‘I Used To Shrink In The Presence of Other Beautiful Women’ Gabrielle Union speaks transparently during Essence’s BWIH Luncheon
[ED. NOTE: Lovely and talented actress Gabrielle Union gave a heartfelt, revealing and inspirational speech at Essence Magazine's Annual Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon about self-esteem and the importance of sisterhood among Black women recently. Online magazine Madame Noire ran a snippet of her speech.]
By Jazmine Denise Rogers
madame noire
When most people look at beautiful Black women in Hollywood, they don't always see flawed individuals who sometimes feel scared and even a little self-concious like we do. It sometimes becomes difficult to fathom that someone so talented, so exquisite, so fierce could possibly be battling with self-esteem issues or feeling a little less than adequate.
During Essence's Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel, actress Gabrielle Union delivered a captivatingly powerful speech that served as a reminder that behind those images are real people. She fearlessly tackled common issues that still plague the entertainment industry today and spoke boldly against them. Check out an excerpt of her speech below:
"We live in a town that rewards pretending. I had been pretending to be fierce and fearless for a very long time. I was a victim masquerading as a survivor. I stayed when I should have run. I was quiet when I should have spoken up. I turned a blind eye to injustice instead of having the courage to stand up for what's right. I used to shrink in the presence of other dope beautiful women. I used to revel in gossip and rumors, and I lived for the negativity inflicted upon my sister actresses or anyone who I felt whose shine diminished my own.
I took joy in people's pain and I tap-danced on their misery. I chased and accepted a love and a marriage that wasn't worthy of a date. I lived to hear 'Hey, if we'll go Black, it'll totally be you,' as if the routine exclusion of women of color in the casting process is okay, as long as I'm considered.
It's easy to pretend 'to be fierce and fearless because living your truth takes real courage. Real fearless and fierce women admit mistakes and they work to correct them. We stand up and we use our voices for things other than self promotion. We don't stand by and let racism and sexism and homophobia run rapid on our watch. Real fearless and fierce women complement other women and we recognize and embrace that their shine in no way diminishes our light and that it actually makes our light shine brighter.
So many of us in this room are sisters. We don't always get to see each other and its good to see you here today. Women who we've laughed with, cried with, and struggled with, thank you for not turning your back on me, thank you for not tap dancing on my misery, even when I wasn't always returning the favor."
+ Top Story
If there is one thing that defines the Morehouse man more than any other, it is that we dare to be eagles. When one reflects upon the behavior and ability of the more than 10,000 species of birds, one has to conclude that there is none like the eagle.
The graduation season is here and it’s off to a brand new life and career for students all over the country. Some will be nostalgic remembering their first day of their college journey and being away from their parents for the first time…well, some were left by their parents.
Urban Roundup Entertainment presents the Faith Against Cancer Gospel Concert, June 8 in Philadelphia
Urban Roundup Entertainment presents the first ever Faith Against Cancer Gospel Concert. This inspirational event is more than just an ordinary concert, as it will be an uplifting night of encouragement, entertainment and Faith for those affected directly and indirectly by this devastating disease.
At the same time that Black Romans controlled the world religiously with Victor and Tetullian, the Black Romans gained control of the world politically and militarily in 193 AD, when the Black Roman Israelite Septimius Severus became the Roman Emperor. He remembered his roots...
Last week, Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building materials company, in partnership with YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, kicked off the sustainable renovation of two eyesore properties located at 2006 and 2007 Wingohocking Street in Philadelphia’s Nicetown neighborhood.
“When it comes to death and funerals, African-American people, we have our own way,” Isaiah Owens says in the new documentary “Homegoings.” “It has worked for us throughout the ages; it has kept us balanced, sane. And everybody know[s] that it’s going to be a sad, good time.”
A child of a Holocaust survivor and a US Army officer, Aviva Kempner was born in Berlin after World War II. She was inspired by her heritage to produce and co-write “Partisans of Vilna,” a documentary on Jewish resistance against the Nazis.
The 1960s and early ‘70s, Contemporary Christian Music drew largely from Top 40 pop music, a genre fixated on the awakenings--especially the romantic awakenings--of adolescence. “I think we’re alone now,” “we’ll be together forever,” “I miss you so much” are nearly universal tropes, regardless of decade.