A couple of weeks ago, a resurfaced clip from the show, Signed, was trending. To whoever resurfaced the clip. Thank you, because we live in a world where everything needs to be documented, for us to have these conversations. The new season of Basketball Wives has also been tackling the issue of colorism within the cast. The elephant in the room is Colorism. Did anybody else read the play Color Struck by Zora Neale Hurston in undergrad! Exactly! It is still happening and a long running issue within our community. All black women should be able to celebrate their whole selves in pure admiration. We cannot because we have been placed in a world that wants to continuously judge us by our skin color at every turn. While also holding us to these high beauty standards of a thin waist and massive booty.
According to Google, Colorism is prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group. Make it, make sense, please. You did read that correctly, in the same ethnic or racial group.
When I saw the visuals and heard the song for “Brown Skin Girl,” It was powerful. It was about uplifting women to their highest potential despite what this world has told you. It featured these iconic black women who were pioneers for looking the way they do in the industry they were in. These were women like Naomi Campbell, Kelly Rowland, and Lupita Nyong’o. I am going to say something a little controversial, but I was initially the Kelly Rowland fan. She was and still is flawless. We are not going to sit here and pretend that over and over again that a certain type was not just forced on us. Again, did we not all see Dream Girls. I am a huge Beyonce fan now of how much she has done for our community, including her music. I loved the group itself and will always love talented black women coming together. Another reminder of why the 90s was a special decade. Look at the female R&B groups that had every shade represented majority of the time. I said majority and not always. The one with the pipes sung lead. Period! 702 was one of my favorite groups. It was about talent. This was an era that emphasized messages of encouragement and the dire need to show positive images.
We will not sit here and act like seeing Brandy as Cinderella was not an iconic moment for brown skin little girls worldwide. Cinderella will always be my favorite princess because of Brandy. The work that these greats have put in over the years. Brandy was a household name and did not even get her shine for being the “First” Black Disney Princess. We would not get that type of shine until 2009, with Princess and the Frog. That is not even the kicker; Whitney Houston was the one determined to make this happen. Yes, the late great Whitney Houston. In an article on Shondaland.com, because, of course, she had to be involved with this history being made in some way!
The article originally published in 2017, references on how the production came together.
“Remaking “Cinderella” had been on Houston’s mind for years; long before any footage was shot before glass slippers were fitted before anyone thought that Cinderella could have micro braids. Houston and her co-producers knew how important it was for each modern generation to have their own “Cinderella” — and for many young black girls growing up in the 90s, Brandy was ours.”
And she still is, dang it. I love watching television and movies. Until watching Sylvie’s Choice for the third time,I never really understood why. What lessons or joys in life came from watching your favorite show or movie? The black creative community is a powerful one and not to be taken lightly. We inspire people with words like Brandy. We can shake a nation with our words like Amanda Gorman. We need to help elevate each other in the right places. Imagine the boundaries that would have been broken if Brandy were given a chance; she deserved to be on the big screen like all the other princesses before her. A box office hit around the world.
What always resonated with me was the images that we have had on the screens over the years. We definitely have come a long way but there is still work to be done. Kemp Power’s Soul just received the Golden Globe for Best Animated Motion Picture! This man was Pixar’s first Black writer- director. I love Disney and they trying to make up for lost time. Our stories are finally being told full circle again. The stories that inspire us, uplight us and do not only profit on black trauma. It is always going to be some mess, but we are still human.
As I reflect back on my favorite shows. How many times this occurs without being addressed in some way its just weird to me. Our most memorable shows and characters. We have to refer to some as the original Aunt Viv, the original Claire and the original Derwin Davis. The original Derwin Davis, is what really showed me that we do this to men as well. Another reason, Aldis Hodge, is another black man, I will be rooting for this year. It has been past his time. Shows can replace actors to find a better fit but being blind to image that may portray. Think about how these images even if not intended to be constantly stress the belief of colorism and acceptable beauty standards.
Life imitates Art. At that exact moment that meeting in that hotel room happened, my dad was 10 years old in New York. Can you imagine watching that at 10 years old in 1954? Can you imagine having the biggest moment in your life and having to have that conversation. There was no Gatorade thrown on him. He got a bigger target on his back.
According to Oh My Disney, in 1997, Hercules, Air Bud, George of the Jungle, Rocket Man, Flubber, Mr. Magoo, That Darn Cat, and Jungle 2 Jungle were released.
We do not do ourselves any favors when we ignore the issue this then discredits why Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella with Brandy was so iconic. Brandy was Disney’s First Black Princess, but that is not celebrated like the others around that time. This was not even in the theatres. There is no way in hell that anyone that was making decisions in that room would not have let that movie be a major production. The history that movie could have made and the profit for all involved. They all should have been let go after the ratings came in if you ask me.
We are stopping progress on something based on a standard that was never created by us in the first place. Let us appreciate and celebrate people for all the melanin goodness they are. In 2021, we want talent. We want art. We want to make history. Tell the stories that are not being told. When songs come out and clips like this resurface, its just another constant reminder how we let external factors affect us the most. We got to do better. This is why celebrating things such as the first black bachelor is not something to be celebrating. It took 19 years from the first episode to get. Instead of celebrating. Let us question why it took so long in the first place.
The show, Signed, itself was a great idea. Again, another platform that was created to give us an opportunity. That clip is another reminder to some darker skin person, despite the talent that you were given and have taken the time to perfect. It still may not be good enough. That is what is not okay.
Taking African American Literature in college was the best thing I could have did. It made me really appreciate and love my black community so much more. Read that again. Appreciate and love my community. As I get older, I just really ask myself, when are we going to stop having these same conversations while also contributing to the problem. Like the amazing, Issa Rae, I am truly rooting for everyone black.
Image Credit: https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/a13138172/brandy-whitney-houston-oral-history-cinderella/
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