New Black Woman

Georgia lawmakers set to re-affirm conservative values

Posted on November 18, 2011 by New Black Woman

It looks like Georgia is following the lead in some respects of Florida.

Legislation has been filed for the Georgia General Assembly to consider requiring “In God We Trust” to appear on all Georgia licenses plates and to require families applying for federal assistance to submit drug tests before receiving benefits.

The drug-test mandate would apply to anyone applying for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The program provides temporary financial help to low-income families with children who cannot meet basic needs. The federal government provides grants to individual states to run the program.

State Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, sponsored the bill and has said state taxpayers should not have to subsidize “drug addiction” among the program’s applicants.

Separately, the call to a higher power — at least among vehicle owners — follows a kerfuffle last spring. The state was forced to re-do a public contest to pick a new license plate design after the Revenue Department’s website showed entries with the “In God We Trust” motto, without making clear it was not a permanent part of each design.

Motorists can already purchase a sticker with the motto for $1. The sticker can be placed over the usual county name decal Georgia license plates currently sport. Sen. Bill Heath, R-Bremen, filed the proposal to reverse that order. He proposed the motto would be the default on any license plates manufactured after July 1 but motorists could buy a county decal sticker to cover it if they wanted.

According to Atlanta Progressive News, H.B. 668 has the backing of State Reps. Alex Atwood, Charlice Byrd, Penny Houston, and Paulette Rakestraw-Braddock, and Wendell Willard while S.B. 292 has been supported by Sens. Buddy Carter, Steve Gooch, William Ligon, Chip Rogers, and David Shafer.

From APN:

The press release issued by the Georgia House, dated November 10, says the legislation would only affect TANF. However, in the Media Advisory meeting, Sen. Albers said the Senate version would require TANF as well as Medicaid recipients to get a mandatory drug test in order to receive benefits.

The Georgia Department of Human Service would conduct the drug tests. The applicant would pay for the urine analysis, but would be reimbursed by the State if the test proved negative.

Under the proposed HB 668, any TANF applicant who fails the drug test will be ineligible for TANF benefits for one month after their first positive result. If an applicant fails the drug test for a second time, that person will be ineligible for the benefit for three months. Any person failing the test three or more times will become ineligible for TANF benefits for three years, unless the applicant successfully completes an approved substance abuse treatment program at their own expense, which will reduce the ineligibility period to one year.

Think it can’t get any more offensive that this?

Well, Georgia Public Broadcasting is reporting a personhood bill is in the works, despite the resounding defeat Mississippi voters gave its referendum last week.

Sen. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, and Rep. Rick Crawford, D-Cedartown, have both supported similar legislation previously declaring that life begins at fertilization and seeking to ban abortion.

Loudermilk said he is looking at re-introducing the bill with modified language omitting references to fertilization and cloning — words that proved problematic in the failed Mississippi ballot issue.

Crawford said despite being a member of the minority party in the state, he shares the conservative views of his constituents. He says the amendment is “an invitation to discussion” on the issue of abortion and being pro-life.

Crawford to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jim Galloway his reasoning behind working on rolling back women’s rights.

“I’m from rural Georgia,” he said. “I have to be well in step, and people have to trust me to represent their interests. It’s not a surprise to anyone that I’m pro-life. This is a discussion that is appropriate for us to have.”

An excerpt from Crawford’s H.R. 212, cleverly titled the Sanctity of Human Life Act:

the life of each human being begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, irrespective of sex, health, function or disability, defect, stage of biological development, or condition of dependency, at which time every human being shall have all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood

Glad to see my good ol’ state of Georgia pick up where Mississippi and Florida has ~~failed~~ left off.

I can’t be surprised, though. Georgia is led by social, pro-life conservatives who believe it’s in the best interest of the state to drain education and other agencies in the hopes to fill a budget gap. They also believe it’s in the best interest of the state to bog down the four-month long legislative session with bills that won’t further the welfare and health of the state.

