representation matters
-
Watch: This Is What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl in a White Ballet World
Isabella Soto has big dreams of becoming a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. “I saw The Nutcracker when I was 2 years old and I said I really want to do this,” said the 11-year-old. By age 5, Isabella had already realized there weren’t many dancers who looked like her in the world…
-
Why Is Society Intent on Erasing Black People in Fantasy and Sci-fi’s Imaginary Worlds?
Over the weekend I binge-watched 3%, a dystopian sci-fi Netflix original set in Brazil. The plot was rife with quirks and unexpected turns, but the biggest surprise of all was that the diversity in the show reflected the diversity in Brazil. The cast featured myriad shades and races, absent the stereotypical casting, such as the…
-
You Should Always Have Black People Around to Consult on Lotion (and on Pepsi, HBO, the New York Times … )
I don’t remember much from my collegiate graduation ceremony, but I do remember this highlight from our commencement speaker, the Oprah Winfrey: Growing up, my grandmother told me that if I worked really hard, I could find some good white people to work for. And I’m proud to say that today … I’ve got some…
-
Watch: The Power of Representation With Matthew A. Cherry, the Creator of ‘Hair Love’
Representation matters. We know this and still, representation is missing from the media we consume. For Matthew A. Cherry, seeing other black directors in action assured him that filmmaking was an attainable goal after he transitioned from the NFL. Now Cherry is making it his mission to normalize natural hair and black fatherhood in the…