by Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington
[SOUTH FLORIDA] – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey on March 7th unleashed a firestorm discussion on race and prejudice in Britain that engulfed the Royal Family, America and the world. The idea that the Duchess, a bi-racial American woman was welcomed into the Royal Family and the positive impact her mere presence meant to the bastion of imperialism was thrown out after the Duchess and Prince Harry bared their souls to the world.
The Plight of Black Women
The turning point in the fairytale, as told by Meghan was the fact that the media portrayed her as the aggressor in a disagreement surrounding her wedding between herself and her sister-in-law Princess Kate, when in fact she was the victim; but no one in the Family came to her defense. What triggered a lot of people – black women in particular – is the fact that Meghan was left out to dry in public by her white aggressor.
Black women have to deal the with the double conundrum that the intersectionality of their gender and their race presents. This intersectionality often puts us at odds with white women.
Black female Facebook groups replete with examples of white women taking advantage of their privilege of race at the expense of black women – particularly at work – quickly dispelled the idea that a white woman would step up to protect or defend a black woman because they are both women. The natural allyship that one would think does and should exist is a fallacy. White women infrequently use their privilege to help black women; and this goes back to the suffragist movement – but that is for another discussion.
Interview Fallout
The ripple effect of the Oprah CBS interview found its way on to the CBS daytime talk show The Talk where white British host Sharon Osbourne was put out by the entire interview and the subsequent fall out to her friend Piers Morgan. TV host Morgan walked off the set of Good Morning Britain after he was called out for saying that he did not believe one word the Duchess had to say.
As in many instances when black people try to have uncomfortable conversations about race with their white counterparts, the white person flips the switch and suddenly becomes the victim. Osbourne was disrespectful, confrontational, and belligerent with her black co-host Sheryl Underwood. As Sheryl became visible emotional, Osbourne challenged her and told her “…don’t try and cry, if anyone should be crying it should be me”. Excuse me?
White Fragility
Osbourne’s behavior and Morgan storming off the set of his live show are classic examples of “white fragility”. Definition – discomfort and defensiveness on the part of a white person when confronted by information about racial inequality and injustice. The fragility was furthered by Osbourne’s claims that she was “blindsided” by her cohosts and the show. Although she was clearly the aggressor, she nevertheless succeeded in using her privilege. As a result, it caused the entire show to be placed on hiatus. This means people are out of work because a white woman lost her temper when she was asked to defend her white male friend who made racist and incentive remarks about a mixed-race woman.
Many remarked at how calm Sheryl Underwood remained during the exchange. But, we who are black women are always aware of the “angry black woman” label. This label that is so readily earmarked for us when we are justifiably outraged. This label causes us too often to be either silent or muted in the face of racism or discussions thereof.
Capitol Hill Insurgents
As if the Oprah interview was not enough for the month of March, we saw a United States Senator Ron Johnson R-WI say on camera that he was not worried about the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill insurgents because they were patriots who love this country and would do nothing to break the law, (mind you they stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to prevent a legal procedure from taking place). But, had they been Black Lives Matter or Antifa protestors, well then – horse of a different color and he would have been concerned. Of course, Senator Johnson said that there was nothing racist in his remarks and stood by them without apology.
Attack on Asians
Since first going public about the COVID-19 virus, the Former President made the frequent connection between China for the virus. He ridiculed and mocked the virus by giving it Asian slang names that clearly indicate Asian people are to be blamed. At the same time we saw a 150 percent increase in violence against the Asian population in America in 2020. On March 16th, a white male allegedly attacked people at three different Asian owned spas in the Atlanta area. Resulting in killing eight people, six of whom are Asian women.
As of the writing of this article 48 hours later, I had to search to find the names of 2 of the Asian victims and have yet to see a photograph of one of the Asian women or heard their personal stories. This was a targeted massacre of Asian people. The spokesman for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s office where several people were murdered by the gunman said the shooter had a “bad day”. As a result this is what he did. While there is outrage over the Sheriff’s remarks. And, the clear sympathy he extended towards the shooter who had other excuses for why he killed eight people. I am still waiting for the story about the lives of the six Asian women who were killed and hate crime charges.
Living In Fear
This shooting not only reveals hatred towards the Asian community. But it also shows how vulnerable some amongst us really are. The murdered women are likely recent immigrants. Two of whom it is reported were living in the facilities where they worked. The Asian community is living in fear. Therefore we must all join in calling out Asian hate and racism against all marginalized communities. We need to be each other’s allies. In addition, recognize as James Baldwin wrote in a letter to Angela Davis in 1970, “If they take you in the morning, they will come for us that night.”
Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq. is a Jamaican-American attorney who practices Immigration law in the United States; and Family, Criminal & International law in Florida. She is a Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, Mediator and Former Special Magistrate & Hearing Officer in Broward County, Florida. [email protected]
