Month: January 2018

entertainment TV

Twitter drags Young Hollywood for colorist and racist comments towards “Love and Hip Hop Miami” star Amara La Negra

By on Wednesday, January 3, 2018

I’m not a watcher of any of the Love and Hip Hop franchise, but I had to take a moment out of my day to write about the controversy that flared up during the first episode of Love and Hip Hop Miami. In this clip, Dominican singer Amara La Negra face intense colorism and racism from producer Young Hollywood.

Okay. Some points:

1. WHO is Young Hollywood? Not to play that “I don’t know her” game, but I don’t know who this is, and I know a lot about pop culture. I feel like if Young Hollywood were really important in the music industry, I’d certainly know more about him than his tragic presentation of himself on Love and Hip Hop Miami. Basically, what I’m saying is that Young Hollywood doesn’t seem as popular as he wants everyone to believe.

2. How disrespectful and racist can he be? It’s as if he went out of his way to be disrespectful. First, it’s the overt colorism and anti-blackness he embodies with comments about not being glamorous with an afro, mocking the Black Power fist, and calling Amara “Afro-Latina Queen” and “Nutella Queen,” not to mention questioning the validity of the Afro-Latina identity.

3. “NUTELLA QUEEN”??? Amara played this exchange much cooler than I think I would have. I’m actually not sure what I would have done, but it would definitely be something people wouldn’t expect from someone as quiet-natured as me.

4. Young Hollywood needs to check himself, because he’s a prime example of anti-blackness in the Latinx community.  If you needed an example of one of the biggest issues facing Afro-Latinx, look no further than Young Hollywood’s interaction with Amara.

Last year, I interviewed several Latinx content creators for my longform piece on what it’s like being Latinx in Hollywood. All of them sounded off on the colorism and anti-blackness that affects Latinx who don’t look like, as Young Hollywood hinted at in his own words to Amara, the stereotypical “Latinx” person.

“…[T]here’s obvious merit in bringing in new talent because that director could be the next person who discovers the next [big] actor. I think that’s…something that’s very important,” said Kimberly Hoyos, filmmaker and creator of The Light Leaks, a website designed to support, educate and empower female and gender non-conforming filmmakers. “Even in my Latino community, there’s a weird emphasis on how dark you are or how light you are or where you’re from. I really feel like that’s an issue that translates to the screen as well. Even though it’s women of color, it’s much more valuable in media to be light skinned than dark skinned.”

“I understand my privilege as a light-skinned afro-Boricua woman. I have to– otherwise I contribute to the continued problems of colorism in both the Latinx community and within a larger worldwide context,” wrote Desiree Rodriguez, Editorial Assistant for Lion Forge sci-fi comic book Catalyst Prime and writer for Women on Comics and The Nerds of Color, in an email interview.”By favoring women who look like me, you erase the multitude of men, women, and non-binary Latinx individuals who don’t look like me. It’s important that media reflects the actual reality of the Latinx community, which includes a wide range of races, and even religious identities.”

“By ignoring those parts of our community, media creates a distorted image of our culture, which allows the continued whitewashing of our community, ignorance regarding our identities, and contributes to a lack of empathy of our struggles,” she wrote. “It also, I personally feel, encourages some individuals within the Latinx community to reject their indigenous or black ancestry in favor of whiteness. This can, and has, further contributed to the alienation of Afro and Indigenous Latinxs within our community.”

“Gina Torres is a proud Afro-Cuban American woman who, as far as I know, never gotten a chance to play a Latina woman on screen. She’s even gone on record stating how Hollywood wants their Latinas to look Italian,” she wrote.  “If the producers of Supergirl wanted a Latina woman to play Maggie Sawyer, why not cast one? How many people know Meagan Good is part Puerto Rican? Or that Harry Shum Jr. identifies as Latino? Or that Alexis Bledel is Latina? Meagan good is Afro-Latina, Harry Shum Jr. is Asian-Latino, Alexis Bledel is a white Latina. But we don’t see this type of diversity reflected back on screen. It’s very one-sided, one-note, and done in a specific way that spreads ignorance and misinformation on the Latinx community. It is complicated, but we’re a community worth learning about, respecting, and feeling empathy for.”

