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11 black actresses to know and loveTo commemorate MLK Jr. Day, and because it's an excuse to write about beautiful women, I made a list of the 11 black actresses who make me sit up and take notice when they're on screen. (Alas, none of them are openly gay, but I've tried not to hold that against them.) You may be surprised that some of the usual suspects — like Halle Berry and Jada Pinkett Smith — aren't here. I've got nothing against them, and often enjoy their performances, they just aren't among my favorites. Feel free to tell me why I'm crazy for leaving them or someone else off the list in the comments (and I know you will!). 11. Vivica Fox Whether she's playing a bank robber in Set It Off (1996), a woman on a mission in Independence Day (1996), the responsible older sister on Soul Food (1997) or an FBI agent role on two seasons of the poorly named Lifetime drama 1-800-Missing (2004-2006), Vivica leaves a strong impression. And she has a cool name.
We just won't mention Booty Call (1997) or Boat Trip (2002). 10. Gabrielle Union Gabrielle first caught my attention in Bring It On (2000) — no easy feat considering the strength of that cast overall (Eliza Dushku! Kirsten Dunst! Eliza Dushku!). Some of her roles since then have annoyed me (most notably, her star turn as a stereotypical controlling bitch in Deliver Us From Evie), but as a general rule, I pay attention when she's on screen.
And I loved her guest appearance in Friends in 2001, where Ross and Joey fight over her so ridiculously that she finally shuns them both. She should have hooked up with Rachel instead. 9. Erica Hubbard I love Lincoln Heights (2007) and Erica Hubbard is one of the reasons why (her and the excellent actress who plays her younger sister). Hubbard imbues budding artist Cassie with just the right amount of teen angst, longing, and confusion.
She was good in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), too. 8. Alfre Woodard What is there to say about Alfre that hasn't already been said by practically every critic in America over the last 30 years? Her recent role on Desperate Housewives notwithstanding, she's known for the high quality of her roles, and she brings a depth and gravitas to every part she plays.
Some of her standout roles for me were in the movies Passion Fish (1992), Crooklyn (1994), and Love and Basketball (2000). 7. Loretta Devine I've been a fan of Loretta's since her small role in A Different World (1987-88), but she really impressed me in Waiting to Exhale (1995), and her many seasons on the TV show Boston Public (2000-2005). Like Woodard, she adds depth to a character just by showing up.
Ace pretty much sums it up in The divine Miss Loretta Devine when she says, "take a moment to think about all the little moments of happiness that Loretta Devine has brought you over the years." 6. Angela Bassett Angela's career has faltered a bit in the last several years, but I still remember how wowed I was with her acting (and her arms!) in What's Love Got to Do With It (1993). She cemented her status as a woman to reckon with on How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) and made a lasting impression in-between in 1995's Waiting to Exhale (who doesn't remember the scene of her lighting her cheating husband's car on fire?)
One of her most recent roles was in the award-winning film Akeelah and the Bee (2007). With roles in three movies currently in post-production, I'm hoping 2008 will be the year of Angela's big comeback. 5. Queen Latifah While I'm on the fence about the Queen's comments about gay issues, I do enjoy watching her act. Whether she's playing it fierce (1996's Set It Off), fiery (2002's Chicago), or fluffy (2006's Last Holiday), you're pretty much guaranteed a good time at a Queen Latifah movie.
And I still love that line from her rap days, "I don't know you from a can of paint." 4. Nia Long From her break-out role in Boyz in the Hood (1991) to smaller roles in popular movies like Made in America (1993) and Friday (1995) to larger roles in ensemble dramas like Soul Food (1997) and The Best Man (1999), Nia has been on the cusp of being a leading lady for over a decade, but hasn't quite made it (although she did co-star in 1997's soulful but slow Love Jones, and the 1999 undercover drama In Too Deep). Which is too bad, because she's a terrific actress with great range.
