There is nothing “angry” about strong, intelligent, successful Black women. Demand the New York Times retract Alessandra Stanley’s “angry Black women” rant.

 

An outrageous New York Times op-ed published today by Alessandra Stanley, steeped in racially inflammatory language, dismisses TV writer and producer Shonda Rhimes and her many complex Black women heroines — labeling them “angry Black women.”¹

Join us in demanding an apology and the retraction of Alessandra Stanley’s harmful op-ed immediately.

From the op-ed’s opening line — “When Shonda Rhimes writes her autobiography, it should be called ‘How to Get Away With Being an Angry Black Woman’” — Stanley wildly misreads the heroines at the center of much of Rhimes’ work on shows like “Scandal” and “How to Get Away with Murder,” and arbitrarily judges their adherence to white beauty standards.

Characterizing their supreme confidence and competence as “anger” — and describing actress Viola Davis as sexy “in a slightly menacing way,” and “darker-skinned and less classically beautiful” — only plays into destructive stereotypes that impact the lives of Black women every day.

Research shows there are dire consequences for Black people when such harmful archetypes rule the day; less attention from doctor’s, harsher sentences from judges, and discriminatory hiring practices, just to name a few.²

Alessandra Stanley and the New York Times need to know that the dissemination and perpetuation of the “angry Black women” archetype is no laughing matter. With so few Black women both onscreen or behind the scenes in Hollywood, high profile, dehumanizing misinterpretations of their work cannot be tolerated.

Stand with us and demand an apology from the New York Times and Alessandra Stanley, and a retraction of her harmful op-ed.

Thanks and Peace,

–Arisha, Rashad, Matt, Dallas and the rest of the ColorOfChange team.
September 20, 2014

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References

1. “Viola Davis Plays Shonda Rhimes’s Latest Tough Heroine’,” New York Times, 9-19-14
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3922?t=7&akid=3666.1174326.YJfcLj

2. “Media Representations and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys,” The Opportunity Agenda
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3685?t=9&akid=3666.1174326.YJfcLj