Should I Shoot For The Stars?

It is not a secret nor does it come as a surprise that black women are underrepresented, and that when they are shown, they are overwhelmingly misrepresented. All three articles we read highlighted that race and hollywood need to confront one another and are in desperate need of engaging in an honest conversation. I was most impacted by the following quotes from the articles. Nichole Perkins wrote "The film industry's racial bias often means that it takes black actresses a longer time to achieve the same milestones as their white counterparts, even when they have the same or more experience." Joy Horowitz wrote that Ms.Whitfield commented "I've got to make sure my displeasure with the industry doesn't dishearten me. It's just a love of the craft that keeps you from turning into a horrible banshee." Lastly, Arienne Thomspon wrote " 'This conversation is an old conversation', says actress/choreographer/producer/director Debbie Allen. 'Unfortunately, we just keeping having (it) over and over and over. It's like raising a child that doesn't listen... We have to keep going over it." All of these articles are written at least 4 years a part of one another and the oldest was published in 1991. It is 2018, and still the articles emphasize the need for black actresses to play leading roles or to at least get a platform. More opportunities have opened up and yest still they are still amazingly underrepresented. It does not matter if you're good enough or if you are better, because of something so trivial like being black and a women, you will fall short in Hollywood.

What hope does that give young black girls like me to be in Hollywood? Growing up, I rarely saw a black girl that looked like me on tv and consequently I did not have someone on tv to aspire to be. When I internalized that, it diminished and restricted my drive and goals, respectively. What hope does that give me to pursue being a legislator and to major in Public Policy and Administration? Women rarely have a seat at the table but a black women is almost unheard of. But times are changing and I hope that when the opportunity comes I'll be fully confident and able to shoot for the stars, without falling short.