In Which She Bitches About The Help

This is a blog post worth everyone of every race and ethnicity reading.

As a black woman and self labeling movie-a-holic I''m not saying that every representation of African-Americans (or other minorities for that matter) has to be "the noble negro" role that Sydney Portier was locked into for so long (and that Denzel Washington fought so hard to get out of). Hell, I think that stereotypes can be damn funny at times (have you ever seen, "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka"?)

However, it is sad to me that when you look at the actresses that have been nominated for Academy Awards so many of them are for playing some common black stereotype: a maid/slave or Aunt Jemima type, a sex object, a welfare mother, you get the drift.

And now you have a film, from a book written by a white woman, about how "Not Everyone in the Good Ole' South Was So Bad" (and if I see the term "Sassy" used to characterize a black woman one more time, I'm going to punch someone). Why not Angela Basset in X? Or Lonette McKee in Jungle Fever? Or Ruby Dee for Rasin in the sun.

For all it's liberalism, Hollywood just ain't happy with our dark brown skin and nappy hair unless we're whoring it, collecting welefare or scrubbing their floors.

You Just Have to Read This Letter

In August of 1865 a man in Tennessee wrote is former slave in Ohio asking him to return to work for him. The response letter was just found and this letter is priceless.

This man is clever beyond belief and when he breaks down the money, I wanted to cheer.

So do you think he went back to Tennessee?