![]() Because no matter what you say, they will think you are perpetuating the stereotype. When you raise your hand in class, hesitate. Accept that they will never call you eloquent.ģ. Do not point out that etymology of articulate only relates to the smooth mechanics of your jaw. Ignore the compliment of how articulate you are. Grammar becomes so important when you’re always trying to prove yourself.Ģ. Say “thank you” when your parents correct you at the dinner table. Mash the words “me” and “I” and the differences between them. “Though no one would say that the ethnic makeup of every industry needs to reflect exactly the ethnic makeup of the population at large (African-Americans represent just over 13 percent of the United States population), and the American fashion industry is no less diverse than the British or French or Italian fashion industries (indeed, it may be more so), the lack of African-American representation in the New York establishment is striking for a number of reasons.įirst, the very vocal and active way the industry finds “inspiration” in African-American culture, from the music world (Rihanna was awarded the CFDA Fashion Icon prize last June, while Vogue named her the single biggest influence on the spring 2014 catwalks) to street culture second, the buying power of the African-American consumer, which Nielsen estimated will reach $1.3 trillion by 2017 and finally, the fact that it is a basic tenet of fashion in a global world that the more diverse points of view on a design team, the more broadly relevant and (probably) desirable the end product will be - and hence the more successful the brand.” Vanessa Friedman: Fashion’s Racial Divide | NYTġ. “Of the 260 shows on the men’s and women’s wear schedule, only three with any global reach are by African-American designers… This mirrors the percentage of African-American designers who are members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America: approximately 12 out of 470.” Your discomfort with black girls who rock tells me that you prefer the status quo: you prefer for black faces to remain hidden, you prefer for America’s heroes to have white faces, you prefer for black actresses to wear aprons and chains. What in your heart recoils when you see Black Girls Rock? What bone in your body sees empowerment for black girls and thinks “that’s not fair”? Where is your bitterness rooted? What do you think has been taken from you when women of color are uplifted?Īll of the things you take for granted are what you’re protecting when you shout down Black Girls Rock: your whiteness, the system that upholds your face as the supreme standard of beauty, your place in the center of a culture that demands people of color remain hidden in the margins, present but only barely and never overshadowing the white hero/heroine. You may have hair that curls up at the ends. Everything that you see every day that reaffirms your whiteness every commercial that has a nice white lady embodying the perfect “mom ” every magazine that has blue eyes and bone-straight hair every Hollywood blockbuster that has a leading lady with skin never darker than Halle Berry… all of these things are reinforcements of your identity that you take for granted. Many black girls go their entire lives thinking they are ugly, thinking they need to be lighter, straighter, whiter in order to have value. ![]() Black girls (and boys) are taught from birth that there is one version of beauty, and it is you. If you Google “beautiful people” the screen is covered in white faces. The Emmy Awards and Oscars are almost entirely you. 99 percent of magazine covers are covered in you. 99 percent of Hollywood movies feature your faces.
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