Last week, controversial internet personality Tomi Lahren made an appearance on "The Daily Show With Trevor Noah." During the 28-minute interview, Noah took Tomi to task on her rather controversial Facebook videos. Following Tomi’s interview, The Breakfast Club host Charlamagne Tha God tweeted the following:
‘Would be dope if a young Black or Hispanic ‘woke’ woman used social media to create a platform to be a voice like Tomi did’.
As a Black woman, I find his insinuation that Black and Hispanic women aren’t using their platforms to ‘be a voice like Tomi’ extremely insulting. Let’s be real; Tomi Lahren gets away with half of the offensive crap she says, not because she is right, but because she is a pretty, blonde White woman. She also gets away with half of her offensive crap because she’s backed by Glenn Beck and the conservative party. Think about it; if Tomi were Tasha, would people really be agreeing or in Charlamagne’s case, salivating over her while dissing other women?
The answer: hell no.
Women of Color have been speaking out on issues for years and we’ve been overlooked, disqualified, or told our words are too ‘angry’ or we’re just jealous of some other woman. Our words are taken and whitewashed by someone mediocre, someone with less bite. Our words are replaced and overshadowed by people like Tomi. But sure, let’s keep blaming Black and Hispanic women for everything *Side eye*
So, in response to Charlemagne’s ignorant and offensive tweet, here’s a list of extraordinary Black and Hispanic women who have or have had a platform and are using it to uplift and educate others:
Michelle Obama
Loretta Lynch
Sonja Sotomayor
Shonda Rhimes
Awesomely Luvie
Reagan Gomez
Fannie Lou Heimer
Rosie Perez
Audra McDonald
Feminista Jones
The Founders of the Black Lives Matter Movement
Kerry Washington
Viola Davis
Rosario Dawson
Anna Navaro
Whoppi Goldberg
Angela Davis
Gina Rodriguez
Sunny Hostin
Angela Rye
Shannon Boodram
Gloria Estefan
Zoe Saldana
Jamilah Lemieux
Asata Shakur
Nina Simone
Winnie Mandela
Taraji P Henson
Oprah Winfrey
Alice Walker
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Betty Shabazz
Myrlie Evers-Williams
Senator Vivienne Figures
Cecily Tyson
Toni Morrison
Maya Angelou
Angela Bassett
Selena
Jennifer Lopez
Adrienne Bailon
Mae Jemison
Ida B. Wells
Mary McCloud Bethune
Shirley Chisholm
Harriet Tubman
Sojourner Truth
Rosa Parks
Coretta Scott King
Gabrielle Union
Tracee Ellis Ross
Anika Noni Rose
Erykah Badu
Lauryn Hill
Condeliza Rice
Christy Haubegger
Ileana Ross Lehtimen
Yvonne Burke
Barbra Jordan
Maxine Waters
Lucielle Roybal-Allard
Nadia Velazquez
Hattie McDaniels
Irene Cara
Sandra Bland
Salma Hayek
Shakira
And so on
And so on
And so on.
Dear Charlamagne,
Black and Latina women been lit; you and the rest of the world just been sleeping on us…
