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https://madamenoire.com/1167558/colorism-red-table-talk/
Source: Red Table Talk / Facebook Watch / Red Table Talk / Facebook Watch
The three women of “Red Table Talk,” tackled colorism within the Black community on the latest episode of the Facebook Watch show. Jada, Willow and Adrienne Banfield Norris (aka Gammy) discussed everything from skin tone, hair texture, bullying and bleaching in this episode, which featured Jada Pinkett Smith’s lifelong friend, Mia Pitts and her daughter Madison.
The episode opens with Willow, Jada and Gammy in the kitchen speaking about their personal experiences with colorism—even though the rest of the episode centered around dark skinned Black women specifically.
Jada said, “I remember having plenty of conversations with you and Aunt Karen about not revealing other heritage in my blood. It was like, ‘You’re Black and that’s it.’
Gammy: It wasn’t so much about not revealing. It was like, ‘Don’t get it twisted.’
Jada: Listen, Karen was like, ‘Don’t talk about It because it means absolutely nothing. You’re Black. Don’t let me hear you talkin’ bout you got this in your blood, you got that in your blood. It doesn’t matter you’re Black,”
Gammy: Back in the day, we would always hear Black people, ‘Oh I got Indian in me and all of this.’ Still not owning our own Blackness. And that’s just a result of all the brain washing that has happened over the years. That perpetuation of White supremacy.
Jada: Or lighter skin supremacy.
Willow: It’s true.
When they finally sat down at the table, they jumped right in.
Mia said that she realized there was a certain persona she adopted to cope with certain feelings she had about her skin complexion.
Mia: Listen, when I was getting myself together, I thought, ‘Oo this is kind of a plunging neckline here. But it’s also a part of a character I created, a part of my colorism issues that I had. Because I never considered myself beautiful I always would go to the other side of the spectrum of being sexy. That was one of the ways I could sell myself in another way, outside of my skin color. I think it was a camouflage not being told, from men primarily, that you’re beautiful.
Mia shared that her issues with colorism came to the forefront when she was a dancer in the NBA. And again when she had her daughter who was also dark skinned. She said in an attempt to shield Madison from some of the pain she experienced, she over compensated, complimenting her skin tone to the point where it could cause her to have a complex.
Unfortunately, Madison wasn’t able to avoid colorism.
Madison: Going to a predominately Black elementary school that was my first experience. I got bullied. One Black kid in particular, he would always say, ‘Your skin looks like poop.’ And call me Blackie. I remember running home to my mom of course, crying. ‘Why would he do that? Why would he say that?’ And that was my first introduction to it.
And when I transitioned to a predominately White school, I was scared because if I’m getting this from my own community, what am I going to get from this. And I didn’t have any issues. So that was really shocking to me.
When I liked Black boys, they never really liked me back.
Madison said Black guys would tell her outright that they didn’t date Black women. But when Madison began dating men of other races, she received backlash from Black men.
Madison: I’m like you guys don’t even like us anyway so what’s the point. It hurt of course. You have those little bit of feelings like, ‘I’m not good enough.’ Now, I’m dating Black guys again and now I’m getting that appreciation that I’ve always wanted. I don’t know what changed in their minds. Or it could be me, being more confident. That’s probably a factor.
Later, they had colorism expert, Chika Okoro speak about the history of colorism, including featurism and hair type.
Chika: We talk about the different tests we still see the aftermaths of. There was the brown paper bag test, where if you’re darker than a paper bag, you’re not in the club. There was the pencil test. They run a pencil through your hair, it can’t get stuck then you’re in the club.
Mia: I would have failed that.
Willow: Yeah, me too. That was one of the issues for me growing up was my hair. It was always a struggle. I was always looking. Even like my cousins and my friends. I would look at her and be like, ‘Oh my God, I would be so much prettier if my hair wasn’t so kinky or if I had longer hair. It would always be such an issue.
Gammy: The approximation to White is what is valued around the world. It’s global.
The most profound portion of the episode came when Stacey Summers, a woman of Haitian descent, spoke about bleaching her skin from the time she was eight years old until she was 25. She did so to counteract the bullying she suffered in school and to achieve what she thought would be a better life for herself.
But one day in a conversation with her now-husband something shifted.
Jada: What made you decide to stop?
Stacey: My husband. When I was engaged, I decided to show him my photo album when I was a younger girl, a baby. And he was like, ‘Wow, you are beautiful. You’re so gorgeous.’ Deep down in my heart, I was so sad. I’m like, ‘Eewww how can you call that girl in the picture beautiful?’ And he didn’t tell me to stop but because he found beauty in that girl, in my mind I’m like, ‘You know what I have to stop.’ There’s no way for me to treat myself this way if my husband loves me. He found beauty in this little chocolate muffin. I have to stop.
So when he left, I went to the bathroom and I cried. And I believe that’s when my deliverance happened. I went to church all my life but my deliverance didn’t happen at church, it happened in a bathroom. My one on one. I cried and I’m like, ‘God, how can I be in church and I’m so insecure. I have such low self esteem and I feel so depressed all the time?’ But that day, God literally removed that hurt inside of me.”
