As I turn through TV channels trying to find something decent to watch, I cannot help but think, “Not another angry black woman.”
Several broadcasting networks are brining in ratings by displaying a negative stereotype of African-American women. The sad thing about it is, black women are most entertained by this programming.
As African-Americans, you would think we would have reached a new era where we stop oppressing ourselves. Yes, our culture has made some progress. The natural hair movement is an excellent example of some form of liberation from years of self-hate. But just when we make the slightest bit of progress, it seems like we regress. If this negative image is how black women will be portrayed on TV, then I believe black women will be better off not being portrayed at all.
Trailblazers for black women like Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman and Mary McLeod Bethune would be disgusted to see the negative image of black women on television. Black women deserve, and must demand, positive programming.
Star Jones launched the Enough is Enough campaign after her appearance on “Celebrity Apprentice,” where she was bullied by NeNe Leakes. The campaign focuses on the positive attributes of black women opposed to chronicling the negative. When society gets to a point where it looks forward to seeing a 40-year-old woman get on TV and physically attack someone, we have a serious problem.
Young black women must realize that these personalities being displayed on TV is what the world will expect of them. But from walking around campus, you see many females trying to portray, and even look like, some of these people on TV.
I urge all black women to say enough is enough, and I urge reality TV shows to portray black women as the powerful, hardworking, beautiful and dignified women that they are.