One bad apple can unravel the work of many good ones.
Enter Stacey Dash.
This past week when asked about the uproar surrounding the Academy Awards and their lack of minority nominees Dash was quick to point out the issue was mostly due to a lack of opportunities.
“The real issue is there aren’t enough opportunities for us people of color to have roles that warrant us winning an Oscar,” said Dash.
Fair enough…if only she would’ve left it at that. What she said next is what has really caused a controversy.
“My second point of view is that you either want to be segregated or you wanted to be integrated.” “If you want to be integrated then you need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET awards and the (NAACP) Image Awards where you have to be black in order to win these because if white people did that everyone would be up in arms.”
While Ms. Dash is certainly entitled to her own opinion it couldn’t be further from the truth. A load of non-white people have been nominated for BET awards including the likes of Justin Timberlake and Iggy Azalea. Just last year singer Sam Smith won a BET award for Best New Artist…and he’s certainly not black. Not to mention the NAACP image awards who’s list of past winners include Steven Spielberg, Al Gore, Bono, and George Lucas.
If Stacy Dash had already put the proverbial foot in her mouth she went ahead and swallowed her shoe with what she said next:
“It’s a double standard. Just like there shouldn’t be a Black History Month. You know, we’re Americans, period. That’s it.”
Once again, Ms. Dash is entitled to her own opinion, but I believe she has gotten it all wrong. Once again. Black History Month is not a double standard, white history is taught quite thoroughly in school. This is the month when the greater American population can learn about black leaders, figures and their accomplishments. This is a month that celebrates the contributions that African Americans have made to American history in their struggles for freedom and equality and it serves to deepen our understanding of our Nation’s history.
If a white person were to make this comments there would have undoubtedbly been more of an uproar. However, when a black person makes these comments it hurts much more. It seems like black people fight so hard against ignorance launched at them from outside sources that when someone from their own ranks makes these it is incredibly exhausting. It’s exhausting because this is the kind of fuel bigots need, “Well a black person said it so it must be true!” and all of the sudden the hard work put in by everyone else is all for not. It is instantly discredited. For this reason alone I sincerely wish Stacy Dash would’ve have chosen her words my wisely and even though they exist we must not let bad apples spoil the bunch.
