Dear Raven,
Girl, what are you doing? Over the past year or so, I’ve been able to ignore your world slip ups like when you said that you’re from “every continent in Africa except for one.” However, I think your recent comments have pushed many people, along with myself, over the edge. You’re a permanent host on The View, which has almost 3 million viewers, and you have the opportunity to sit across the table from one of the most legendary black women in the industry, Whoppi Goldberg, and yet you had the audacity to say the following comment:”I am very discriminatory against words like the ones that they were saying in those names. I’m not about to hire you if your name is ‘Watermelondrea.’ It’s just not gonna happen. I’m not gonna hire you.”
I have multiple issues with this statement Ms. Pearman. First of all, how much control do you think someone has over the name they are given at birth? Yes, in most states you can change your name after you become a legal adult. But what if you love your name as it is, because for 18 plus years, it has shaped your identity and contributed to the person that has had the experiences listed on your resume. Out of all things, a person’s name should be the one thing that does not determine how qualified of an applicant they are. Secondly, do you realize that the opportunities you would unquestionably deny others because of their name is the same discrimination you would have faced if you had to enter the job market like the rest of us? I find it difficult to believe that the unconscious biases you have towards people with “ghetto” sounding names, aren’t the same ones that would be applied to you.
Now Raven, what truly upsets me isn’t just your recent comments. It’s the fact that all of the nonsense you’ve spewed over recent months points to a greater and deeply imbedded internalized racism and lack of self-acceptance that affects everyone that grew up with you. For most people in my generation, you have been one of the very few images of blackness that we grew up with it. Therefore, in your attempt to completely disenfranchise yourself from your blackness and attempt to make yourself invisible, you’re making us invisible as well. I understand that feeling like the voice of all black people, is a lot of pressure but you can’t deny that responsibility. I used to be one of your biggest fans and I still believe that you are a very talented and brave person for being unapologetically yourself. However, I implore you to think about the power of your words. If you’re telling little black kids in the ghetto that their name alone makes them unworthy of anything better than a dead end job, then you’re no better than the people that founded the system of prejudices that has oppressed them since birth. Choose your words carefully Raven, because the little Ravens and Watermelondreas of the world are listening.
Photo Sources:
http://assets-s3.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/87288-raven-symo…
http://images.fashionnstyle.com/data/images/full/51287/thats-so-raven.jpg
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6722899/raven-symone-ghetto-name-…