She continues to work steadily, though, most recently in the just-canceled 2007 ABC dramedy Big Shots, where she was pretty much the only good thing about that show. Nia's also one of the few black actresses who has played a lesbian on screen — twice — in The Broken Hearts Club (2000) and If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000). As Linda Villarosa noted in her column last November, few black actresses are willing to play gay roles, so Nia gets extra points for this. 3. Zoe Saldena Zoe first leapt off the screen in Center Stage (2002), was the best thing about Crossroads (2002), and was memorable but ultimately wasted in "the girlfriend" role in Drumline (2002). But her star has been on the rise in the last few years, no doubt helped by her supporting role in the massively successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise
Zoe has roles in four new movies being released in the next two years, including the much-talked about role of a young Lt. Uhura in the Star Trek movie. Her Dominican ancestry and fluency in Spanish may give her even more options in terms of roles as Hollywood begins to aggresively court the Latino audience, and we start to see more black Latinas on screen. 2. Regina King Regina King has been on my radar ever since I was a young girl watching 227 (I loved Brenda's sarcasm). Whether she's giving Jerry Maguire (1996) a piece of her mind, calling out her sister on How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), supporting her maybe-gay roommate when she was sexually assaulted on Higher Learning (1995), or dealing with a crisis on 24 (2007), nobody can express confidence, or dress you down, quite as effectively as Regina.
Next up for her: producing an all-black remake of The Big Chill. I'll be shocked if it doesn't include at least one or two of the women on this list in the cast. 1. Sanaa Lathan Sanaa was wasted in The Best Man (1999), good in Brown Sugar (2002), a little creepy in Nip/Tuck (2006), and great in Something New (2007). But to me she'll always be Monica Wright in Love and Basketball, one of my favorite movies because it combines women's sports, an empowering message, and Sanaa Lathan. Sanaa has a gift for conveying vulnerability and strength at the same time, and she's beautiful. What's not to love? If she'd been on my basketball team in high school, I doubt I would have paid much attention to the coach.
Okay, AfterEllen.com readers, now it's your turn — who are your favorites? And teen and college-aged AfterEllen.com readers — who are the young up-and-coming under-30 black actresses? I mean, besides Erica, Zoe, and that High School Musical chick? (And while you're at it, please explain the popularity of that movie to me. I've seen High School Musical 1 and 2, and I just don't get it.) Submitted by on January 21, 2008 - 1:30pm. |
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News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media
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Others For Consideration
SONJA SOHN form The Wire is great. If you ever get the chance to read an interview where she describes how she prepared for her lesbian love scenes - she will win you over. Also - Wanda Sykes - anyone who can make such social and political commentary THAT funny, as well as being cute as a button!
slight correction
Gabrielle Union's movie was Deliver Us from Eva not All About Eva.
great list otherwise.
Meagan Good
*grawl*
~It means pride.~
What about...
Yus *_*
Totally Agree
I knew I was forgetting someone. When she's on-screen, I can't help myself, I have to watch.
Good call.
Top 3
Kerry Washington: There is not a enough roles for her out there. Not only does she make my heart flutter; she's also just an incredible actress. The Last King of Scotland, She Hate Me (and that film suck ass but she was brilliant), she just needs to be in more movies! And it doesn't hurt that there's rumors that she and Bai Ling has got a thing goin on...
Rosario Dawson: Also mega talented actress, everything she is in is just awesome! My favorite to this date is still the 25th Hour (proof that Spike can get it right when his head isn't up his ass). And those damn legs...sheesh. And we share the same birthday, weird.
Nia Long: She's so adorable, I love her. She just brings out ur inner boo love.
Kerry
Rosario
Nia
www.myspace.com/blasianbeatnik02
Regina King...
is also the voice of huey and riley on the boondocks whihc is a ridiculously good show.
fav black actresses
Gabrielle , Regina and Sanna i love and they usually rock the screen. I've been dying to see Something New & Love and Basketball and Bring it on are 2 of the 3 sports movies i actually like. Megan too really got my attention in D.E.B.S
And i just saw Last King of Scotland the other day and i was blown away, but that picture of Kerry brought back memories of the dismemberment scene and i've been trying to get that out of my head for days. Be warned ppl. FAST FOWARD.
I wanted to mention Tasha
I think she's one of the lesser known, but really good black actresses. She also has an acting school and was on a couple of episodes of ANTM when the ladies had to do some acting exercises.
I also like Niecy Nash. (Simply Hilarious!)
And I think someone mentioned Kimberly Elise. Great actress as well. Saw her in "Woman, Thou Art Loosed", "Close to Home", and "Diary...", and, of course, "Set it Off"
Audra McDonald takes my breath away..
Audra is the best thing about private practice..She is not well-known because she is usually a stage actress..She also has an incredible voice..Her smile makes me melt...
Kerry Washington is incredibly talented, not to mention gorgeous..
I agree with everyone on your list..especially Sanaa..I also fell in love with her in Love and Basketball..She has had my heart ever since..
