Another day, another example of rapper T.I. coming way out of his mouth.

The most recent edition happened this past weekend when T.I. (a.k.a Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.) got on DJ Whoo Kid’s radio show The Whoolywood Shuffle. When asked about presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, this knucklehead declared that while he’s “not sexist,” he can’t vote for a woman president because women are too emotional.

“Just because every other position that exists, I think a woman could do well. But the president, it’s kind of like, I just know that women make rash decisions emotionally — they make very permanent, cemented decisions — and then later, it’s kind of like it didn’t happen or they didn’t mean for it to happen.”
He added,

The world ain’t ready yet…I think you might be able to get the Loch Ness Monster elected before you could [a woman]."

Kind of ironic coming from a man who has made a slew of rash decisions in his past and whose vote can't even be cast because he is a convicted felon...but I digress.

Well we all know that Twitter plays no games and as soon as the story broke, they snatched the edges right off Clifford’s scalp, which led him to backtrack and apologize via Twitter.

And it’s sad that in 2015 this archaic belief is not new or rare.

I wonder if T.I. recognizes that similar beliefs were said about President Obama when he was running for president. Many folks, especially poor whites, said they would rather vote against their interests than vote for a Black man because “n****s shouldn’t ever be leaders of the free world.” And here we are, almost eight years later, with this Black president being one of the most successful presidents of our generation.

So why can’t a woman do the same?

Now granted, I am not the biggest Clinton fan, perhaps because I am still salty about the racist campaign she ran against Obama back in the day — yes, I can hold a grudge — but in no way do I ever believe that she isn’t capable of doing this job and doing it well. Unlike Donald Trump, she has a rich history of holding public office as a senator of New York and the Secretary of State. She has a legacy of getting real stuff done, but that doesn’t stop folks from undermining her at every turn. (Think: Those damn emails.)

But it’s important to point out that T.I.'s old-fashioned beliefs transcend the realm of politics.

Whether it’s being the head of a country, a company, a film set, a lab and, in many Black women’s cases, a family, women are constantly told that their natural place in this world is to be standing behind a man, watching him lead. And like many of you, I too have experienced the combination of sexism and racism in the workplace and let me tell you, it’s incredibly disheartening. It makes you feel powerless and makes you question why you bother.

But we can’t let that stop us.

We as women, especially women of color, are capable of achieving whatever we want and no silly rapper and folks that think like him can change that. What they can do is stand in our way of succeeding by slamming doors in our face and pushing us out. And it won’t be easy, but never forget that we come from a rich history of women who are resilient, brave and don’t take “no” for an answer.

We got this.

The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of BET Networks.



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