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The Problem of "Settling"
By Edward P. Wimberly
Among African-American women there is a
popular concept called "settling." Settling occurs
when a woman lowers her expectations of a man in order to secure
male companionship. The objective is to find intimate
companionship. Many African-American women indicate that
settling is one of the most self-destructive behaviors in which
women can engage. Some conclude that women are better off
remaining alone than settling for less than they deserve.
One of the bets explanations of settling
comes from the work of Renita Weems, an African-American
biblical scholar at Vanderbilt University, in her book
I Asked
for Intimacy. Her work on the Leah Syndrome seems to capture
what I have learned from African-American women counselees about
the impact on them of a lack of integrity. Leah, described in
the twenty-ninth chapter of the book of Genesis, is a
woman who waited around for a man who did not want her. For
Weems, the Leah Syndrome is about women who love too much, who
conspire against themselves, who use their sexuality to snare
men they would be better off without, who get into relationships
that destroy them, and who "settle" when they could do
better.
She does not see these women as victims; she
sees them as relationship addicts. Relationship addicts are
those who tie their self-esteem to others rather than find it
within themselves and in their relationship with God. Such
women, she says, settle for any kind of relationship when no
relationship at all might be better for their self-esteem.
There is an analogy between the Leah Syndrome
and the political behavior of many African Americans. This
analogy fits the problems we see with our president and the
African Americans who "settle" for leaders who cannot,
in their private and public behavior, meet or expectations.
Settling, then, is hazardous to the political well-being of
African Americans. We would be better off without such leaders.
African Americans are working overtime . . . . Are those who are
critical of settling correct?
As African Americans, and certainly as
voters, we are being taken for granted. Settling reinforces our
low self-esteem and drives us deeper into dependency upon others
for our survival. our future should be based on integrity and
the pursuit of wholeness in every facet of life, not on the
results of a political election. we should not be reduced to
being political junkies looking for a fix in the promises of
those who seek to manipulate and misuse our votes.
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Theologically, African-American Christians
have always trusted in the righteousness of God -- a God who
always keeps promises even when God's timing of fulfillment
differs from our own. We also see Jesus as a righteous
man, a person of integrity whom we should emulate. Would it be
too much to expect that the preacher/politician who constantly
appeals to religious values would not only espouse these values
but also attempt to live them out in private and in public?
Those of us who comprise the church in the African-American
experience need to upgrade our standards and expectations for
those who seek our vote. God wants more for us than empty
promises. Source: "African-American Pastoral Theology as Public
Theology: The Crisis of Private and Public in the White House." in
Judgment
Day at the White House: A Critical Declaration Exploring Moral Issues
and the political Use and Abuse of Religion (p. 91-98;1999), edited
by Gabriel Fackre.
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Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
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The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
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Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
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George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
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Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
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January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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