Taking Care of Washington

In December of 2000, almost a decade before Barack Obama became the first AfricanAmerican president of the United States, igniting a barrage of "postrace America" discussions, George W Bush made history when he appointed Condoleezza Rice to the post of National Security Advisor for his incoming administration. Never before had an African American or a woman held the position; by holding it, Rice, who was both, became one of the most powerful people in world politics. In 2005 when Rice ascended to the position of secretary of state, again as the first black woman to hold the post, history was made once more. Furthermore, Rice joined the most diverse administration to that point in US history with more women and minority appointments than any previous administration. That these were all accomplishments of a staunchly conservative Republican was an irony lost on few. After all, according to Angela Dillard, the current conservative ideology in America rests on the belief that the entire genre of "pc-isms" is holding the country back and that "the way out of our present morass entails depoliticizing race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and to some extent, class in the public arena" (19). Although conservatives acknowledge that both racism and sexism were potent problems in the past, they hold firmly to the conviction that these troubles have been overcome. While more than willing to take credit for appointing both Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell to historic positions of power, according to Clarence Lusane, "George W Bush and those in his administration responsible for addressing issues of inclusion and bigotry embraced the position that except for a few individual cases and a few individual miscreants racism had been overcome" (2-3). Similarly, in terms specific to Rice, Lusane states, "the administration argues that like race, gender bias was not and is not a factor in how Rice is treated or engaged" (9). Rice herself, also agrees to this mantra, "contending that she has not only been accepted on relatively equal terms with her white male counterparts, but that discussion of gender bias degrades her achievements. She is unequivocal that she should be evaluated solely on her merits sans gender considerations" (Lusane 9). The notion of the meritocracy where all are judged solely on individual merit is the essence of the American Dream; it is a noble goal. Proclaiming its arrival is however, premature. While conservatives claim America has reached a state of race and gender transcendence, this article argues that the same old archetypes, in a slightly modernized fashion still reign. One of the most effective ways to discern these archetypes is through the study of mass media. As K. Sue Jewell has noted, "the mass media play an important role in maintaining a social hierarchy of discrimination as they are the chief vehicles by which ideology is transmitted through information and imagery" (ix). In addition, Patricia Hill Collins has stated that, "the media has generated class-specific images of Black women that help justify and shape the new racism of desegregated, color-blind America" (147). For both Jewel and Hill Collins, along with other contemporary race theorists, one of the reigning archetypal images in the mass media is that of the mammy. The original incarnation of the mammy as the asexual, subservient, ever-happy housemaid, who served because of her devotion and loyalty to, as well as her affection for, her white "family" is now widely understood as an attempt by white Southerners to justify the exploitation of slavery. However, as Micki McElya poignantly stated in her recent book on the subject, "romanticized narratives of slavery and black fidelity to white masters proliferated long after emancipation because they served a wide range of emotional, economic, and political needs for white and black Americans" (13), and, the following study suggests, they continue to proliferate for this same reason. Accordingly, this article explores how Condoleezza Rice was portrayed to the American public through mainstream mass publication news magazines, arguing that while she may wish to be judged only on her own merits, the story that is told of her through these publications is that of a modern-day mammy. …