Saturday Night Live is a perfect example of how the
world perceives African-American women. African-American women never
played a prominent role in society. Yes, of course, some of us are
moving forward and being accepted, yet, many of us are still moving
backwards.
African-American women have been expurgated from television, films, magazines and many other places. They have been degraded, stereotyped, restricted and used as sex objects viewed through the lens of slavery. Saturday Night Live has had only four black women cast members in the 38-year history of the show. Instead, they rather have a black man portray a black woman as we have seen with Flip Wilson and now Tyler Perry. In defending their choices, Kenan Thompson's stated, "Saturday Night Live has no black female cast members because qualified black female comedians just aren't out there." That is a sad excuse. Yes, we do have qualified black comediennes, but as always, our abilities are measured on the white man's standards. To quench the rage about lack of diversity, they bring in Kerry Washington, which sends the wrong message and still does not solve the problem. This move will never cover up the truth. They need to write and create roles for African- Americans and other people of color. Their definition of qualify takes me back to the Civil Rights Movement. The ugly head of racial segregation and discrimination is recurring again.
What qualify means in the white world is not same in the black world. In our world qualification means educated, gifted and ready to take a giant step ahead to make it. It is good that black women have alternative routes from cable to internet; however, we have to stand up, voice our concerns and show that we are black and proud. It is time to change the tone in this country, especially for African-American children who are confused and troubled from listening and seeing mix messages about their identity.
There are still prevailing questions to be answered. Are African-American women unattractive? Is our skin too black and rough and not like milk and honey? Is it because the texture of our hair that we have camouflaged for so many years with hair weaves and wigs to emulate the white woman in order to be accepted? Too long we have worn the mask. I am not trying to be derogatory but real. I no longer see a reflection in the mirror, I see the true me, free from within myself.
African-American women have been expurgated from television, films, magazines and many other places. They have been degraded, stereotyped, restricted and used as sex objects viewed through the lens of slavery. Saturday Night Live has had only four black women cast members in the 38-year history of the show. Instead, they rather have a black man portray a black woman as we have seen with Flip Wilson and now Tyler Perry. In defending their choices, Kenan Thompson's stated, "Saturday Night Live has no black female cast members because qualified black female comedians just aren't out there." That is a sad excuse. Yes, we do have qualified black comediennes, but as always, our abilities are measured on the white man's standards. To quench the rage about lack of diversity, they bring in Kerry Washington, which sends the wrong message and still does not solve the problem. This move will never cover up the truth. They need to write and create roles for African- Americans and other people of color. Their definition of qualify takes me back to the Civil Rights Movement. The ugly head of racial segregation and discrimination is recurring again.
What qualify means in the white world is not same in the black world. In our world qualification means educated, gifted and ready to take a giant step ahead to make it. It is good that black women have alternative routes from cable to internet; however, we have to stand up, voice our concerns and show that we are black and proud. It is time to change the tone in this country, especially for African-American children who are confused and troubled from listening and seeing mix messages about their identity.
There are still prevailing questions to be answered. Are African-American women unattractive? Is our skin too black and rough and not like milk and honey? Is it because the texture of our hair that we have camouflaged for so many years with hair weaves and wigs to emulate the white woman in order to be accepted? Too long we have worn the mask. I am not trying to be derogatory but real. I no longer see a reflection in the mirror, I see the true me, free from within myself.
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