Keisha Lustin is a freshman at Kent State University and is majoring in nutrition to then become a doctor. I am using my platform on Her Campus to share Keisha’s story, and to shed light on the effect of the lack of representation we currently have in our media.
Lack of representation is an extremely important issue that needs to be brought up. Not seeing someone like yourself on the TV, movie, or even phone screen can be detrimental to self-esteem or mental health.
Television and Movies
When it comes to the television and movie screen, Lustin states, “most of the time, when you do see a black person in a TV show or movie, they’re a side character or something unless everyone in the sitcom is black (like in “Everyone Hates Chris”)”.
I’ve learned from Lustin and from other conversations with people of color that only seeing someone like you as a side character or romantic interest can make you feel lesser.
“A few years ago, I did watch “Henry Danger” and it was like ‘Oh look! There’s a black girl in it around my age or something!’ but like she was just a love interest or something,” said Lustin.
I could sense the excitement that she must have felt seeing someone like her on TV, but quickly sensed the mood shift, as she stated that the character was just a love interest.
Most leading roles are played by white people, even in newer shows. This causes an inaccurate representation in the media of how our population truly is. America is a very diverse nation, but on the screen, it is not displayed as such.
Social Media
When it comes to social media, Lustin showed an instant disappointment in how little representation she personally sees.
“I feel like the only representation on social media is like either they got shot or are going to jail or something… or someone recording someone acting ghetto or whatever,” she said.
Lustin continues this thought saying that sometimes social media feels awkward to her, because those [reasons mentioned above] are usually the only times you ever see a black person.
There are some good things coming about in social media when it comes to representation. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement that formed last year after George Floyd was wrongfully murdered by the police.
“With the Black Lives Matter movement, I do feel a bit better about things. We started learning more things [about the black community], like there is an app filled with black small businesses, kind of like Etsy,” Lustin said.
The app is called Miiriya, and you can get it on the App Store. Anyone can, and should, use it to support small black businesses.
Lustin also stated that social media has actually made her more educated when it comes to her culture.
“We all, no matter how disappointing it may be in some cases, believe only what we see. I mean we have whitewashed history for every culture. Some people [of color] haven’t gotten recognition for their work and some that finally did died centuries ago,” she said.
Lustin said that even she didn’t notice how white-washed history was until she came to college.
“It wasn’t really until I joined (B)KSU GroupMe and saw some TikToks on my “For You” page. There’s also a lot of spoken word poems that I love so much, most of them are to remember those who have died, black men, and women of color.”
To Conclude…
Overall, Lustin does see hope for the future when it comes to representation and equality, and she hopes for a better world for future children. But, she doesn’t personally see it happening in her lifetime. Only the future can tell, I suppose!