Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #harrietdeservesbetter
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Here is why Cynthia Erivo, in particular, should not play Harriet Tubman.
TL; DR: There’s a troubling pattern of Cynthia repeatedly, deliberately, selectively *choosing* to not give respect to African-American heritage – the heritage of Harriet Tubman.
#HarrietDeservesBetter
TL; DR: There’s a troubling pattern of Cynthia repeatedly, deliberately, selectively *choosing* to not give respect to African-American heritage – the heritage of Harriet Tubman.
#HarrietDeservesBetter
Note: There’s an argument to be made against Africans/non-DOS Brits playing important African-American figures – & vice versa. Performance & perspective, where & how we take up space, larger economic & cultural issues at play.
Others have unpacked that; this thread won’t.
Others have unpacked that; this thread won’t.
This thread is about why Cynthia Erivo should not play Harriet Tubman, “the Moses of her people” & a sacred African-American ancestor. It goes beyond Cynthia’s birthplace, accent, heritage & even her association with an ethnic bigot.
It rests on a pattern of behavior & choices.
It rests on a pattern of behavior & choices.
The framing of @paularogo's @Essence piece on Cynthia Erivo is…interesting.
This response will be a long thread bc it's impt that:
◾️we step back to analyze the larger narrative that's being created ◾️Essence is aware that we're aware of deliberate editorial decisions.
This response will be a long thread bc it's impt that:
◾️we step back to analyze the larger narrative that's being created ◾️Essence is aware that we're aware of deliberate editorial decisions.
TL;DR: From word choice, to sourcing, to biased, inaccurate framing, @paularogo's article, "Cynthia Erivo Pushes Back On Criticism Of Her New Role As Harriet Tubman" amounts to an Erivo fluff piece that tries to further neutralize valid criticism of a very real, very large issue.
(Note: When referring to African-Americans, I'm referring to DOS (descendant of slaves, h/t @BreakingBrown)/DACS (descendants of American chattel slavery)/BADASS (Black American descendants of American slavery & sharecropping, h/t @kimmaytube)
