by Sydney Redd
An
icon has the ability to transform over generations, to keep up with shifts in
popular culture, and to represent an audience through their image as well as
their body of work. While “stars
entertain us, icons do much more. They embody us. They tell us something about
who we are and who we want to be,” (Toure, I Would Die 4 U, 2013). Today, there
are strong black women who are speaking up for those who resemble and relate to
them through their work, their images, and their activism. Beyonce, Zendaya, Yara
Shahidi, Rashida Jones, Zoe Kravitz, Ava Duvernay, Oprah, the list goes on and
on. Each of these women make a conscious effort to empower other young black
women by showing them that they are represented in the media, they are
supported by their idols, and they themselves are powerful. Actress Stacey Dash
whose background consists of Bajan Creole, African-American, and Mexican
ancestry has done the opposite of these other pop-stars of this
generation. As we celebrate the achievements of black icons as well as our heritage through Black History Month, it is important to identify those that are detrimental to the advancement of black people. As a contributor to the
conservative news show Fox and Friends and a constant critic of Hollywood and its
liberal views, Dash has alienated her audience of color. She disempowers young black women by telling
them that sticking up for yourself is not justified, that learning and teaching
your history is not acceptable. Black people such as Dash are using their
platforms against their own communities by being consistent in making
statements that are detrimental to the empowerment of people of color.
America
has deep and unfortunately still present racist roots. In 2017, we have seen a
resurgence in white supremacy due to the election of a president that has been
working on passing more legislation to promote and further systemic
racism. On political activist and
comedian Chelsea Handler’s talk show, she presented a segment in which she
categorized the current waves of racism and highlighted “black-white
supremacists” such as Ben Carson and Stacey Dash. In a segment on Fox and Friends, Stacey Dash discussed the 2016 Oscars “So White”
campaign. She called out the stars who urged the public and other celebrities
to boybott the show for it’s failure to nominate any people of color. When
critiquing the reasoning for the boycott, she claimed there should be a
cancellation of BET, the Image Awards, and Black History Month. Her argument
being that there is a “double standard” and that once there are white award
shows (where you only win if you’re white) and a “White History Month”, then we
can support “segregation”. Her statements are incorrect and promote color-blind
racism; the NAACP awards have nominated and awarded multiple non-black
celebrities such as Sofia Vergara and Sandra Bullock. Black History Month
exists due to the fact that the government has written black history, among
others, out of what is taught in schools. Black people are celebrating and
passing their history on to younger generations through the celebration of the
month. Today, an icon and their audience’s relationship is “‘one of the most
intimate and far-reaching forms of socialibility”; the celebrity, in this
respect, is ‘an intimate doorway for connecting people” (Fleetwood, 56). Dash
does the opposite of and encourages
people to separate until a “double standard” has been lifted. Her statements feed into a white audience
that is attempting to look for reasons to separate themselves from people who
do not look like them.
Dash has made numerous other
statements in which she put down her
community and made negative comments about them empowering themselves. Such as
after Congresswoman Maxine Waters won the “Black Girls Rock” award on the BET
network. She called her a “buffoon”, claiming that her acceptance speech was
given for attention due to the fact that it was geared toward critiquing
conservative right-wing politicians who are disrespecting her and her community
and calling for the impeachment of Trump.
Waters’ speech reached out to young black woman and told them to ignore
the stereotypes and criticism toward them because she, like them, is a strong
black woman. Stacey Dash makes a point
to attack those promoting inclusion and the empowerment of black people. She
does this again after Jesse Williams accepts the BET Humanitarian award. His
speech also calls out specific systemic racism including police brutality
against black people and lack of adequate history taught in schools before
going on to encouraging the audience to speak up for what they believe in and
resist the system. Dash responded to his speech by continuing to preach that
BET is promoting segregation and an attacks on white people before tweeting: “You’ve just seen the
perfect example of a HOLLYWOOD plantation slave! Sorry, Mr Williams. But the
fact that you were standing on that stage at THOSE awards tells people you
really don’t know what your talking about. Just spewing hate and anger”. In Richard Dyer’s Stars as Images, he comments on icons being able to construct
images in which they reflect an “ideological contradiction, both in terms of
how they are grounded in such contradictions and how they ‘manage’ or ‘subvert’
them” (153). Dash is consistently used by the conservative right to “include” a
perspective of a person of color. She is used to represent a community that she
does not stick up for or give support, but criticises on behalf of the
conservatives oppressing them. Dash herself is a walking contradiction due to
her approval and support of a government and legislation that is working
against her heritage and community.
Today,
artists and pop-stars consistently battle with how to use their platform to
influence their fanbase. Stacey Dash has made a commitment to becoming
political and being vocal about her beliefs. However, her comments and the work
she has tied herself to are detrimental to the black community due to their
encouragement of silence, color-blindness, and ignorance. She encourages her
community to not complain about the current state of America and to not
criticise the government or their oppressors. Her statements are
counter-productive and prove her contradictions with iconicity. An icon is
inclusive, appeals to the masses, empowers their fanbase, and is able to stay
up to date on culture and society. Dash has proven through her statements, body
of work, and criticism of black icons, that she does uses her platform to
disempower her community.
Work Cited
- Dyer, Richard. Stars. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
- Fleetwood, Nicole R. “Giving
Face: Diana Ross and the Black as Icon.” On Racial Icons: Blackness and the Public Imagination, Rutgers
University Press, 2015.
- “SMH: Stacey Dash Calls Jesse Williams a 'Plantation
Slave' and Other Crazy Insults.” BET.com,
30 June 2016,
www.bet.com/celebrities/news/2016/06/30/stacey-dash-jesse-williams-comments.html.
- “Girl, Bye! Stacey Dash Calls Rep. Maxine Waters
A 'Buffoon'.” BET.com, 24 Aug.
2017, www.bet.com/celebrities/news/2017/08/24/stacey-dash-rep--maxine-water.html.
originally written for CINE 541 at SFSU
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