The Ghostbusters reboot premiered last
weekend, and yesterday, a Breitbart reporter wrote a review that sent
trolls to Leslie Jones’ Twitter for the entire day. Much like the
backlash this Ghostbusters
has received for its all-female cast, the article was a lazy example of
sexism, but also
racism, at its worse. The ensuing social
media assault on Jones, which has since forced her off Twitter, is a
painful reminder that if you don’t fit a white standard of beauty, you’ll
be scrutinized for your looks instead of your talent. Viola Davis was
described as “
less classically beautiful” in a 2014 New York Times piece that also
referred to Shonda Rhimes as an “angry black woman.” And when Zendaya
walked the Oscars red carpet in 2015 with
faux-dreadlocks, “Fashion Police”
co-host Giuliana Rancic said her hairstyle made it look like she smelled
of patchouli oil and weed. As
Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote earlier this
year, the same racism that Nina Simone faced for her “dark skin, broad
nose and full lips” still rules the casting rooms of Hollywood. The truth
is, though, that even if a black woman manages to break through those
doors, there will still be other kinds of racism to confront. Here’s
Langston Hughes’ “
Backlash Blues,” sung by Nina Simone. Her
message to a society trying to defeat her is that she’ll still rise
above. —
Darian Symoné Harvin
