[I wrote this letter after reading this article: http://gawker.com/straight-outta-compton-casting-call-is-racist-as-hell-1606524197]
Dear Universal Pictures,
Screw you guys. And for the love of all things good and holy, LEAVE US DARK BROWN GIRLS ALONE!!! What did we ever do to you to deserve this level of marginalization?
I live in Baltimore, so you don’t have to worry about me sending in my credentials for your NWA biopic casting call. And even if I did live close, the condensed version of just my dance/performance resume may still contain too many words/ideas/concepts to fit into your myopic view of humanity. I can’t imagine what you’d think about the full version of my res. Or, yikes, the ACADEMIC version. Mind. Blown.
Here is my takeaway from your ridiculous caste system of a casting call: Y’all are NOT checking for me AT ALL. I am dark-skinned AND I am very pretty. (See how I didn’t use the word “but.”) My hair is real and weave-free and somewhat long although not straight at all. I am in great shape (shout-out to U Rec Fit for the part-time job and to Ev and Buddy for the good genes) but I am nowhere near skinny. So I am simultaneously in every category and in none of them #atthesamedamntime.
So in the era of NWA, I just didn’t exist huh? Or is it in THIS era that my kind is ignored? Weren’t we all just celebrating Lupita? Doesn’t everyone still think Gabrielle Union is gorg (despite her crap taste in men)? Isn’t Stacey Dash irrelevant now that she’s on Fox News? How are you going to measure skin-tone? Are y’all finna use a paper bag? Are you gonna pay 10 cents for it at the Whole Foods?
Aren’t women worth more than their bodies?
I am also, at 33 years old, not actually a girl (and neither are the 18-30 year olds you want, fools). We are women, not children. So I will make a new casting category called “AAA WOMEN.” Guess who is in it? Every woman roaming this planet. Guess what we’re casting for? Life, motherfucker.
I know you are casting for a movie. BUT, you are casting EXTRAS. Like, no one needs to look like a certain historical figure or say any real lines. Literally, any woman will do. Why must you continue to insist that the hue of my (flawless, unblemished, un made-up, perfect, currently sun-kissed, very soft and good smelling, always dark brown) skin is synonymous with poverty. It just isn’t.
I’m rich. Get it straight. I have money, pedigree, education, and class. I possess a vocabulary so extensive that when I use curse words, I’m using them because I can, not because I have to, bitch.
You racist/colorist/sexist/bigot people disgust me. I am so over your biases. #gohomeroger #byefelicia
Love,
Sabrina
Dear Everyone... Love, Sabrina 