Internalized

Racism: They’re
Coming For You Girl
Devon Chapman, Milena
Haile, Jason Lim, Isa Weiss
Zoe Saldana and
Nina Simone
● Who was Nina Simone?

● Who is Zoe Saldana?

● The controversy
Because Zoe Saldana is a Black woman, does that mean she should
be able to play the role of any Black woman? Or does her lived
experience as a Black woman with lighter skin than Nina Simone
mean the role should be given to someone else?
 "I thought back then that I had the
permission [to play her] because I was a
black woman. And I am. But it was Nina
Simone. And Nina had a life and she had a
journey that should have been - and
should be - honoured to the most specific
detail because she was a specifically
detailed individual."

- Zoe Saldana
 Colorism

n a lity
ctio
rs e
Inte
Internalized
Racism
 Quotes
- “You know, it’s not
the world that was
- “It is a peculiar sensation, this
my oppressor,
double-consciousness, this
because what the
sense of always looking at
world does to you, if
one’s self through the eyes of
the world does it to
others, of measuring one’s soul
you long enough and
by the tape of a world that
effectively enough,
looks on in amused contempt
you begin to do to
and pity” —W.E.B. Du Bois
yourself.” – James
Baldwin
How Does Internalized Racism Manifest
● Decision-making (Institutional)
● Resources (Institutional)
● Standards (Culture)
● Naming the Problem (Culture)
 Societal Impacts
● What spaces people of color are accepted in + where they feel they belong
○ Member of the Boston Celtics team was leaving the arena after a game and a
white “fan” got mad at him and called him the n-word.
○ People of color in America will always fight this battle to belong and to fit in.
● Within their own communities
○ Thinking other POC are “too ghetto, too dark, too loud”
○ Start to judge and put each other down
 Health Impacts
● Mental Health
○ Self-doubt
○ Eroding self-esteem and self-worth
○ Depression
○ Anxiety
● Physical Health
○ Alcohol use
○ Cardiovascular disease
 Blackness & Beauty
● Black hair has always been ridiculed
● Hair Relaxer at young ages
● Black hair=unprofessional
○ Black women and men are sent home from work and schools
● “White phase”
● “A few years ago I had my hair styled in cornrows and I was asked quite blatantly by my boss
how long it would be before my hair was back to 'normal'”.

Definition of nappy (merriam webster)

of hair, informal + sometimes offensive : naturally coarse and tightly coiled
 Black Hair on TV
● Forced to wear wigs and
weaves
● “I would keep my hair in
cornrows and just throw
on a wig because most of
the jobs that I had done as
an actress, they wanted a
certain look,” she said.
“It’s been really
therapeutic for me to just
wear my hair.”
● One of the blackest scenes in
TV history
The natural hair movement: redefining beauty in the
black community

● Emerged during the 1960s

○ Black Power
● Took off in the early 2000s
● Nappy=natural and happy
● Braids, dreads, locs, twists
Blackness as shown on the big screen
● Colorism
● Light skin actresses are the
“default” for representing black
girls
● False perception of blackness
● "Me and Yara and Zendaya are
perceived in the same way because
we are lighter skinned brown girls,"
she said. "We fill this interesting
space of being accessible to
Hollywood and accessible to white
people in a way that darker skinned
girls are not."
“Blackness”
 A lot of kind statements ... are coming from the pens
and minds of white people now... But sometimes, it is
frankly hard to tell the difference between expressions
of solidarity and gestures of absolution ... Among the
most difficult to swallow are social-media posts ...
expressing sorrow and implying that blackness is the
most terrible of fates. ... Let me be clear: I certainly
know I matter. Racism is terrible. Blackness is not.

- Imani Perry
 Internalized Racism in Social Media
● Social media platforms
have seen a major
boom in channeling
social justice discussion

● These posts are shared

out by larger
organizations, focusing
less on individualization
and more on the
“collective” experience

● This can actually seed

internalized racism while
overshadowing the
positive aspects of
blackness
 Changing the Narrative of “Blackness”

Oppression Resilience
Hardships Vitality
Discrimination Warmth
Stigma Joy
 Discussion Questions
- Is there an unwritten obligation to accept and or support Black artists
given the power differential in mass entertainment media, or is fault a
fault regardless?
- Can you remember seeing images that looked like yourself growing up?
What were they? How did that impact you?
- What are your thoughts on “have you experienced racism” question?
- In what ways have you internalized racism?
 References
- https://www.racialequitytools.org/resources/fundamentals/core-concepts/internalized-racism
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5386401/
- http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/featured/battle-internalized-racism-impacts-people-color-america/
- https://theangryblackwoman.com/2009/07/28/internalized-racism-the-silent-face-of-bigotry/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3483928/
- https://www.colorlines.com/articles/read-sandra-oh-how-internalized-racism-impacts-her-career
- https://www.vox.com/the-goods/21359098/social-justice-slideshows-instagram-activism
- https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/racism-terrible-blackness-not/613039/
- BESE. “Zoe Saldana & "Pose" Creator Steven Canals Chat Afro-Latinidad & Colorism.” Instagram, 3 Aug. 2020, www.instagram.com/p/CDcwF-3AgdV/.
- “Internalized Racism: Conceptualization.” Society for Health Psychology, The Health Psychologist, 26 Apr. 2018,
societyforhealthpsychology.org/resources/research-advocacy/diversity-racism/internalized/.
- “How Nina Simone Became the 'High Priestess of Soul'.” YouTube, NowThis Entertainment, 23 Feb. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYkPKzZSwjY.
- Nina Simone. www.ninasimone.com/biography/.
- Picheta, Rob. “Zoe Saldana Apologizes for Playing Nina Simone.” CNN, Cable News Network, 6 Aug. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/08/06/entertainment/zoe-saldana-nina-simone-apology-scli-intl/index.html.
- “Zoe Saldana Apologises for Playing Nina Simone: 'She Deserved Better'.” BBC News, BBC, 6 Aug. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53676550.
- Amandla Stenberg On Colorism In Hollywood: "Me And Yara and Zendaya Are Perceived In The Same Way" - SHADOW & ACT (shadowandact.com)
- 'Vampire Diaries' Star Kat Graham Talks Hollywood Beauty Standards And Having To Wear 'A Wig' (thethings.com)
- Why Cicely Tyson Combing Viola Davis's Hair On HTGAWM Was The Blackest Thing I've Ever Seen This Week (theroot.com)
- 'Wear a weave at work - your afro hair is unprofessional' - BBC News