“[Stereotyping is] very, very detrimental and limiting because when you think of Latin America, we’re talking about over 20 countries and yes, we’re talking about Spanish [as a language] there are other languages [as well]…so I will say that when it comes down to not just representation, but inclusion in Hollywood, a person has to be invested in learning about the culture because there’s so many different moving parts,” said Janel Martinez, founder and editor-in-chief of Ain’t I Latina, a site celebrating Afro-Latinas and Afro-Latinx culture. “You can be Latino, Latina, Latinx, but you can be black, you can be Asian, you can be white and Latino. There has to be a great understanding of the culture.”

As Francisco Herrera for Latino Rebels writes, to talk about anti-blackness and how it affects Latinx “isn’t to say that Latinos aren’t racialized and subjugated. Nor am I saying that anti-Blackness is a necessary, inevitable or inherent aspect of Latino identities.” What Herrera’s point is, he writes, “is that for a lot of us, especially non-Black Latinos, being subjugated in some ways has not precluded us from being complicit with anti-Black politics in the U.S. and throughout the Americas.”

“Destroying our complicity with anti-Black violence and making that violence impossible requires that we invest time in expanding our vocabulary about race, committing ourselves to being vulnerable with each other in service of antiracism, and holding each other accountable to practicing anti-racism every day. This everyday practice will look different for each of us but it must be guided by the fundamental idea that Black lives are fully human, deserving of our love, and that they matter. This last part is worth emphasizing again: we must all focus on turning our so-called love into daily actions that make the hate of anti-Black violence impossible.”

Amara is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, and her pride for her heritage and race makes her a positive role model for other Afro-Latina girls out there. The fact that Young Hollywood would question her beauty and her pride for her heritage, and then call her “psychotic” because she’s checking him on his bullshit, smacks of misogyny and his own insecurities about his masculinity and his racial identity. If your racial identity hinges on belittling others’ racial identities, while you’re profiting off of the same racial identity you’re belittling, you’re a fool. You can’t talk down blackness and then still try to act and sound black. Also, Young Hollywood, you’re a minority like the rest of us black and brown people. Learn your history and where blackness fits into your personal ancestry, because I’m sure it does.

5. Is Young Hollywood going to be kept around on this show just for the views? I’ve had issues with Love and Hip Hop creator Mona Scott-Young for a while, but keeping this guy around just for the drama just might be a new low.

The clapback has been real, and deservedly so; I’ve never heard of Young Hollywood, but it’s clear from this clip that he’s a racist, misogynist jerk, and that’s me being too kind. Here’s what everyone else had to say in much more colorful language.

As for the aftermath of this whole awful moment, Amara has come out on top. Not only does she have Love and Hip Hop Miami fans in her corner, but she’s also just signed a multi-album record deal with BMG and Fast Life Entertainment. According to Billboard, her first single will be out during the first quarter of 2018. Hollywood, on the other hand, is still being a butt.

I’ll end this piece with Martinez giving the last word.

What do you think about this? Are you still going to support Love and Hip Hop Miami? Are you excited about Amara’s upcoming single? And do you think Young Hollywood can change, or is he too less-than-smart to realize he needs to change? Give your opinions in the comments section below!

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TV entertainment

Get to know the POC “Star Trek: Discovery” bridge crew members in new exclusive CBS interviews

By on Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Star Trek: Discovery is coming back this Sunday, and in anticipation of the return, CBS has interviewed the bridge crew cast members. I’m excited they’ve finally given these actors a spotlight, since they act as the visual anchors for us when we’re viewing the bridge. Also, these interviews give us a better look at our three POC bridge crew castmembers— Oyin Oladejo (Lt. Junior Grade Owosekun), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Lt. R.A. Bryce), and Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt. Rhys). Here are some key moments from their interviews.

Oyin Oladejo | Complete interview

Photo credit: CBS

On self-care: “I was once told, ‘Don’t forget to take your medication,’ which in hindsight wasn’t the kindest thing ever said to me. However, I have reclaimed it with love, and now I never forget to take my ‘medication,’ whether it be meditation, martial arts, or reruns of Law and Order. Whatever heals your soul, that’s your medication.”

Ronnie Rowe Jr. | Complete interview

Photo credit: CBS

On his New Year’s resolution: To do better than I did in 2017.

Patrick Kwok-Choon | Complete interview

Photo credit: CBS

On his favorite Star Trek captain: “Captain Philippa Georgiou. Positive representation of people of color is important to me. Michelle Yeoh is so talented, has a heart of gold, and is a real inspiration to watch on screen.”

You can read more cast interviews at CBS.com. Star Trek: Discovery comes back to CBS All-Access Jan. 7 at 9/8c.

