There are stories, and then, there is “her-story”—specifically, stories that can truly only be told by, about, and for women. Nevertheless, creating the space, platforms and support for female stories, voices and perspectives remains a challenge for creators, particularly in Hollywood.
A new research poll revealed that most Americans oppose having the U.S. government pay reparations to the descendants of slaves.
READ MORE: Poll reveals most Americans oppose cash reparations for slavery
The research was conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The survey says that a mere 29% of Americans are in agreement that the government should foot the bill for cash reparations, the NY Post reports.
Reparations has been a hot topic of debate in the Democratic presidential primary. Previously, several 2020 candidates, including Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), vowed that they would sign a bill forming a reparation study commission into law if they become president.
Among the results, it was revealed that there was a split among races in supporting the measure.
For instance, 74% of Black Americans favor reparations. In contrast only 15% of white Americans support it. Some 44% of Hispanics are in favor.
On the subject of whether the U.S. government should apologize for its role in slavery, respondents were divided. According to the report:
64% of white Americans oppose an apology.
77% of Black Americans and 64% of Hispanics approve of a government apology.
46% of Americans favor and 52% oppose a national apology.
“An apology for slavery would help the country move on,” said Reuben Miller, assistant professor in the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.
READ MORE: Lawmakers debate reparations for slavery: ‘We elected an African-American president’
“And by moving on, I don’t mean moving on and forgetting,” he said. “I mean moving on past the atrocity. It would teach a lesson about the relationship of black Americans with their government.”
Anita Belle, founder of the Reparations Labor Union in Detroit, says “doing the right thing means making amends for what a nation did wrong.”
“We have to look at righting the wrong with cash to the people that were done wrong,” Belle said. “To just say we aren’t going to do anything is to just perpetuate the wrong.”
Read more of the breakdown here.
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It’s been two years since Rachel Lindsay stepped into the role of leading lady on season 13 of The Bachelorette, becoming the hit reality show franchise’s first black Bachelorette.
With her history-making season premiering earlier this month on Tubi, the world’s largest free movie and television service, the newlywed (she married her winner, Bryan Abasolo, in August in Mexico and is now officially Rachel Lindsay-Abasolo) sat down with BLACK ENTERPRISE to relive her journey.
On doing it for the culture:
“I really wasn’t even thinking that it was going to work for me. And then I thought, you know what, this is bigger than me. This is the first time this audience is going to see someone who looks like me in this role. When I was doing The Bachelor, I had mothers come to me and say, ‘Oh, you know, you carried yourself so well. It was so nice to see someone represented.’ And I thought, I feel like it’s time and I feel like I can do it right. So I don’t think I’m going to find my person but I’m going to say yes, yes to being the first black Bachelorette.”
On putting her career on hold for love:
“When I went on The Bachelor, I knew I still had my job. I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize what I had been working for my entire life. After The Bachelor, I went right back to work. I was actually in trial up until the announcement. Matter of fact, when I announced on Jimmy Kimmel, the jury was trying to decide the verdict of the trial that I was in. So I was working up till the very last minute. Once I decided to be [on]The Bachelorette, that’s when the fear came about. I thought, will I be taken seriously in a courtroom? In a deposition, when I’m talking to clients, will I have the same respect that I had before? Because now I’ve been on reality TV, not once, but twice. So it was something that I had to put to the side. What if I found love on this show? What would I be denying myself if I said no because I was worried about the perception that people were going to have of me?”
On the pressures of being the first:
“There was a point on the season that you saw me break down. You see me talking to a producer and you see me saying, ‘You don’t know what it’s like to be sitting here. You have no idea the pressures that are on me, that haven’t been on any other lead that’s come through this franchise.’ I was extremely frustrated and I just felt like no one was getting it because I was looking around the room and no one looked like me. So no one was understanding. You hear me, but you don’t get me.”
On not choosing black love on the show:
“I knew the likelihood of me ending up with a black man was slim to none, just because I know that representation isn’t large on the show and then maybe the type of black men that were going to be on the show, maybe I wouldn’t be into. And I remember telling this to my family: ‘If I choose someone, they’re probably not going to be black.’ It’s just the reality of it when you’re looking at the pool of men that you have to choose from. So, I was mentally ready for that. I knew that if love came to me, whoever it may be, I wasn’t going to let other people define what that looked like. I knew all the noise was going to be there. But, at the same time, I knew that if I was going to move forward in this way, I have to ignore it. I was like, ‘Listen, this is who I fell in love with. And I’m happy.'”
On pushing for a black Bachelor, as the first black Bachelorette:
“It’s no secret that I was disappointed that Mike Johnson wasn’t chosen for Bachelor and that once again, we’re going to see another season where we don’t have a person of color in this role. I feel like the system isn’t working and things need to change. And I think the solution is breaking the rules, which they can. We’ve seen it now on Bachelor in Paradise with Demi and Christian, where you brought in someone who’s never been a part of this franchise. And you gave us the first same sex relationship, which is a beautiful thing. Why can’t we do the same, to have a person of color? You just need to interview people of color to step into that role and bring somebody who hasn’t been a part of this franchise. Because the current way isn’t working.”
It’s been two years since Rachel Lindsay stepped into the role of leading lady on season 13 of The Bachelorette, becoming the hit reality show franchise’s first black Bachelorette.