Part of me would like to believe that Georgia Democrats and Republicans will rise up against the nonsense of approving a personhood amendment for voters to consider. Part of me would like to believe that Georgia politicians would disregard these attempts to create a sideshow with legislation aimed at the state’s poor and women voters instead of tackling larger issues such as transportation, a longstanding water battle with Alabama and Florida, a rising childhood obesity crisis, among other things.

Unfortunately, Georgia Republicans have proven themselves to all too willing to advance their causes at the expense of the women, minorities and the poor. Unfortunately, many of our Republican politicians are facing re-election in November and their efforts to pander to the far-right Republican wing of the party won’t come as a surprise.

Posted in abortion rights, evangelical Christians, Georgia General Assembly, Georgia politics, politics, women's rights | Leave a comment

Tyrese puts independent women on notice

Posted on November 15, 2011 by New Black Woman

You know this independent kick many women are on nowadays? That trend will lead you to being alone. At least that’s Tyrese’s thinking. The R&B singer, who’s been struggling to win over black female fans, sat down with Necole Bitchie and gave his two cents on independent women and love

An excerpt from the article linked above:

I want to say to all the women out there, especially black women in particular, y’all are on this independent kick. “I don’t need no man, I’m independent.” I want y’all to know the difference. There is a very big difference. Independence in the eyes of a man is when we say we want an independent woman; we don’t want a woman that’s [depending on] her sexy and nice body to help her get through life. You don’t wanna work, you don’t want to go to college or school, you’re not inspired to do anything on any level to try and help further yourself on any level. You just want to be sexy and free-load….nobody wants that as a man.

Then some women are so on this independent kick they end up alone. You’re going to independent your way into loneliness. You go off and buy all the little poodles you want. “At least my dog is happy to see me when I get home everyday.” That dog or “rabbit” will never be able to replace what a real man can do for you. So stay independent, get your own, but nobody wants to be alone period. I know it’s a lot of men out here that are playing on both sides of the fence, it’s confusing, and it’s a lot of homosexuality going on out here. I get it, it’s a lot of frustration that women have. [But] there’s a lot of man’s man still left; We’re out here, we’re waiting, we’re wanting, we desire you just like you desire us. Just don’t give up on us…”Stay.” That’s my ‘Open Invitation’. Give [us] a shot at your heart.

For those who haven’t run to the toilet to vomit after watching the video, I can’t say I’m surprised that we have yet another man using an opportunity to criticize black women and put our singlehood on notice. It’s yet another chapter in the ongoing debate about what’s wrong black women and why we are single, depressed, alone and sans children.

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Posted in black men, black women, marriage, Tyrese | 1 Comment

Personhood USA dubs its campaign the “new Civil Rights Movement”

Posted on November 14, 2011 by New Black Woman

What is about the Civil Rights Movement and black Americans’ struggle for equality and first class citizenship that makes privileged bodies believe they can inaccurately appropriate to publicize their cause?

Personhood USA, the organization behind the failed attempt in Mississippi to declare a zygote a human, is obviously not deterred by the resounding rejection of their warped ideology. The organization released a video on Friday, outlining their objective in working to obtain full personhood status to zygotes and fetuses.

The video includes images of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and declares its fight as the “new Civil Rights Movement” of the 21st century. To add fuel to their misappropriation, Bryan Longworth, the head of Personhood USA’s Florida chapter, gave an interview to the Florida Independent explaining its revamped campaign:

“[Mississippi] definitely made more progress than any other state in the past,” says Longworth. “We’re not deterred by this loss. We’re following the William Wilberforce pattern. He didn’t win the first time, didn’t win the second time, the third time … but he kept trying.”

Longworth’s reference to Wilberforce (the leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade) is one of many allusions to slavery that anti-abortion activists often make. Longworth has no doubt that abortion, like slavery, will one day be outlawed.

“Abortion is an abhorrent practice involving the dismemberment of the bodies of pre-born children,” he says. “One day, we’re going to look back at abortion in a worse light than slavery. Abortion will end. Every time we present this case, we’re moving closer to ending it. It’s just a matter of when.”

