially just, economically prosperous, and post-racial America.  And if my white feminists sisters want to find me, I’ll be down the hall with those fighting for economic and environmental justice, education equity and immigrant rights, healthcare and fair labor practices. For in these spaces where folks still struggle for basic human rights, my feminist values are inherently embedded into the fabric of the movement.

Faith Dow says it simply:

If you really want to open this space you're going to have to do more than make a statement. You'll actually have to ENGAGE some non-white women.

And then there's me. I am going to share my opinion with a story.

One summer in high school, I went on a community service trip to Tijuana, Mexico. I spent two weeks paving cement playgrounds, visiting the elderly, learning about the border community and then finally staying in a migrant shelter. The hardest thing for me was coming back to the United States and asking myself: Why me? Why did I get to go home to a comfortable bed, a refrigerator, food on the table, a loving family and a nice home? I was in awe of how random and meaningless it all was - our existence, that is. I could have been born to anyone, anywhere, but there I was - white and privileged - and I had no idea what to do about it. I felt like I had learned more than I had given and what was the point of that?

I grew up wanting to be a writer and I knew that telling stories would be the way I could do something. It wouldn't be everything, but it would be something. I knew that as a writer I could ask questions and propose discussions - such as the one about race - and get a few answers. Not all of them, but some, and help progress the conversation that is so important for all of us to have.

At the end of the day, while race, age, class, sexual orientation and gender may divide us - the things that unify us, as women and as humans, are so much greater than that which separates us. Realizing that while we have many different perspectives, we are all on the same team and seek a similar goal: a loving, respectful, fair opportunity at fulfilling our human existence. We can try to put up physical borders between each other, but at the end of the day, we all share the same sky.

So thanks to all those who speak out here at Change.org and contribute to the conversation; you're not only fulfilling a life long dream for me, but also making the world a better, more understanding, kind place for us all.