Why Aren’t Notable White Women Journalists Publicly Supporting Their Black Counterparts?
By: Ezinne Ukoha
Tags: Journalism, Black Women, Media, White Feminism, Donald Trump

Abby Phillip, Yamiche Alcindor and April Ryan

Why Aren’t Notable White Women Journalists Publicly Supporting Their Black Counterparts?

Donald Trump verbally attacked WH correspondents April Ryan, Yamiche Alcindor and Abby Phillip

Remember that time when the woman who is paid to deliver packages of lies on behalf of her dishonorable boss, was forced to endure two minutes of public shaming at the White Correspondents’ Dinner that included the hilarious comparison to the villainous Aunt Lydia from The Handmaids Tale?

And then all hell broke loose in the close quarters of White feminism when the exceptional Michelle Wolf capped the brief skit with this:

“I actually really like Sarah. I think she’s very resourceful.” “She burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies. It’s probably lies.”

For reasons that still boggle the mind, the day after was met with rage and rallying support from prominent media personalities like Morning Joe’s Mika Brzezinski, New York Times staple Maggie Haberman, and Andrea Mitchell of NBC News, among others — who were inconsolably livid at the stinging insults that supposedly labeled Sarah Sanders as ugly.

It was quite obvious to those of us who had the pleasure of watching the sweet and dignified roasting of the witchy press secretary, that the jokes were regulated to her questionable character. It was also interesting to witness the comical way in which the dutiful White feminists outed their damning assessment of Sarah Sanders’ profile.

I’m resurrecting that tiresome episode to prove the unwavering loyalty that White women show each other without prejudice. I mean consider that months later, the president’s partner-in-crime has managed to endorse the nefarious activities of this toxic administration by joining the very un-American ritual of threatening the freedom of the press corps.

We can only wonder if the same women that spoke up for their “fallen” comrade, still feel justified by those actions after her recent snafu, that involved illegally circulating a doctored video, that contained evidence to back up the lies levied on banished CNN national political correspondent, Jim Acosta.

The very same day of Acosta’s ugly encounter with Trump, during the scheduled news conference at The White House following the midterm elections, two highly accomplished and well-respected reporters were also subjected to the ire of an out-of-control bully.

Veteran journalist April Ryan, also a political correspondent for CNN and former New York Times reporter, Yamiche Alcindor, who now covers The White House for the PBS Newshour, were each berated by Trump with villainous disdain.

Ryan tried and failed to get the president to answer her question about voter suppression, and was instead ordered to “sit down” while enduring the accusation that she had interrupted a fellow reporter.

But it didn’t end there. During another press conference, two days later, Trump inserted Ryan into his answer to a question about Acosta’s revoked access:

“The same thing with April Ryan, I watch her get up, I mean, you talk about somebody that’s a loser, she doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing.” “She gets publicity and then she gets a pay raise, or she gets a contract with — I think CNN — but she’s very nasty, and she shouldn’t be.”

Alcindor didn’t fare any better when she challenged the president about his admission that he’s a nationalist. She was immediately shut down and inexplicably called “a racist” by a White man who publicly defined the White supremacists that set Charlottesville ablaze — as “very fine people.”

Unfortunately the righteous torching of credentialed Black women journalists was extended to Abby D. Phillip, a CNN White House correspondent, who has displayed a level of professionalism and diligence that consistently exceeds expectations.

Phillip presented the president with the opportunity to confirm or deny the swirling rumors about his questionable choice of an alleged scammer as acting attorney general, and how most are convinced that it’s a strategic move against special counsel, Robert Mueller.

Trump unleashed a gallon of triteness on a lovely young Black woman, who didn’t deserve to be punished for daring to fulfill her obligations as a highly capable reporter; asking the questions that expose the cowardice of a charged up gangster.

“What a stupid question that is.” “What a stupid question. But I watch you a lot, you ask a lot of stupid questions.”

This isn’t the first or last time that Trump will demean a Black woman for simply being too smart and less bothered by his laughable tantrums, that make him look even more pathetic than he already is — if that’s remotely possible.

And while these Black women were able to flawlessly rise above the bullshit without getting stained, there’s still the infamy of not only accommodating the new normal of a relentlessly hostile working environment, courtesy of a brutish wannabe dictator, but also the societally volatile climate that is defaulted to their racial makeup.

It’s the typical double-whammy scenario that afflicts Black women, and somehow, we still manage to carry the heavy burden without allowing the weight to run us into the ground. We make it look so easy because of the effortless balancing, and the graciousness that assists our ability to be the cheerleaders we need when the going gets tough.

But in the midst of this firestorm is the nagging absence of notable White women journalists who seem to be loudly silent at a time when their allyship would mean a great deal.

When president Trump produced another one of his signature tweets, laced with insults that were aimed at his former Apprentice, Omarosa Manigault-Newman, where he referred to her as “a lowlife” and a “dog,” the response was minimal at best, as the woman America loves to hate was forced to defend her honor — all by her lonesome.

But what was quite compelling, was the energetic push back from White women pundits who overwhelmed mainstream media outlets with monologues that further demonized the Black woman, who simply couldn’t be trusted; based on her years-long affiliation with the big, bad wolf — coupled with her traitorous stint as his service “dog.”

Months earlier, the unbiased support for a White woman who is undeniably way more gutless than the Black woman, who defiantly stood up to the White man, who is the bona fide hero of globally-activated White supremacists — erupted into the movement that bonded the validity of White feminism.

Yet, when Black women are under attack from a legit source that threatens to undermine their civil rights, and the freedom they inherited, that allows for the respectability of their duties to be honored accordingly — the same White women that defended Sarah Sanders are nowhere to be found.

It seems the only time that White women are reliably vocal when it comes to their Black counterparts is when they have nothing good to say. It’s easier when it’s a replicant of Omarosa, with all the layered complexities that shape into the “angry Black woman,” with the rough exterior that can take the blows.

But when the scenes feature Black women who are armed with the grace and dignity that elevates built-in armor of uncanny intelligence and worldliness, it’s much harder for White women in their industry, to show ample support in ways that endearingly resonate.

There will come a time when seeking White women allies will cease to be a natural tendency for Black women, because it has become a pointless endeavor to imagine that Maggie Haberman or Rachel Maddow would compose personalized tweets — honoring ALL the three Black women reporters, who were unfairly harassed in broad daylight by a White president — who enjoys demeaning Black women.

But in the meantime, we can’t resist the urge to point out the obvious; just for the hell of it.