I must discuss Imus

Can you imagine being on a team and working hard all season and making it to the finals? All the work, sacrifice, and sweat. All the dedication to your studies and your team. All the pride at seeing women from different backgrounds, with differing dreams come together and work hard to achieve what most people will never achieve.

And then to have some has-been, shock-jock, who makes his living by being foul and offensive demean and dismiss every bit of that phenomenal achievement by dismissing you all as 'nappy-headed hoes'.

I am sure there are many who would quickly say that this is being blown out of proportion; that people are too sensitive these days. Many people think that race relations is no longer an issue in 2007. Well, here is yet another reality check. Surely, we really have not progressed at all. The tension is there, just barely beneath the surface--on a good day.

To some, the uproar shows how far race relations have come, said John Bunzel, senior research fellow at the Hoover Institution and an expert in civil rights and race relations.

"The outrage is a sign that people ... understand that language can hurt and, as each generation passes along to another, this kind of prejudice diminishes," he said.

Bunzel cited as evidence of improved race relations the uproar which followed comedian Michael Richards use of racial slurs and the support for Sen. Obama in his bid for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

Michael Dawson, a political science professor at The University of Chicago, disputed that view of race relations. His findings show most blacks think racial equality will not be achieved in the United States during their lifetimes, while most whites think it has been achieved or will be soon.

If this weren't such a sad state of affairs it might be funny. Don't get me wrong. I do not see racism everywhere I turn. It is not how I am wired. However I feel about people, race is not apart of it. However, I am not blind, and it is impossible for me to move through this world wrapped in beautiful skin that requires no tan without knowing, in my bones, when I am facing ugliness such as Don Imus'.

What is the big deal?

Who does not understand the power of words? Long after a physical wound has healed, the pain and echo of vicious words remain.

When I look at the young lady, who I believe is the Captain of the Rutgers' team, I see a beautiful, intelligent, articulate young woman who is only limited by her own fears. I see ebony skin, full lip. I see beauty. Not some homogenized version of beauty that is nearly absent of any racial identity. I see an African-American Woman; I recognize beauty in her. I would not paint her as a whore (hoe, ho). I do not see nappy hair as being a bad thing, but her hair is relaxed (straightened of it's natural curl). (As an aside, I wear dreadlocks. I am nappy headed. My hair is now better than 3/4 of the way down my back--the longest at the small of my back. I think my locks are gorgeous and sexy. Clearly, not every one's idea of beauty, but I walk in a ray of God's light that I believe is just for me.)

This is not just a 'black' issue. It is a feminist issue as well. Why is it OK to call these young ladies 'hoes/hos'? What gives anyone the right to demean them on the basis of their looks? On the basis of their sex. Did anyone call Kobe Bryant a nappy headed ho? Magic Johnson? But something about a black woman achieving, succeeding pulls venom out of people, and immediately she is painted with the brush of a whore. Condoleeza Rice is a great example. This brilliant woman has achieved tremendous and unparalleled success. Why paint her as G.W.'s concubine? To demean and disrespect. To erode her success and her self-respect.

I hope that eventually the Rutgers' team can chalk this up as a lesson learned, and march on with their heads held high. This is not for them to carry. This is for the likes of Don Imus to carry and clean up within themselves. Too many people think that it is OK for them to say exactly what is on their minds. Too bad they fed on ignorance and intolerance.

Condoleeza Rice

Condoleeza Rice, Born November 14, 1954, in Birmingham, Alabama, she earned her bachelor's degree in political science, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver in 1974.

Her master's from the University of Notre Dame in 1975; and her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981.

She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has been awarded honorary doctorates from Morehouse College in 1991, the University of Alabama in 1994, the University of Notre Dame in 1995, the National Defense University in 2002, the Mississippi College School of Law in 2003, the University of Louisville and Michigan State University in 2004, and Boston College in 2006. She resides in Washington, DC.

This brilliant, talented, accomplished woman should be someone revered and celebrated. I am in awe of her. It is hard enough to be qualified, black and female in any white male dominated field, but add the cutthroat world of Washington D.C. politics to the mix, and seeing an African-American woman with her clout is unprecedented.

In addition to being accomplished in academia, Dr. Rice is an accomplished concert pianist.

This woman is better educated and more accomplished than the President of the United States of America. I would rather my daughter be like Condoleeza Rice than anyone else I can think of.

She just rocks.

She is painted as a whore or concubine to The President.

She is afforded no more respect than any other African-American woman.

This is not about her politics.

Surely, it's not about the Administration for which she works.

This is about a woman who grew up in Bessemer Alabama and has more political power than any African-American woman has ever had.

So, why is it ok for her to be painted as The President's concubine, mistress, or his whore.

I didn't hear any whore comments about Colin Powell.

There are nasty tabloid stories and e-mails about Laura telling the President to break it off with her.

This brilliant woman is maligned, why?

Is she criticized more because she is African-American or because she is female?

Is she painted as a whore because she is a African-American female?

Absolutely.

I thought we were done with this, but you have to look no further than the tabloids to know that this battle rages on.

How long will it be before we are all valued? How long before women are seen for what we bring to the table, not what we could do under the table?

How long will it be before we are not objectified?

See how long it takes for someone to say something demeaning about her that would have never been said of Madeline Albright, Colin Powell, Alexander Haig, or Henry Kissinger.

What is it about African-American women that is so threatening?

Why do so many African-Americans have such an issue with her?

If a woman as intelligent, accomplished, and talented as Dr. Rice is reduced to concubine, we are all reduced.

No, it is not just because of G. W.

Imagine what the cartoons and headlines would have said if she was Secretary of State during the Clinton Administration. I can't even begin to imagine.

It saddens me to know that we have not progressed.