THE ELENA KAGEN DEBACLE
By Gigi

I knew it…I just knew it!! I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and here it is. Quietly, behind the scenes, a small (and growing) phalanx of Black female and male professionals, intellectuals and scholars are holding discussions, roundtables and even coffee klatches about Obama’s choice for Supreme Court justice to replace retiring John Paul Stevens. To the disappointment of many Black women, Elena Kagan is the latest white American to leapfrog in front of Black women for a chance to serve on the Supreme Court. It was made even more disheartening for those who felt that just several weeks after Dorothy Height’s death that it would be a perfect time for the nation’s first Black President to do what should have been done long ago and nominate a Black woman for the highest court in the land. But it would appear that there’s a lack of any real consideration for qualified Black woman or even another Black man as potential candidates. While many other communities are pushing hard for action from the White House (immigration, gay rights, health care and unemployment), Blacks feel that they have to be tentative, conciliatory or ‘wait’ because the Obama Administration will be guilty of race favoritism.

I will say this however; Black women are incredibly loyal, even when Black men do not return the favor. Obama is truly testing the loyalties of Black women in his choice of Kagan; they are feeling the sting yet again…of being invisible. President Obama should not take the loyalties of Black women for granted…society already does.