The announcement of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid has filled many Democrats and feminists nationwide with overwhelming excitement, as it should. But if she’s elected, I hope this enthusiasm remains when it becomes unnecessarily difficult for her to succeed at her job — and it will.
As president, you automatically sign up to be the recipient of a great deal of ignorance. But as we have learned through Obama’s presidency, if you’re not a white man, you have to deal with triple the amount of ignorance.
Obama’s election gave many black Americans gave a sense of pride and hope for the future. That is the same feeling many women have knowing they may soon have a female president. President Obama’s election was thought to have broken a racial barrier, and there was hope that African Americans would finally be treated as equals.
But today, we have a black president who doesn’t receive the respect he deserves. Innocent black men are still being killed by law enforcement, the criminal justice system is still inherently unjust, and we are still continuously fighting for our alleged “God-given rights.”
We are in the same position we were in seven years ago. Yes, we have a black president, but he has also undoubtedly had to deal with undesired circumstances because of the color of his skin.
During Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the BBC, she said “There is a level of disrespect for the office that occurs. And that occurs, in some cases — and maybe even many cases — because he’s African American.”
When former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu was asked by NBC News’ Chuck Todd why President Obama was so unpopular in Louisiana, she answered, “I’ll be very, very honest with you. The South has not always been the friendliest place for African Americans.”
This is no secret. People can deny it a million times, but what Winfrey and Landrieu stated will always be in the back of people’s minds.
Obama has often experienced prejudice in his presidency, from being called the called the “Food Stamp President” to being yelled at and accused of being a liar by a Senator in front of Congress. Some people figured that level of disrespect would come with being a black president and others didn’t see it coming at all.
So, while it is great to possibly be able to make history two presidencies in a row with Clinton fighting for the chance to be our first woman president, feminists need to know this isn’t all it’s made out to be. Having a woman as the leader of the free world looks good, but it doesn’t mean that we’re one step closer to having the women’s work dollar equal the man’s.
She could be the perfect president, but it won’t matter because she’s a woman. Congress will treat her as if she were incompetent because she’s a woman, and an extremely influential person (ahem, Donald Trump) may even insult her by asking for her birth records and insulting her education.
Because of this, there is a chance Clinton won’t be able to accomplish many things that she has promised. Many times, this may be because of a Republican-controlled Congress that’s more interested in partisan politics and throwing tantrums on FOX News at the thought of possibly having a woman president than political action.
Even though they have given President Obama a rough time, I still haven’t lost hope. I still like to believe that one day a little black girl or boy will grow up and become president, and that they will receive the respect they deserve.
So if a woman is elected president and times start getting rough, which they will, don’t give up hope. Continue to fight for what you believe in. One day we will live in a world where we can have a black or female president and who will be equal to all of their white male predecessors.
Clarke Perkins is a 19-year-old political science freshman from New Orleans. You can reach her on Twitter @ClarkePerkins.