White Girl — Black Girl
Lineage of glass ceiling breakers
A poem from Rumbles from the Grinder series
They said to the white girl
‘Your appearance is your wealth
Treasure your lovely shape
Enhance your perfect features
Be what they want you to be
And the rich men will be yours.
As for the others, well… Settle!
Some of them did not listen
Emmeline, Evaline, Thérèse
Jeannette, Claire, Frances
Now, they say
Flaunt the paper that confirms
That you can think fast
That you can think right
As well as your delicious shape
And the world will be yours.
As for the others, well… Cheat!
Some of them have not listened
Hattie, Janet, Elizabeth
Nancy, Hillary, Ruth
They said to the black girl
Be strong, be enticing, be clean
Endure, breed, and bathe
You can’t be pretty, wealthy
But you can be dignified
And your kitchen will be yours
As for the others, well… Bend!
Some of them refused to listen
Harriet, Sojourner, Rosa
Mary, Frances, Ida
Now, they say
Let your fire be used
For the pleasure of the penis
Flaunt your body, twerk, contort
Nourish the fantasy of men
And the world will be yours
Some of them haven’t listened
Maxine, Michelle, Kamala
Sonia, Stacey, Tarana
They said to the white actress
Show the body that confirms
That you follow the rules
Of beauty and thinness
Accept that it will be used
Endure, close your eyes,
And fame will be yours
As for the others, well… Vanish!
Some of them would not listen
Rose, Ashley, Selma
Megyn, Summer, Alyssa
They said to the black artist
‘Be small, be little, be obedient
Accept to do what they tell you
Chew on your words
Make your images polite
Make your notes gentle
And something will come your way
Some of them would not listen
Toni, Jessye, Aretha
Beyonce, Cardi, Amanda
Now, when they say
‘Nourish your flame
Let the passion spread
Fill the world with your fire
You can be the womb and the word
The fire and the release.
Now, I’m here to listen
Tell me about your fire, girls.
Tell me about your strength.
I need you.
I need all of you.
Let us be utterly us
Under us
Over us
Uter-US
Right, Debra?
Emmeline Goulden Pankhurst (1858–1928), British political activist and suffragette. She was a crucial element in achieving women’s suffrage in England
Evaline Hilda Burkitt (1876–1955), British suffragette and activist. First suffragette to be forced-fed in Holloway Prison between 1090 and 1914
Thérèse Casgrain (1896–1981), Canadian reformer, politician and Senator. First to lead a political party in Canada and the first woman Senator in the Canadian Parliament in 1970. She questioned the policy of using napalm in Vietnam and defended the rights of indigenous women
Jeanette Pickering Rankin (1880–1973), US representative and women rights advocate. The first woman to hold federal office in the House of representatives in 1916
Claire Kirland-Casgrain (1924–2016), Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician. The first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec in 1961, the first woman appointed a Cabinet minister in Quebec in 1962, the first woman appointed acting premier, and the first woman judge to serve in the Quebec Provincial Court
Frances Dana Barker Gage (1808–1884), US suffragette and abolitionist
Hattie Caraway (1878–1950), US American politician. The first woman to serve a full term in the US Senate
Janet Yellen (1946- ), US economist, first female chair of the Federal Reserve, and first female US Secretary of Treasury
Elizabeth Ann Warren (1949- ) US politician, first female US Senator from Massachusetts
Nancy Pelosi (1940- ), US politician, first-ever female Speaker of the House of Representatives
Hillary Rodham Clinton (1947- ), US politician, diplomat, lawyer, writer. Second female US Secretary of State and first female nominee for US President by a major political party
Ruth Bader Ginsberg (1933–2020), US lawyer and jurist. First Jewish US Supreme Justice
Harriet ‘’Moses’’ Tubman (c.1822–1913), US African-American abolitionist, suffragette, and political activist. The first woman to lead an armed expedition during the Civil War, she guided a raid that liberated more than 700 enslaved people
Sojourner Truth (1797–1883), US African-American abolitionist, suffragette, and author
Rosa Parks (1913–2005), US African-American activist. In 1955, her refusal to sit in the ‘colored’ section on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama sparked the civil movement
Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823–1893), US African-American suffragette. The first woman newspaper publisher in North America and one of the first Black female law graduates in the United States in 1883
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911), US African-American suffragette, poet, novelist, essayist, and orator
Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862–1931), US African-American suffragette and journalist, co-founded the first African-American suffrage organization
Maxine Waters (1938- ) US African-American politician. US representative of California
Michelle Obama (1964- ) US African-American attorney and author. First African-American First Lady of the United States
Kamala Devi Harris (1964- ) US African-American politician and attorney. First African-American, first Asian-American, and first female Vice-President of the United States
Sonia Sotomayor (1954- ), US attorney and judge. First Hispanic and Latina Supreme Justice of the United States in 2009
Stacey Yvonne Abrams (1973- ) US politician, lawyer, author, and voting rights activist. Founder of Fair Fight Action, an organization that addresses voter suppression. Her efforts boosted voter turnout in Georgia, which contributed to Joe Biden’s victory and delivered the Senate to the Democrats in 2020. She was the first African-American woman to deliver a response to the 2019 State of the Union address
Tarana Burke (1973- ) US activist. Founder of the #Metoo movement in 2007
Rose Mc Gowan (1973- ), US actress and activist. One of the first accuser in the Weinstein judicial case and ‘silence breaker’ who inflamed the #Metoo movement
Ashley Judd (1968- ), US actress and activist. One of the first accuser in the Weinstein judicial case and ‘silence breaker’ who inflamed the #Metoo movement
Selma Blair (1972- ), US actress. One of the 200 women who accused film director James Toback of sexual harassment and assault
Megyn Kelly (1970- ), US Lawyer and journalist. After being harassed and assaulted by Fox News’s founder Roger Ailes, she reported it and eventually came out publicly about the harassment occurring daily in Fox News
Summer Zervos (1977- ), US businesswoman. A former contestant in The Apprentice, she is one of the 26 women who have accused Donald J. Trump of sexual assault
Alyssa Milano (1972- ), US actress, producer, singer, author, and activist. On October 15, 2017, she posted the message which re-launched the #Metoo movement created by Tarana Burke in 2007 and brought awareness to the sexual crimes occurring in the film industry
Toni Morrison (1931–2019), US novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor. First black woman to receive a Nobel prize in 1993 (literature)
Jessye Mae Norman (1945–2019), US soprano and recitalist. The most celebrated African-American opera singer of all times, she received 5 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Medal of Arts, the Légion d’honneur in France, and was made a member of the British Royal Academy of Music. She represented the United States and sang La Marseillaise under the Arch of Triumph in Paris in 1987 at the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution
Aretha Louise Franklin (1942–2018), US singer, songwriter, actress pianist, and civil rights activist. Baptized ‘The Queen of Soul’, she is considered one of the 10 greatest artists of all time.
Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter (1981- ), US songwriter, actress, director, humanitarian and record producer. She won 28 Grammy Awards, the most for any woman in the industry
Cardi B (1992- ), US rapper, songwriter, and actress. One of the most influential female rappers of all times
Amanda Gorman (1998- ), US poet and activist. First National Youth Poet Laureate. In 2021, she delivered her poem The Hill we Climb at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden
Debra Anne Haaland (1960- ), US politician and member of the Laguna Pueblo Nation. Along with Sharice Davis of the Ho-Chunk nation, she was one of the first two Native American women elected to the United States Congress in 2018. She is the first Native American woman to serve as a Cabinet secretary (Interior). She was sworn in on March 16th, 2021