Missing from the list
Vanessa Williams and Rosario Dawson! Jennifer Beals!
I also like Nicole Lyn in the few shows that I've seen her in.
On the list:
I'm a big fan of Ms. Loretta Devine.
I also like Vivica A. Fox, Gabrielle Union (even in Deliver us from Eva), Zoe Saledna, Regina King, and Aldre Woodard.
And Queen Latifah. :)
Aunjanue Ellis.
(Thanks so much for the tribute!
Xiomara)
The epitome of versatility. Aunjanue can play white collar, blue collar, soccer Mom, Boho...
Sundance Film Festival Day 3
Park City, Utah
1/20/2001
LtoR Daniel Sunjata (Langston Hughes), Aunjanue
Ellis (Zora), Ray Ford (Wally) and Duane Boutte
(Young Bruce) in "Brother to Brother"
Mahogany Cafe
http://www.mahoganycafe.com/
Mahogany Cafe is a tribute to the many beautiful and talented yet most times underworked and very underappreciated black actresses in Hollywood. Some of these women are very well known yet most are not recognizable to mainstream audiences. Actresses range from Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Sanaa Lathan, Tonea Stewart, Nicole Ari Parker, CCH Pounder, Loretta Devine, Kent King, Maya Rudolph, Marsha Thomason, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Kasi Lemmons, Judy Pace, Eartha Kitt, Anna Deavere Smith, Ruby Dee, Angelle Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, Mari Morrow, Donzaleigh Abernathy, Irma P. Hall, S. Epatha Merkerson, Diana Ross, Paula Patton, Thandie Newton, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Vanessa L. Williams, Charlayne Woodard, Meagan Good, Aisha Tyler, Tamara Tunie, Adilah Barnes and Kellita Smith to Nona Gaye, Tatyana Ali, Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall, Tina Andrews, Naomie Harris, Joy Bryant, Phylicia Rashad, Jada Pinkett Smith, Rashida Jones, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Robinne Lee, Queen Latifah, Kerry Washington, Beyonce Knowles, Diahann Carroll, Nia Long, Tyra Banks, Vivica A. Fox, Vonetta McGee, Penny Johnson Jerald, Zoe Saldana, Samaria Graham, Tonya Lee Williams, Tangi Miller, Michelle Hurd, Holly Robinson Peete, Eve, Rosario Dawson, Jurnee Smollett, Alexia Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, Regina King and Audra McDonald. Also included are late actresses Nell Carter, Lynne Thigpen, Dorothy Dandridge, Hattie McDaniel, Beah Richards, Fredi Washington, Rosalind Cash, Nina Mae McKinney, Gloria Foster and Tamara Dobson.
TERRIBLE
Does Afterellen employ any black women? To have a white woman tell us who the top black actresses are is like her telling me the top HBCUs. This list is as uncreative as her video cast. Did she get the list from "Black actresses for Dummies", because obviously everyone here disagree with the list.
How about you include some women that actually have some gay screen time like Rose Rollins and Taraji P. Henson.....even Kerry Washington. Let me stop....
Gay screen time? Okay.
Based on that criteria:
Kim Hawthorne
Rachael Crawford
Nicole Ari Parker
Lonette McKee
Paula Kelly
Terri J. Vaughn
Felicia Pearson
Whoa! Hold on there
Whoa! Hold on there ducati - Sarah wasn't "telling us who the top black actresses are" she was just listing her favorites, and inviting others to do the same. In other words: she was starting a conversation. And "obviously everyone here disagree with that list" isn't true, since half the comments are saying "I'm so glad you included so-and-so because...".
Sure, there are other women you might prefer, and there have a been a lot of great suggestions in the comments (I have Jennifer Beals near the top of my list) but without this blog post we wouldn't even be having this discussion.
Are you suggesting that white women should only be allowed to talk about their favorite white actresses? And by that logic, black women should only be able to talk about their favorite black actresses, not white actresses?
That kind of thinking doesn't help anyone, least of all the goals of inclusivity and fighting racism.
And as for Sarah's favorites being uncreative - I think if you stopped 20 white women on the street ,only one or two of them would know who Regina King or Sanaa Lathan is, let alone what movies they starred in. Being uncreative would have been a list full of Halle Berry's.
King, Lathan - many white women wouldn't know.
