Black women are, by and large, on the front lines of the political fight for democracy. Last year, we saw a record number of Black women serving in Congress and a record number of Black women serving at the state level in politics. There’s data that shows Black, brown and Indigenous women are in the trenches — as political activists, volunteers and everyday people — mobilizing Americans to get out and vote.

This week, Tonya Mosley talks with award-winning journalist and friend, Farai Chideya, who knows both personally and professionally why Black women show up each and every time. Chideya has a new radio show called “Our Body Politic” which unapologetically centers reporting on not just how women of color experience the major political events of today, but how they’re impacting those very issues.

Chideya calls women of color a “superdemographic.” What she means by that is, all women of color are people who can tip elections. “And as different as we are, we are all people who tend to get undervalued by the political system,” Chideya says. “Not hired as strategists, not given the advertising contracts to reach out to voters.” Because women of color are poorly marketed to and a misunderstood group compared to their political power, Chideya does not refer to the group as a “demographic” but rather a “superdemographic.”

Women of color are the secret sauce. We are the roux in the American gumbo. We are not just the parsley on the side of the plate. We are the base of the plate and we need to be understood as such. And, I would argue, Black women over the age of 70 are the secret, secret sauce.

Chideya believes that America is poorer intellectually and sociopolitically because the voices of Black and people of color have been excluded and censored. “We have to recognize that the act of truth-telling is an act of everyone bringing their gifts to the table and then fighting about how we write the first draft of history,” Chideya says. “It can’t be told by any one group or any one person.”

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Still, Chideya and Mosley recognize that there needs to be a fight for a shared truth in order for a society and democracy to be preserved. Chideya created the term “psychic privacy fence,” which refers to people only being surrounded by others that are like them. “How you live is not the only way to live,” Chideya says. “And if you don’t understand how other people live, you’re never gonna understand America.”

Chideya’s time as a journalist and political analyst made her aware that America was, in what she calls, a culture war. “People’s decision-making was not based on logic — it was based on cultural affiliations. I like to think of elections as this great pageant of national belonging. And in a country this divided, people choose what kind of political affiliation they belong to,” Chideya says. “They will follow that sense of belonging off the cliff of logic.” As a journalist, Chideya believes it’s important to understand this part of the story, and not just the literal truths — understanding why people feel they belong.

If we can understand why people’s hearts are motivating them to act in a certain way, we become more able as journalists to tell the story of America and the world. We become more able as people to have compassion.

During election season Chideya is usually out in the field reporting and feels more informed about the heart and soul of America. “I do feel a little disconnected from how different demographics of people are making choices. I miss it and also, I don’t miss it.” Chideya says she doesn’t miss the feeling of going to bed at night in a hotel room after a day where she was sometimes sexually harassed or racially harassed while out reporting. But, she does long for knowing what America is feeling. She has stayed in tune by spending time with elders. Chideya has many friends over the age of 90 — including her high school English teacher, Mrs. Louise Sims, who helped desegregate two different schools and has been married for 70 years. “It’s people like her who I look to to fill my soul, mind and heart. So if you don’t have any elders in your life, go make some friends who are elders. And if you’re an elder, find some people who are younger to befriend you. You are needed.”

In this pandemic, Chideya has been reflecting on the resentments her family has experienced due to racial injustice. “I’m actually processing a lot of stuff right now like I think a lot of people are, because I don’t want to live in resentment. I want to live in abundance and opportunity.” For Chideya, this process allows her to reflect on her own resentments so she can continue doing the work without the heaviness of the past on her back. What is bringing Chideya joy during these times is being able to spend more time with her family. She hopes to tape oral histories of her mother. “She has many adventures, including being in the Peace Corps in the early 60s in Morocco with her sassy female friends, riding their mopeds. You know, Black women and women of color have been having adventures forever.”

Episode transcript can be found here.

Episode Guests:
Farai Chideya (she/her), creator/host “Our Body Politic” and award-winning journalist.

Recommended Reading:
“What’s At Stake” series from Zora
“Women of Color: A Collective Powerhouse in the U.S. Electorate” report from The Center for American Progress
“‘We are living the issues’: record number of women of color run for Congress” from The Guardian
“Megan Thee Stallion: Why I Speak Up for Black Women” via New York Times op-ed
“How the Black Vote Became a Political Monolith” from The New York Times

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Recommended Listening:
“Our Body Politic” by Farai Chideya
“The Brown Girls Guide to Politics” podcast
“The Best Political Podcasts to Help You Navigate This, Ahem, Chaotic Election Season” from the Cosmopolitan

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