A year ago my dear friend Chris read out loud most of a book called “The Help” I say most because we did not get to the last 3 pages or so because he left where we were and flew home and by then we were so disappointed by the ending simply because it fell short. I am not by nature a jump on the “race “ band wagon woman, in fact could be accused of being insensitive to the horrific scenarios my race has endured because I have been cradled in the lap of Hollywood or was , not now. So when I was watching The telly and Lawrence o Donnell featured Melissa Perry Harris a professor at Tulane giving her 2 cents of critique on the movie;
her critique was negative and yet her views were spot on…she expressed the pain I felt inside my heart when I realized that yet again Hollywood will make a movie where women of color are maids who service the white woman stars both for the story and for us to remember where we came from. She mentioned the lynching, the rape and degradation…you see one cannot say those things enough…the lynching, the rape and the degradation. All of it fresh like it happened NOW. We who are of color know and will always know that those times were the darkest point in our history forever so back the f#*K up from it Hollywood! I love you Professor Perry Harris you are exactly what I aspire to be and know, keep me honest! It is never a cute era…I cannot watch Mad Men because my people, I could not vote…so, why even journey back there. It is a wound I admit and I admit it is VERY, very raw, still.
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1 comment:
Wow...great stuff. When I was in grade school in the med to late 70's I did not say the pledge of allegiance because I felt the words did not apply to me. "one nation under god" and liberty for justice for all". Nor a sang the national anthem, but a gladly sing the "Black Anthem - Left Every Voice and Sing." My teacher respected my choices.... Inviting a different point of view to the film and Hollywood way of keeping African American in our place is eye-opening.
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