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LGBT entertainment TV

Issa Rae and “Full Frontal” writer Travon Free explore bisexuality in upcoming pilot “Him Or Her”

By on Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Issa Rae has several new HBO shows on the horizon, but there’s one I’m interested in the most—a black bisexual rom-com.

Him Or Her, executive produced by Rae and Travon Free (a writer for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and former writer for The Daily Show) will be, according to Shadow and Act, a “single-camera half-hour” comedy that follows “the dating life of a bisexual black man and the distinctly different worlds and relationships he finds himself in.”

Shadow and Act is right in asserting that Him Or Her might be “the first television show to center the focus on a black, LGBT male since Noah’s Arc.” What’s also great is that much of the show will be based on Free’s own experiences as a bisexual man.

As Rae told The Huffington Post in an email, “I was immediately drawn in to the concept from his initial pitch and am SO grateful that he’s trusting us with his vision.” As reported by Logo, Rae also said she has wanted to bring bisexuality into the conversation about black masculinity.

What do you think about this show? Give your opinions in the comments section below!

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culture

American Girl introduces its 2018 Girl of the Year–a young aspiring astronaut!

By on Monday, January 1, 2018

American Girl was such a big part of my life growing up, and little did I know that American Girl now creates a special “Girl of the Year” doll each year. 2018’s Girl of the Year is one we can all be excited about—a Latinx 11-year-old aspiring astronaut, Luciana Vega.

The doll was officially revealed on Good Morning America Dec. 28, 2017, and will be officially in stores today. According to Yahoo! Lifestyle, Luciana is the first American Girl doll to focus only on STEM (the acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics). As American Girl designer Rebecca Dekuiper said, “…we really wanted to do a whole character to show girls that STEM is cool.”

The company worked closely with real NASA astronauts to help bring the character to fruition. The character. Luciana’s dreams of becoming the first person on Mars are chronicled in her upcoming books, Luciana and Luciana: Braving the Deep, both by Erin Teagan. The series of books will follow how Luciana’s aspirations lead her to winning a scholarship to attend space camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

Last year’s Girl of the Year was Gabriela McBride, a young African-American dancer, poet, and artist who wants to change the world with her artistic endeavors.

What do you think about Luciana? Give your opinions in the comments section below!

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lifestyle identity issues writing

Start 2018 off right and get your goals set with your 2018 cheat sheet!

By on Monday, January 1, 2018

It’s 2018! For many of us, that means fresh starts. It certainly means that for me.

I’m sure you can relate to this, but 2017 was a serious challenge for me. Without a doubt, it was one of the toughest years of my life. Granted, when life gives you challenges, it’s only meant for you to grow. But you can’t deny how hard it is to learn those lessons and deal with the awful packages some of those lessons tend to come in.

If you’re like me and you’re glad you’ve made it out of the fire, congratulations! You’ve endured some tough stuff, which means you’re much stronger than you’ve probably given yourself credit for. You’ve learned some hard life lessons, dealt with unforeseen drama, and found more of yourself in the process. Now that we’re out of the forge of 2017 all brand new, let’s keep 2018 going in the right direction by mapping out exactly how you want your 2018 to go down.

It’s definitely important to keep your goals and life lessons handy because if you forget (and you will), you can easily find and review them to keep yourself on the right path. What I’ve done is make myself a laptop wallpaper that doubles as my 2018 goals checklist. My plan is to update this checklist throughout the year, so throughout the year, my wallpaper will have new goals added or old goals scratched off. (If you’d like to make your own, Canva already has a wallpaper-sized template with several layouts you can choose from, or you can use the blank template and make your own theme from scratch.)

If you don’t want to make a wallpaper or can access your thoughts better in journal form, I’ve made this short 2018 cheat sheet PDF. You can print out the pages and stick them in your notebook, journal, binder, pin them to your wall, or do whatever you need to with them to remind yourself of what you’re working towards and what you’d like to avoid. Click the image to download.

Just as a disclaimer–I’m not a psychologist or therapist. I’m just someone who has learned a lot in 2017 and felt a document like this one will help others jumpstart getting their lives in order for 2018. I’m gonna use this myself, since 2017 wouldn’t quit, even down its last hours.

2018 is a year I hope we can all look to as a time to get out from under our personal rubble and start anew. It’s time to get rid of bad habits, shake off bad influences and prepare ourselves for awesome lives ahead.

What are some of your goals for 2018? Share if you feel so inclined in the comments section below!

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