Appropriation of the Civil Rights Movement and black Americans’ fight to be treated like human beings is nothing new. Some factions of the GLBTQ movement and even some women feel the need to compare their plight with that of the systemic racial and ethnic discrimination people of color face each day.

While many of these appropriation aren’t intended to offend people of color, they often are insults as the appropriation often minimizes and erases our experiences and replace their perspective as the one of authority. This superficial attempt at solidarity is offensive because the said appropriation typically trivializes how people of color continuously have to navigate and negotiate racism and oppression.

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Posted in abortion rights, anti-choice, Personhood USA, politics, race baiting, racism, white privilege, women's rights | Leave a comment

I was a victim of sexual harassment

Posted on November 12, 2011 by New Black Woman

This is one memory I’ve tried to forget. It was one that I haven’t talked about in nearly 10 years. But the conversation surrounding Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain and sexual harassment in the work place has forced me to share my experience in the hopes to convince the doubters and naysayers will try to understand the other side of the coin.

In one of my first jobs, I was a victim of sexual harassment.

The job situation was temporary. It was on an Army base and I was part of a program that gives college students an opportunity to work in short-term positions during the summer before they return to school. My job was only for two weeks and I was the receptionist at a fitness center on the Army base. The fitness center was administered by an older gentleman who was in his 60s and another gentleman who was in his 40s. Both were nice, friendly and eager to help me settle into my short stint as a receptionist. It was my job to greet patrons, answer phones and page people over the PA system if needed. As an 18-year-old, it was a pretty simple gig. Not to mention to smile and look friendly, a common tip many black women receive when they are put in public settings.

The gentleman in his 40s was nice. I learned he had three daughters, one of which was a little older than I was and had flunked out of college. He felt the need to tell me he hadn’t had sex with a woman in five years. I remember feeling slightly awkward when he told me that and looking back, that should have raised a slew of red flags. However, at 18, I was so ready to leave for the two-week period to be over, so I didn’t complain or say anything in return. Just nod and smile and be polite, I told myself.

The situation quickly grew more uncomfortable for me, and soon took a turn for the worst.

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Posted in Herman Cain, politics, sexual harassment, women | Leave a comment

Mississippi voters did the right–and wrong–thing

Posted on November 9, 2011 by New Black Woman

The notion that zygotes are human beings was resoundingly rejected by Mississippi voters last night. And this pro-choice activist couldn’t be happier. Amendment 26 was rejected by 58 percent of voters in Mississippi, a state that’s overwhelmingly conservative.

The vote to reject the amendment is a victory for those who value a woman’s right to seek an abortion, to use birth control and to avoid unfair and unjust invasion of the government to investigate a possible miscarriage.

The measure is a victory to the pro-choice movement as they have been fighting back-door attempts to overturn bypass the rights granted to women under the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

Unfortunately, voters stuck to their conservative roots and approved a measure that would require voters to present a state-issued photo identification if they wish to vote in elections and elected Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant to succeed Gov. Haley Barbour.

Despite the two steps forward, one step back shuffle, there was a milestone made in Mississippi during the election season. The Democratic challenger, Hattiesburg, Miss. Mayor Johnny Dupree in the bid for the governorship was the state’s first black candidate to have been nominated for governor in the state since the Reconstruction era.

While the news of the voter ID law and Republican governorship victories were unsettling, but not surprising, I am glad to see the state reject anti-choice ploys and attempts to revoke a woman’s right to seek an abortion in the state of Mississippi. I’m proud to see the state reject the right-wing extremist propaganda that fertilized eggs are humans and are entitled to the same rights as the woman in which they reside. I’m relieved to see voters affirm their support and value of women–the real person in this debate–and not fall victim to the brainwashing, misinformation and emotional tactics used by anti-choice activists to push their reactionary agenda.

Mississippi’s rejection of the personhood amendment is a win for its women.