Whose fault is that? If people want to be "multi-cultural" as many Americans appear interested in being in 2008, why be spoonfed about actors of other races by the likes of Us Weekly and "Access Hollywood"?
Bar Erica Hubbard, the lone obscurity (lest you watch ABC Family), Sarah's choices were pretty mainstream. Had she mentioned random talent like Viola Davis, Naomie Harris, Penny Johnson Jerald and Jurnee Smollett, I would've been impressed. It's not her fault but Sarah doesn't realize that to many in the African-American community, Vivica Fox cannot act. Some of us even balk at her film choices!
I know she meant well but I can fully comprehend why Sarah's 11 favorites has some respondents shaking their heads and/or rolling their eyes.
P.S. Every month is Black History month.
Don't wait until a special occasion (MLK Day) to post your favorite Black actresses.
Every day here IS black history month
AfterEllen runs articles all the time about black lesbians, films with all-black casts, books by black writers, etc. If you look at the tag cloud on the front page of this site, you'll see that the largest (i.e. most-used) tags are "African American" and "black". That's one of the things I like about this site - that they include people of color all the time.
Sure, a white woman is going to pick a different list of favorite black actresses than a black woman probably would - so what?
I get really frustrated when black folks say we want white people to take racism and diversity seriously, and to include us, then we slap them down when they do for not doing exactly the way we think they should.
Seriously, this is EXACTLY the reason why more white folks don't do things like this (make lists of their favorite black actresses) - because someone is going to say "You can't do that because you're white." But if they DON'T talk or write about us, we say "you need to include us!"
It's a lose-lose proposition for the white people who do have good intentions, and it results in less visibility for black folks, so in the end, we're really just screwing ourselves.
PS I'm really aiming this rant more at people like ducati than you, Xiomara, since your response was at least respectful and thoughtful, even if I disagree with it.
Then why use MLK Day AS THE REASON for the blog entry?
Will Sarah do the same for Chinese New Year? Cinco de Mayo? That is my bone of contention.
Seriously, this is EXACTLY the reason why more white folks don't do things like this (make lists of their favorite black actresses) - because someone is going to say "You can't do that because you're white." But if they DON'T talk or write about us, we say "you need to include us!"
I can't speak for all African-Americans but my issue with this is that--and mind you, I'm a film and TV buff-- I can name 20 good white actresses whose names aren't Angelina, Julia, Sandra, Charlize or Cate but you ask a white woman to do the same for blacktresses and the majority will have difficulty. Loads of difficulty. And that's a testament to societal conditioning by the media (read: most white people don't know actors of color until they've crossed over to the mainstream)
I know Sarah's heart is in the right place but perhaps this particular blog entry came across as patronizing to some.
P.S. In fairness to Sarah, it may be the same case with white actresses: she only knows the marquee names but couldn't pick, say, Isabelle Huppert or Samantha Morton out of a line-up.
I didn't make MLK Day as the
I didn't make MLK Day as the "reason" the blog entry, I was planning to do it anyway and just held it for this day since it was a nice synergy, and a fun topic to post on a day when the topics usually tend to be more serious. But we cover stuff like this all the time, even when it's not MLK Day.
I'm sorry you found it patronizing, but as dlink said, I'm in a bit of a no-win situation: if I don't recognize MLK Jr. Day, I'm a clueless/indifferent/racist White person (not saying you said this, just that I've heard that said before about white people who don't recognize the day), and if I do, I'm apparently patronizing. Since I gave everyone on my staff (none of whom are black, but that's primarily because we only have 3 people on staff) and the bloggers the day off, that just left me, and I stayed up late Sunday night doing these all the blog and vlog posts so you would at least have some content on MLK Jr. Day.
As a white woman, I take my responsibility to diversity very seriously, which is why I had a "women of color" section on this site from the very beginning of launching it in 2002. It isn't just lip service, as my staff and the bloggers would tell you - I tell them to actively look for women of color to write about 365days out of the year. In fact, I even get frustrated whenever we've gone a whole week with what I call "a parade of white people" in the articles. :) (But sometimes it's so difficult to find interesting people and topics to write about that we haven't covered already, that we can't be specific about race.)
So it's disappointing to me when people who don't know the site very well (at least, I'm assuming that is the case with you and ducati) make these kinds of inaccurate comments about our coverage of women of color.
You absolutely don't have to like my list, and I've no doubt that you would choose different black actresses than I would as a white woman - just like my straight sister would list different women on her list of favorite lesbians than I would - but I'm not pretending to speak for black women with this list, I'm just presenting a list of women I like and admire (as I say in the intro).
