Ladies' Home Journal and Essence Magazines Join Forces

Posted on February 10, 1998

With a shockingly honest dialogue about what divides Black and White women and what can be done to bring them closer, Ladies Home Journal and Essence magazines have joined forces in their March 1998 issues to present a special report on race relations, entitled "Black and White Women: What Still Divides Us." The article, which will be published simultaneously in both magazines, reveals that thirty years after so many Black and White women marched together to promote harmony between the races, it appears that their lives are still distinctly separate -- and sometimes even hostile. At the heart of the issue is how Blacks and Whites perceive each other, often through a prism of race.

The report is based on a roundtable discussion convened by the two magazines last fall. Serving as moderator of the group was Greer Dawson Wilson, president of a diversity consulting and training firm in Charlottesville, Virginia. She was joined by three Black and three White women, ranging in age from twenty-nine to fifty-seven, for an all-day session that was "at times raucous, at times painful, but always provocative," as the article notes. The women came from various professional backgrounds, from a freelance writer to a director of campus activities for a college to a grievance coordinator at a correctional facility.

One of the first questions asked of the women was what comes to mind when they think of a White woman or a Black woman. The Black women in the group said they think of a White woman as "intelligent, manipulative, privileged." And when asked the same questions about a Black woman, the White women responded "strong, determined, attitude." Most important to the Black women was for White women to realize -- and accept -- that they automatically have privilege and power because they are White.

As one woman put it at the end of the session, "I finally got it when I understood the privilege issue. What it means to be White is that I never have to think about being White. But every day a Black person has race in his or her face." What often accompanies these perceptions, unfortunately, is anger. This hostility, and the lack of communication about these issues, is a crucial element of what continues to drive a wedge between Black and White women. The group was encouraged to voice their frustrations and give examples.

Moderator Greer Wilson reminded the panel that "change always starts with one person saying something to another person." Through this simple task, there can be an opening of minds and a birth of new respect.