Condi

There are lots of people I admire, but two very different women stand out for me at the moment and have got me thinking.
First there is Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State. Its not so much her politics that I admire, in fact I think politically there are many others I'd listen to (think Barack Obama and company) first . No, what I admire is how much the woman has overcome, how many obstacles she has kicked down to get to where she is today, a world leader.
Condi was born in segregated Alabama, to parents who were determined to ensure that she would gain from her surroundings, rather than be limited and defined by them. Somehow they managed to raise her in a world where she would avoid the "blacks only" changing rooms in clothes store, they hid the 'whites only' drinking fountain from her view. She got French lessons and piano lessons and excelled academically.
At the same time, Condi's family have their critics. There are others in the community where Condi grew up who noted that the Rice family didn't engage as fully in the civil rights movement as some would have liked. That they concerned themselves with their own personal ambitions, rather than the need for justice for the whole community. And that as a result, Condi was raised in a blinkered world, protected from what life was really like for black people at that time.

So why do I rate her? Because frankly the girl couldn't win, but she did. What I mean is she pioneered a way into a predominately white male political world and is a major player. And even though some may consider her what people in my school called a "sell out", she's still a great role model for women of colour (I'm not using that term politically correctly, I just like its poetic sound). Why can't a black women play classical music and love it? Why can't she speak French? Why can't she be a Republican? Because she's Black?

(That said,when I was a kid I always thought Black Tories were a bit wierd. Like I'd think - have you forgotten Enoch Powell and the Rivers of Blood thing already ( I got into politics young, yes)? Black and Labour kind of went together like hand in glove. But times change...)

I like the fact that she doesn't fit comfortably into any box as such. That we don't have to see eye to eye politically to share a sisterhood. And I think for Condi to be where she is, out of the box like that, she must have had a lonely walk at times. I rate her 'cos I know its cost her a lot personally to be on her path, lots of misunderstandings, things people with never see.
Yet she lives her choices with poise and dignity. So yes, I like Condi.

We'll save the next woman of the hour for the next posting!