Dear America…Where do I Begin?

Dear America:

Despite your misinterpretation of who I am, I want to let you in on a secret  - across America there is an invisible brigade of talented women, of all shapes, sizes, colors and religion who are either always relegated to being depicted as caricatures or are ignored altogether. 

Somehow there is a silence on the issue. Why do we not challenge te corporations and “thought” leaders who are generatng misleading and harmful stereotypes that inevitably encourage young girls to behave in a certain manner that America has predetermined for them. 

For me personally I am sick of rolling my eyes when I hear ignorant statements about women, about race, about body identity, etc.

My Story 

I am an educated person who happens to be black, a woman and a first generation American. Unfortunately for the ignorant masses, I found my voice in between realizing:

• that despite being a wasteland of offensive programming, infomercials and video hos - BET will never be shut down
• that Don Imus was made into a victim for calling “me” a nappy headed ho with glee
• that the Sambo syndrome is increasing — those who shuck and jive for the camera are more likely to serve as main characters in ethnic shows. Paging Flavor Flav!  
• that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have been ordained as black popes and surrogate speakers for every black person, even though their motives and actions are so questionable and not in alignment with most people of color I know.
• that some rap non-artists can only rhyme about how many women they bend over, verbally rape and belittle with their weak and senseless lyrics; meanwhile the artists who use lyrics as powerful tools are relegated to the B-List.
• that some black women co-sign the caricature (why does anyone listen to Superhead?why is Flavor of Love on TV? why does King Magazine exist?)
• That women who look like rarely draw attention when they are victims of crimes. Although every crime is senseless - Natalie Holloway and Lacy Petersen are no more worthy of saturated media coverage than ANY other victim

I found my voice and I am going after everyone…this is not a black-white issue, a woman-man issue - it is a moral issue of which this country should be ashamed. There is no blame game, because we are at fault - myself included. People either perpetuate the myth or do not challenge the ignorance enough. Until now.

Your story may be different and we encourage you to share your thoughts and opinions with us - when did you find your voice? Additionally we will be settting up mass email blasts to send to the corporations who are behind the entities that are perpetuating false depictions of the forgotten person.  If millions of us can vote in elections, why can’t we signal our disgust for how we are portrayed on a daily basis?

 Please check out the site and contact us if ou have any questions.

 

There are so many layers to who I am …beyond being:

•  a “nappy headed ho” to Imus and his gang of enablers;
• a “bitch” to the crew of degenerate rappers who thrive of misogyny;
•  a neck snapping loud mouth as portrayed by all media (that includes you BET);
• an illiterate as shown on your evening news whenever a reporter needs an eyewitness (there never seems to be a coherent woman of color to give an opinion?!?!);
• a welfare mom; a druggie; a bad parent;
• as an ugly creature since top ethnic models are either veering towards the European Look or are veering towards the Jungles of Africa/ Native Look  

I wanted to take control and start speaking since there is such a huge disconnect between America and me. I am not naive. I do not expect to change minds or lobby for inclusion. My goal is to shine light for future generations of girls who will face the same experience as they get older.

This site is a support for all women who feel like they are being portrayed as second class citizens..