The cost to be Black, Female, Powerful and Fierce: a sad goodbye to Desiree Rogers

Yesterday, I was informed (via theybf - don't judge) of the resignation of Social Secretary Desiree' Rogers. A woman, who if you visit me at work her one page photo (from Essence mag) is posted directly to my right at my desk, to serve as a reminder of my goals and where I can go with Obama-type hope and God-based faith. This so-called "resignation" raised many eyebrows to whether this was really in-fact a resignation or more a forced to resign-hateration.

This evening, I came across an article I found to be extremely enlightening that speaks to how she was viewed by many of her peers and it really proves that no matter where you go, no matter what position, or what accomplishments,,, haters will hate!

Quoted from an article in the Washington Post-
According to one person with whom Rogers shared her grievances and who would only speak anonymously to divulge details of a sensitive topic, Rogers complained that the White House's effort not to antagonize the Secret Service led to the White House making an example of her. (The Secret Service director publicly took the blame and the White House declined to make Rogers available to the House committee.) According to the friend, Rogers said she felt the knives in the White House were out for her. 

There are conflicting accounts of how long Rogers's departure has been in the works and whose idea it was for her to leave. According to one administration official, who was granted anonymity to talk about private deliberations, the decision to remove Rogers had been made by Christmastime, as a direct result of the disastrous state dinner, which Tareq and Michaele Salahi and another fame-seeking uninvited guest attended. 

The official expressed admiration for Rogers's work ethic, but said her eagerness for media exposure and taste for haute couture did not sit well with some administration officials who were mindful of appearances during dire economic times. (Trading in her Mercedes for a made-in-the-U.S.A. Buick, apparently, wasn't enough.) During the holiday season, Rogers assumed a lower profile by personally greeting guests at parties in a demure black suit.
"Once the state dinner deal went down," the administration official said, "people who had other political agendas started micromanaging every part of her business." 

And so, it seems as if Ms. Rogers' love for fashion, style and fierceness was looked down upon within the walls of the white house, now housing black residents. It's amazing that the judgment towards someone, no matter how hard or how extensive of a resume one has, that their (in this case - her) interest in clothes would even play a minute role in any of this. Not everyone can wear J. Crew everyday (No offense to Michelle - I'm just saying).

This really saddens my heart and brings a big chunk of reality back into my world. A world in which  has been upholding a fantasy due to one miraculous and overdue outcome for the most racist country in the world. I am rooting for Ms. Rogers, I know wherever she ends up she will STILL be fierce and will still be able to back it up all the way! It's just very hard to know more and more of the truth when the truth is more subconsciously controlled than realized.

For full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/26/AR2010022606141.html

And just in case you were wondering... here's the new Social Secretary... Julianna Smoot

 

OOO WHAT A SURPRISE! Well, if boring was what they wanted, they succeeded. Looks pretty blah to me!  #fail