So last night I was just sitting on my couch minding my own business, watching the Black Girls Rock Awards on BET. Like most other bloggers I shared my thoughts about the show with my Facebook friends. I believe so strongly in the movement of Black Girls Rocks because as an African American women I know the struggle in the media is real. Not too soon after I posted a comment about Mara Brock Akil’s speech I receive a question it went something like this “What about white, brown, tan, yellow, and albino girls? Don’t they rock too?” I quickly responded yes of course they do! I really wanted to respond with a long essay explaining why the show is necessary to all of the people who do not understand #BlackGirlsRock and take offense to it.
Ameena Matthews #BlackGirlsRock Honoree
Olivia Cole of Huffington Post (who happens to be Caucasian) took the words right out of my mouth. Let the church say AMEN to “Why I’m Not Here for #WhiteGirlsRock”
The Black Girls Rock! Foundation was founded in 2006 as an organization dedicated to the empowerment of young women of color; a foundation committed to helping black and brown girls overcome the myriad of obstacles a misogynoiristic society places squarely in front of them. The Black Girls Rock! Awards are now featured on BET as a way of recognizing role models, encouraging teachings of self worth, and emphasizing the talents of extraordinary women of color who are otherwise unseen in American media.
Let me emphasize that last part. “Women of color who are otherwise unseen in American media.” We need Black Girls Rock! because black girls and women are almost invisible in American media. Because if you were a black girl growing up in this country, watching TV and movies and reading magazines like every other kid, looking for some representation of yourself as something beautiful or heroic, you would be sorely disappointed.
- Black Girls Rock! is necessary because when you Google “beautiful women,” this is what you see.
- Because when you look at the covers of Vogue, this is what you see.
- Because when Vanity Fair printed their Hollywood issue, they put the black actresses on the back cover.
- Because when a dark-skinned woman is put on the cover of a magazine, this is what is done to her.
- Because Pixar has never made a movie featuring a black cartoon character.
- Because a black actress has never won a drama series Lead Actress Emmy. (Although Kerry Washington will change that, I am certain.)
- Because in 39 years, only three black women have been part of the cast of SNL.
- Because, until Scandal, the only real place you could find black women in leading roles on television was The Real Housewives of _______.
- Because the “first black Disney Princess” was a frog for 95 percent of the movie.
Read the entire article here