Hallelujah!
You can watch the full episode in the video below.
Source: Red Table Talk / Facebook Watch / Red Table Talk / Facebook Watch
The three women of “Red Table Talk,” tackled colorism within the Black community on the latest episode of the Facebook Watch show. Jada, Willow and Adrienne Banfield Norris (aka Gammy) discussed everything from skin tone, hair texture, bullying and bleaching in this episode, which featured Jada Pinkett Smith’s lifelong friend, Mia Pitts and her daughter Madison.
The episode opens with Willow, Jada and Gammy in the kitchen speaking about their personal experiences with colorism—even though the rest of the episode centered around dark skinned Black women specifically.
Jada said, “I remember having plenty of conversations with you and Aunt Karen about not revealing other heritage in my blood. It was like, ‘You’re Black and that’s it.’
Gammy: It wasn’t so much about not revealing. It was like, ‘Don’t get it twisted.’
Jada: Listen, Karen was like, ‘Don’t talk about It because it means absolutely nothing. You’re Black. Don’t let me hear you talkin’ bout you got this in your blood, you got that in your blood. It doesn’t matter you’re Black,”
Gammy: Back in the day, we would always hear Black people, ‘Oh I got Indian in me and all of this.’ Still not owning our own Blackness. And that’s just a result of all the brain washing that has happened over the years. That perpetuation of White supremacy.
Jada: Or lighter skin supremacy.
Willow: It’s true.
When they finally sat down at the table, they jumped right in.
Mia said that she realized there was a certain persona she adopted to cope with certain feelings she had about her skin complexion.
Mia: Listen, when I was getting myself together, I thought, ‘Oo this is kind of a plunging neckline here. But it’s also a part of a character I created, a part of my colorism issues that I had. Because I never considered myself beautiful I always would go to the other side of the spectrum of being sexy. That was one of the ways I could sell myself in another way, outside of my skin color. I think it was a camouflage not being told, from men primarily, that you’re beautiful.
Mia shared that her issues with colorism came to the forefront when she was a dancer in the NBA. And again when she had her daughter who was also dark skinned. She said in an attempt to shield Madison from some of the pain she experienced, she over compensated, complimenting her skin tone to the point where it could cause her to have a complex.
Unfortunately, Madison wasn’t able to avoid colorism.
Madison: Going to a predominately Black elementary school that was my first experience. I got bullied. One Black kid in particular, he would always say, ‘Your skin looks like poop.’ And call me Blackie. I remember running home to my mom of course, crying. ‘Why would he do that? Why would he say that?’ And that was my first introduction to it.
And when I transitioned to a predominately White school, I was scared because if I’m getting this from my own community, what am I going to get from this. And I didn’t have any issues. So that was really shocking to me.
When I liked Black boys, they never really liked me back.
Madison said Black guys would tell her outright that they didn’t date Black women. But when Madison began dating men of other races, she received backlash from Black men.
Madison: I’m like you guys don’t even like us anyway so what’s the point. It hurt of course. You have those little bit of feelings like, ‘I’m not good enough.’ Now, I’m dating Black guys again and now I’m getting that appreciation that I’ve always wanted. I don’t know what changed in their minds. Or it could be me, being more confident. That’s probably a factor.
Later, they had colorism expert, Chika Okoro speak about the history of colorism, including featurism and hair type.
Chika: We talk about the different tests we still see the aftermaths of. There was the brown paper bag test, where if you’re darker than a paper bag, you’re not in the club. There was the pencil test. They run a pencil through your hair, it can’t get stuck then you’re in the club.
Mia: I would have failed that.
Willow: Yeah, me too. That was one of the issues for me growing up was my hair. It was always a struggle. I was always looking. Even like my cousins and my friends. I would look at her and be like, ‘Oh my God, I would be so much prettier if my hair wasn’t so kinky or if I had longer hair. It would always be such an issue.
Gammy: The approximation to White is what is valued around the world. It’s global.
The most profound portion of the episode came when Stacey Summers, a woman of Haitian descent, spoke about bleaching her skin from the time she was eight years old until she was 25. She did so to counteract the bullying she suffered in school and to achieve what she thought would be a better life for herself.
But one day in a conversation with her now-husband something shifted.
Jada: What made you decide to stop?
Stacey: My husband. When I was engaged, I decided to show him my photo album when I was a younger girl, a baby. And he was like, ‘Wow, you are beautiful. You’re so gorgeous.’ Deep down in my heart, I was so sad. I’m like, ‘Eewww how can you call that girl in the picture beautiful?’ And he didn’t tell me to stop but because he found beauty in that girl, in my mind I’m like, ‘You know what I have to stop.’ There’s no way for me to treat myself this way if my husband loves me. He found beauty in this little chocolate muffin. I have to stop.