With her history-making season premiering earlier this month on Tubi, the world’s largest free movie and television service, the newlywed (she married her winner, Bryan Abasolo, in August in Mexico and is now officially Rachel Lindsay-Abasolo) sat down with BLACK ENTERPRISE to relive her journey.
On doing it for the culture:
“I really wasn’t even thinking that it was going to work for me. And then I thought, you know what, this is bigger than me. This is the first time this audience is going to see someone who looks like me in this role. When I was doing The Bachelor, I had mothers come to me and say, ‘Oh, you know, you carried yourself so well. It was so nice to see someone represented.’ And I thought, I feel like it’s time and I feel like I can do it right. So I don’t think I’m going to find my person but I’m going to say yes, yes to being the first black Bachelorette.”
On putting her career on hold for love:
“When I went on The Bachelor, I knew I still had my job. I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize what I had been working for my entire life. After The Bachelor, I went right back to work. I was actually in trial up until the announcement. Matter of fact, when I announced on Jimmy Kimmel, the jury was trying to decide the verdict of the trial that I was in. So I was working up till the very last minute. Once I decided to be [on]The Bachelorette, that’s when the fear came about. I thought, will I be taken seriously in a courtroom? In a deposition, when I’m talking to clients, will I have the same respect that I had before? Because now I’ve been on reality TV, not once, but twice. So it was something that I had to put to the side. What if I found love on this show? What would I be denying myself if I said no because I was worried about the perception that people were going to have of me?”
On the pressures of being the first:
“There was a point on the season that you saw me break down. You see me talking to a producer and you see me saying, ‘You don’t know what it’s like to be sitting here. You have no idea the pressures that are on me, that haven’t been on any other lead that’s come through this franchise.’ I was extremely frustrated and I just felt like no one was getting it because I was looking around the room and no one looked like me. So no one was understanding. You hear me, but you don’t get me.”
On not choosing black love on the show:
“I knew the likelihood of me ending up with a black man was slim to none, just because I know that representation isn’t large on the show and then maybe the type of black men that were going to be on the show, maybe I wouldn’t be into. And I remember telling this to my family: ‘If I choose someone, they’re probably not going to be black.’ It’s just the reality of it when you’re looking at the pool of men that you have to choose from. So, I was mentally ready for that. I knew that if love came to me, whoever it may be, I wasn’t going to let other people define what that looked like. I knew all the noise was going to be there. But, at the same time, I knew that if I was going to move forward in this way, I have to ignore it. I was like, ‘Listen, this is who I fell in love with. And I’m happy.'”
On pushing for a black Bachelor, as the first black Bachelorette:
“It’s no secret that I was disappointed that Mike Johnson wasn’t chosen for Bachelor and that once again, we’re going to see another season where we don’t have a person of color in this role. I feel like the system isn’t working and things need to change. And I think the solution is breaking the rules, which they can. We’ve seen it now on Bachelor in Paradise with Demi and Christian, where you brought in someone who’s never been a part of this franchise. And you gave us the first same sex relationship, which is a beautiful thing. Why can’t we do the same, to have a person of color? You just need to interview people of color to step into that role and bring somebody who hasn’t been a part of this franchise. Because the current way isn’t working.”
Spelman College has received a $2 million dollar gift from philanthropist Jon Stryker, to establish its first chair position for a Queer Studies program.
The program was named in honor of legendary queer Black poet, activist, and feminist, Audre Lorde.
“Spelman College has long been at the forefront of LGBTQ inclusion and education among HBCUs,” Stryker said in a statement. “By supporting this chair, the goal is to engage and empower the next generation of LGBTQ advocates to create a better world.”
On Tuesday the institution made the historic announcement, stating that the program will be a part of the larger Comparative Women’s Studies program and Spelman’s Women’s Research and Resource Center.
READ MORE: Members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. donate $160K to alma mater Spelman College
“A major theme of Spelman’s strategic plan is ‘elevating the Spelman Difference,’ that is creating opportunities to recruit and retain the kind of excellent faculty who are the hallmark of Spelman excellence,” Spelman President Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D. said. “We are honored to name the chair after the literary luminary and fierce activist, Audre Lorde.”
The generous donation will match Spelman’s $2 million fundraising campaign, Forbes reports.
Lorde’s son, Jonathan Rollins, said his mother would have been “over the moon” to know she was being honored in such a significant way.
Before Lorde’s death, she ensured that Spelman was accounted for in her will, and donated personal papers and articles to the all-women’s HBCU. She and former Spelman president, Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole were also close friends.
The position makes history as the first of its kind at an HBCU, according to the outlet.
“By empowering and educating the next generation, we can help make a future where LGBTQ people have full and equal protections under the law,” said Stryker, who is the founder and president of the Arcus Foundation.
Spelman College is a historically Black college located in Atlanta, GA dedicated to educating women of African descent.
READ MORE: VIDEO: Oprah Winfrey surprises Morehouse College with $13 million gift
The school has received some push-back in relation to the queer studies program, said Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, founding director of Spelman’s Women’s Research and Resource Center. She said Spelman and other historically Black schools have faced scrutiny because of religious affiliations and alumni who are not on board with the idea.
In 2017, Spelman changed its admissions criteria. The school opened the door to admit those who identify as females, despite whatever gender was assigned at birth. The Women’s Research and Resource Center saw an opportunity to pursue funding to establish a queer studies faculty position.
The school expects to hire a chair by 2022.
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