You can certainly protest certain actresses or tell me why you would choose differently - in fact, I'd welcome that - but I'm not going to stop talking about race and women of color just because I'm white.
My criticism was solely about your choice of actresses.
I think you can be
I think you can be both well-intentioned and have a sincere interest. I've seen every black ensemble film released in the theaters in the last 10 years. I can quote lines from The Best Man, The Wood, Daddy's Little Girls, Soul Food (the series and the movie), Love and Basketball, Waiting to Exhale and most recently, The Great Debaters, which I just reviewed in my vlog. I love many of these movies (although Daddy's Little Girls was a bit too formulaic, even for me), drag Lori to see them all the time, and have them all on DVD.
I think the real issue you have with my list, as you say in your first comment, is that they're all mainstream actresses, and that's a totally fair criticism. I'm not an art-house-movie type of person; I prefer mainstream films, and my choice of actresses reflect that. But that's not about race - that's about personal preference.
You went awry only with your comment about my list being patronizing simply because it's about mainstream actresses, and your comment about posting things on days other than MLK Jr. Day (it sounds like that's just a reflection of the fact that you're new here, as you say, but it would be best if you spent some time on the site before making a comment like that).
And now I suspect we've exhausted this topic, so I won't belabor it. I'm glad you joined the site, and would love to hear more recommendations for good films that are less mainstream films that I should be sure to check out. I'm willing to try anything once! :)
IMO
Xiomara, I find it remarkable that you’re so adamant about having the last word, so to speak. If you admit that you’re new to the site and don’t know much about it and the ‘AE community’, why not spend a few days and get acquainted with the site thereby also get to know the AE community? You might be surprised and fully grasp how absolutely unfair your preconceived ideas are. And how do I know you have preconceived ideas? You told me yourself: “While I appreciate your insistence to include minority women, I do have to say that one thing that rubs my circle of lesbians of African descent the wrong way is when non-blacks are so adamant to be part of an experience that is not theirs, even when their heart isn’t in it. I actually am more appreciative of the white person who is “lily white” and admits it than someone who is more motivated by a “bleeding heart”. If a white person sincerely loves black cinema (in the innate fashion that Lisa Stansfield, Joss Stone and Teena Marie love R&B music), kudos to you. If you do not, that’s perfectly OK as well. It doesn’t mean you’re a “bad” person but please—one shouldn’t force oneself to be “multicultural” just because it’s the PC thing to do.” These are generalized and preconceived ideas that you have about white people. Even more interesting, you seem to feel that they (white people) need to work harder to prove you wrong and get your blessings to be ‘multicultural’.
As a black woman, I say no, they don’t. Furthermore, I say Sarah does not have to prove herself to anyone and does not have to justify her stance on racism and prejudice and certainly does not need anyone's blessings to be ‘multicultural’.
Sincerity vs. Political Correctness
70F9,
I said Sarah's heart was in the right place. I was simply letting her (and any other white person who cares) know that they do NOT have to be interested in minority anything. If it's sincere, great. If the impetus is political correctness, I frown upon that. Too many white people (friends, colleagues, acquaintances, bloggers, etc) are caught up in being multicultural but sometimes I question the sincerity. I'll emphasize again: if your niche is the genuine fascination with people of color, brava! If you're doing it so whites and minorities see you as an "enlightened" white person or out of "white guilt", then you're shallow.
Sarah can enter as many minority-related topics as she wants. She just shouldn't post them, though, just because it has a person of color as its focal point. We're not monolithic.
Vivica!
What ?
Where the hell is Kerry Washington
Last king of scotland
Ray
I think i love my wife
She hate me
Mr & Mrs Smith
Save the last dance
COME ON !
ruby Dee
Glad
They made me sit up and take notice.
From childhood until now...here are the actresses I most admired for pulling me into the story they were trying to tell...
1 - Diahann Carroll
2 - Cicely Tyson
3 - Leslie Uggams
4 - Lynn Thigpen
5 - Ellen Holly
6 - Debbi Morgan
7 - Lynn Whitfield
8 - Alfre Woodward
9 - Vanessa Williams
10 - Jurnee Smollett
Do you plan on making lists
Do you plan on making lists for your favorite white actresses? Or favorite hispanic actresses? Asian?