So when he left, I went to the bathroom and I cried. And I believe that’s when my deliverance happened. I went to church all my life but my deliverance didn’t happen at church, it happened in a bathroom. My one on one. I cried and I’m like, ‘God, how can I be in church and I’m so insecure. I have such low self esteem and I feel so depressed all the time?’ But that day, God literally removed that hurt inside of me.”
Hallelujah!
You can watch the full episode in the video below.
Written by: Tracee California
With the recent influx of adult cartoons, it’s not uncommon to see new efforts popping up everywhere.
These projects are recognizable by their characters’ humanistic style (despite the fact that they’re mostly animals) and their shameless vulgarity (as if to say adults only like crude and rude humor). It’s rare that you come across a more mature cartoon that is appropriate enough for the kids to accidentally walk in the room when it’s on without having to answer questions like, “Mommy, why is Bojack always falling over after drinking from that bottle?” (Huge Bojack Horseman fan here, but I digress.) Wouldn’t it be awesome for families to be able to sit down together and watch something everyone finds equally enjoyable? Well, Apple TV+ may be onto something with their latest offering.
Originally packaged for the Fox Broadcasting Company, Central Park was initially shelved until it was thankfully brought back to life by Apple TV+. The series is created by Bob’s Burgers executive producers Loren Bouchard and Nora Smith, alongside Josh Gad.
Central Park is a musical animated sitcom that centers on an enthusiastic park ranger, Owen Tillerman, voiced by Leslie Odom Jr., and his family, whose home happens to be on the fast-paced grounds of New York’s famed Central Park. Owen and his scoop-searching journalist wife Paige (Kathyrn Hahn) juggle their often adventurous careers, while balancing their emotional son Cole (Tittus Burgess) and his imaginative sister Molly (Kristen Bell).
When wealthy and villainess hotel heiress Bitsy Bradenham (Stanley Tucci) decides the perceived eyesore of a park would be more lucrative as condos, she hatches a plan to tear down the beloved grounds with the help of her assistant Helen (Daveed Diggs). Now, all she has to do is get past Owen and his family, who are determined to save the park from total destruction.
Josh Gad voices the unique character Birdie, a quirky yet knowledgeable vagabond who acts as both narrator and cultural savant to the park’s rich history.
Central Park is a refreshing shot of family-friendly funny, with a merry musical sidecar. Casting Stanley Tucci and Daveed Diggs, who hilariously lend their vocals to both female villain and assistant characters for a love/hate display of emotions, proves a great addition to the diverse and gender-bending cast. Leslie Odom Jr. beautifully channels awkward dad vibes, but still embodies sincere likability. Tituss Burgess gets absolutely everything right as the animal-loving, super-emotional son. Surprisingly, Cole may even be the most nuanced character, with his clear sense of self-awareness, naturally caring disposition, and constant efforts to unapologetically protect what is most precious to him. Then again, is there anything Tituss Burgess can’t do?
Kathryn Hahn brings quick-witted energy as wife, mom, and journalist. I enjoyed the narrative of a mother having it all and not being expected to sacrifice her career in order to act as a caregiver to her children. Not only does she have interests outside of her family, but her job is also equally as important as her husband’s. We love to see it!
When it comes to the Tillerman’s daughter Molly, I’m still processing the idea of Kristen Bell playing a biracial girl. Bell has always been the object of my fandom for making it possible for me to grow up in a world with Veronica Mars, but the decision to represent a character that is so far out of her possible understanding seems unnecessary. If one were to assume the thinking here was that since the character is both Black and white she could easily be played by either race, I’d have to issue a strong and hard pass on that ideology. This world has never seen a biracial person as anything other than Black, and for young girls to view this character realistically, the person voicing it would have to look like them. While I’ll always love seeing a creative young Black girl on-screen, especially one who is able to ignore the notion that kinky hair is bad, in order to consider her afro puffs to be her superpower, I can’t help but wonder why representation wasn’t more accurately achieved here.
Now, if we’re going to call attention to the issue of a white person voicing a Black character, it would only be right to bring light to the fact that some may take offense to two men voicing female characters. Casting both Tucci and Diggs removes the opportunity for two female actors to have otherwise played those roles, but what do we say to the many other accepted examples of the exact opposite? Both Bart Simpson and the Freeman brothers from The Boondocks were voiced by women, and the list absolutely goes on. It seems as though there has always been more leeway when swapping genders occurs in animation simply because the characters aren’t often seen as being representative of anything substantially realistic. However, when distinct realities of cultural differences, especially ones that are often mocked and ridiculed, become a stitch in the character’s fabric, it might be essential to provide a more authentic voice.
Despite what I now refer to as “The Bell Blunder,” I would be lying if I said I didn’t really enjoy watching the show. I did! It’s funny and the plot is well thought out. I loved seeing what each episode had in store for the Tillermans and how Bitsy was going to challenge them next. With regards to the characters, not only are they quite colorful and lively, they are interesting in their own right, and the musical aspect of the show makes it that much more entertaining.
Central Park premieres Friday, May 29, only on Apple TV+.
The post Review: ‘Central Park’ is a Refreshing Shot of Family-Friendly Funny appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.