Tired Racist Tropes: Interrogating the Stereotypes and Controlling Images Black Women Face Daily

Black Women, Gendered Racism, Kamala Harris, Stereotypes, Controlling Images

Hate it or love it, but for the first time in the history of this country we have a Black woman at the top of the presidential ticket of a major political party. As a Black woman, my mind instantly becomes filled with images of Sally Hemings, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Fanny Lou Hamer, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and Ida B. Wells. I think about Shirley Chisholm, Zora Neale Hurston, and Easter Inez Roundtree Shepherd, who was my beautiful grandmother, along with countless other Black women who have been silenced and marginalized and I wonder what they would say in this moment.

Kamala Harris is Black. Kamala Harris is Indian. Both things can be true at the same time but let’s be clear, Kamala’s father was Black so by the very rules (official or unofficial) set forth by this country centuries ago, she is Black and as a Black woman in America she is subjected to the same tired racist tropes, stereotypes, and controlling images that Black women have faced since chattel slavery.

Nothing New Under the Sun

The founding ideology in this country is white supremacy. As such, Black women historically find themselves at the very bottom of the racial hierarchy with the steepest climb to the halls of power and in America, there is no greater position of power than that of the President. She has been accused of “sleeping her way to the top.” I could be wrong, but I do not remember any such accusations being lodged against Hillary Clinton, the first woman to be nominated for President by a major political party. Hillary had her own set of problems to deal with to be sure, but some Republicans are comfortable with opening up the original racist playbook and applying controlling images and stereotypes such as the Jezebel or sexually promiscuous Black woman to “explain” how Kamala Harris has risen to heights traditionally and purposefully reserved for white men.

What we are seeing on full display once again is gendered racism or the simultaneous experience of racial and gender oppression that Black women face based on their multiple marginalized identities (Black and female). Kamala Harris is no victim. Neither are the multitudes of Black women who strive daily in all arenas to embody Black excellence. The fact that some people need to apply these tired racist tropes, controlling images, and stereotypes says much more about them than it does about the Black women they target.

Consequences of Inaction

The problem is that Black women have suffered and continue to suffer as a result of this behavior. There is a plethora of research that examines how these stereotypes negatively impact the physical and mental wellbeing of Black women and the coping mechanisms they employ. My goal is to ensure that I call out this reprehensible behavior every time I see it! We must begin to hold folks accountable for their actions and dispense with the niceties. Entirely too much is at stake to allow the foolishness that is stereotypes and controlling images to color our perception of anyone but especially a Black woman like Kamala Harris who without a single doubt, definitely earned it (DEI)!

Until We Meet Again...

Thanks again for visiting the B.R.A.G Time Blog where we value everyone but prioritize ourselves because if we don't, who else will?! This has been Dr. Ebony L. Cole reminding you that "education is my passion, but educating my people is my purpose."

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Access the following resources for additional information about gendered racism, controlling images, and stereotypes.

1. Cole, E. L. (2024). Silenced and Marginalized: A Qualitative Study of Gendered Racial Microaggressions Among Black Female Graduate Students [Doctoral dissertation, Franklin University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center.https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=frank1711019428902495&disposition=inline

2. Collins, P. H. (2022). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. routledge.https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003245650/black-feminist-thought-30th-anniversary-edition-patricia-hill-collins

3. Jerald, M. C., Cole, E. R., Ward, L. M., & Avery, L. R. (2017). Controlling images: How awareness of group stereotypes affects Black women’s well-being. Journal of counseling psychology, 64(5), 487.https://psycnet.apa.org/manuscript/2017-46640-004.pdf

4. Lewis, J. A., Mendenhall, R., Harwood, S. A., & Browne Huntt, M. (2016). “Ain’t I a woman?” Perceived gendered racial microaggressions experienced by Black women. The Counseling Psychologist, 44(5), 758-780.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0011000016641193