This post and it's comments really bothered me. Why do you have to call race into question when regarding talent? Talent is talent. Just make a list of your top actresses, not your top actresses in certain racial groups.
I could go on and on about why it's irritating, but I won't.
I'll apologize for skipping
Yes
We post articles or blog posts related to or addressing issues of race and ethnicity frequently - some that are more fun, like this one and our recent list of Asian American actresses on the verge, and others that are more serious and analytical, like a recent blog post about the lack of Asian American actresses on TV, an article about how The L Word portrays Latino culture, or a blog post about how black women always play the "best friend" in TV/film.
As for a list of favorite white actresses - they already dominate most lists, because they get most of the work in Hollywood, so we don't need to create a special list of them.
Talent IS just talent, as you suggest, but race plays a major factor into how much visibility - or work - an actress gets in America, just like sexual orientation does (probably more so than sexual orientation, in fact).
We include women of color in articles and blog posts that are not race-specific all the time on AfterEllen.com, but sometimes we address it specifically, for the same reason we write articles and blog posts specifically on lesbian actresses/directors/writers etc. - because mainstream media/entertainment publications usually don't, and women of color need all the visibility they can get (again, just like lesbians and other marginalized groups).
And if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
More reasons to love Sarah
I was going to comment about the person questioning the racial aspects of this list, but Sarah you just gave me even more reasons to love you. I would not have been able to state my point of view as brilliantly as you did. So thank you for that.
Sarah you are so right. "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem"
Tammy Townsend!
Watch clips from Tammy's career:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbphc3Ywnk8
So underrated.
Kim Hawthorne (she was Yolanda on "The L Word")
IMDb bio: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0370422/
From "Jeremiah"
From "Da Vinci's Inquest"
Kim's jewelry website, Julian Bailey Designs:
http://www.julianbaileydesigns.com/
Tonya Pinkins (Tony winner and soap star)
Mahogany Cafe bio: http://www.mahoganycafe.com/tonyapinkins.html
THE FORMIDABLE BLACK ACTRESSES LIST
Lets see not bad Sarah cause you almost have the list of all my fav black actresses but not all.
1.NIA LONG, PAM GRIER AND SANAA LATHAN (CAN'T MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN THESE 3)
2.HALLE BERRY
3.THANDIE NEWTON
4.ANGELA BASSETT
5. JENNIFER BEALS
6. TYRA BANKS (Its not my fault that i had to put her here she is not that much of an actress but she will be forgiven for being her)
7. QUEEN L
8.THANDIE NEWTON
9.PERSIA WHITE (not much of that either but i love her- GIRLFRIENDS SITCOM)
10.KIMBERLEY ELISE
One of my favorites is not
One of my favorites is not so often mentioned Shaka Ledard. She hasn't appeared in many movies but she is absolutely gorgeous. She played Gina Gershon's girlfriend in Prey for Rock N Roll which was a surprisingly a pretty decent movie.
Thanks Sarah for the list. There were a few unfamiliar faces on your list. I have some DVDs to rent ;).
ShakaRA
She's had no acting credit since '04 according to IMDb.
Her official site:
http://www.shakaraledard.com/fire.html
Am I blind?
Surprise...
I was very surprised at the vitriole spilled in the simple act of trying to name ladies of color who we enjoy and admire. I didn't see the same response with other lists such as Women with Glasses (do the myopic rail against the good sighted?) Do we balk at mention of straight actresses on a lesbian website?
Sarah offers a site that has something that appeals to everyone. There are women of all varieties represented and it covers numerous topics. I applaud her success at making a site so available to us all.
I concur
I have to agree with you. I also have to add that I remember back in 2004 I had to write a paper, topic of my choice, in my Women's Studies class. Since the personal is political, I decided to tackle the topic of Visibility of Lesbians of Color in the Media. Talk about needle in a haystack as far as research goes(you can google it even today and see what I dealt with 4 yrs ago...sad, I know). Afterellen.com was the ONLY website I could find that had actual articles devoid of agendas on my topic that I could
plagiarizesite good quotes from. It's that kind of inclusiveness, among other things, that appealed to me and has kept me an avid reader/visitor of AfterEllen.com ever since.Now, as far as the ones who should've been on the list? Kerry Washington, Meagan Good, Tracie Thoms and yes, Jada! Swooon... Maybe it should've been a top 20. ^_^
And I always thought that Stacey Dash was serious eye candy.
GINA TORRES
HOT - WITH OR WITHOUT A GUN