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Thank you, Misty Copeland and Dana Nichols
Ballerina Misty Copeland spoke up regarding the practice of blackface/brownface in her profession. Please read her powerful thoughts, as well as a first person testimony from dancer Dana Nichols, who tells a compelling real life experience of being dressed in blackface for a performance.
It takes courage to speak up in a society where the concerns of minorities are sometimes ignored, laughed at, or challenged as being overly sensitive. I commend both these brave women.
Here’s Misty Copeland’s response to this continued practice:
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5zGh5cjbmI/
While Misty Copeland is getting support for speaking out she’s also getting some very ugly, racist responses that condone this “tradition.” Check out an example of the responses (many in Russian) on her Facebook page:
Here’s dancer Dana Nichol’s first person account in Dance Magazine:
“I must have been the only dark-skinned person to have been in a Mariinsky production. The women in charge weren’t sure what to do with me. I saw the white dancers around me covering themselves in the brown paint and distinctly remember being at a loss for words because it was so bizarre. It was especially the red lipstick traced around the mouth that disturbed me. I remember looking down at the paints and trying to figure out what they had to do with me. All I could manage to say was, “Do I need this?”
I became that thing in the room that no one had ever had to confront.”
https://www.dancemagazine.com/black-face-in-ballet-2641581121.html?rebelltitem=6#rebelltitem6
Damn. While I’ve never been through this kind of experience, I’ve had my share of uncomfortable and cringe worthy life dramas. Most of them had to do with being a female and a female of color.
Speaking up always contains a risk. But not speaking up can also weigh heavily, even years later. Again, I thank them both, and all others who decide to question or challenge harmful “traditions.”
CNN has an article on the response to Misty Copeland’s Instagram post:
“After legendary ballerina Misty Copeland called out the Bolshoi Theatre for its use of blackface in performances, the theatre told Russian state-run media that it would continue the practice despite the criticism. . . ”
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/misty-copeland-bolshoi-theater-trnd-style/index.html
I can only hope that conversation continues regarding this hurtful practice. I’m not naive to think it will completely stop. But this could be a teachable moment.
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Making History: Black Beauty Queens 2019
“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me, with my kind of skin and my kind of hair is never considered to be beautiful and I think that it is time that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.” -Zozibini Tunzi
**UPDATE**
On December 14th, Toni Ann Singh was crowned MISS WORLD 2019. Miss Singh is a 23 year old black woman who also holds the title of Miss Jamaica 2019:
Miss America, Miss Teen USA and Miss USA Are All Black Women for the First Time By
May 5, 2019
Despite a long history of segregation and racism, America’s top pageants have broken racial barriers in recent decades. Vanessa Williams became the first black woman to win the Miss America title in 1984. Carole Gist won Miss USA in 1990. Janel Bishop won Miss Teen USA in 1991.
Each competition has had multiple black winners since.
Last week, for the first time, black women wore the crowns of all three major pageants simultaneously.
Cheslie Kryst, 28, won the Miss USA contest, and Kaliegh Garris, 18, won Miss Teen USA. They joined Nia Franklin, 25, who was crowned as the 2019 Miss America in September.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/05/style/miss-teen-usa-america-black.html
ESSENCE Video shoot and interview:
CBS interview:
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Tall Story
They’re called “bigs” on a basketball team, and my upcoming ebook features college sweethearts who play NCAA ball.
Yul Sukari (I decided to change his first name from Yohan) and Rhea Chappelle are the bigs on their respective male and female squads.
Also featured:
New promo for my books/website: