‘Angry Black woman’. Sound familiar!

Racism works in many ways, but one of the most pernicious is the character assassination that destroys any logical argument you might have by suggesting that you; ‘Have a chip on shoulder’, ‘You hate whitey’, ‘You are a angry Black man’ or, as what has transpired in the USA, those around the White House are suggesting that the First Lady, Michelle Obama is an ‘Angry Black Woman’.

Lets put aside for a second that actually she might be entitled to be angry as she feels impotent to effectively tackle America’s race divide. No, here the label, ‘angry Black woman’ is a wicked one because it says, ‘we don’t have to listen, or deal with you because you’re unreasonable, so we’ll just dismiss you. Bye!’

After being slurred by a book that is doing the rounds in Washington describing the First lady has someone who is meddling and caused the removal of the President’s Chief of Staff, Michelle Obama hit back saying;

‘I guess it's more interesting to imagine this conflicted situation here and a strong woman. But that's been an image that people have tried to paint of me since the day Barack announced [he would run for president] - that I'm some angry black woman,’

Most Black woman are aware of this pernicious attack. It has reared its head here very recently, in particular the deluge of attack that Diane Abbott was subject to described as ‘white hating, angry Black woman’ because she highlighted a historic and in part actual fact today when she tweeted albeit clumsy about ‘white divide and rule’.

We also recently witnessed the two reality show contestants Misha B –X Factor- and Joanna Riley from the Apprentice both hounded and shockingly and wrongly accused of being ‘bullies’ and ‘Angry Black women’.

Sadly, fact is even when you sit in the highest political office in the world you are not immune from the crudest and cruellest ways to bring you down.

Thank heavens the First Lady Michelle Obama is a strong Black woman.

Simon Woolley