Tag: racial discrimination
Jada Pinkett Smith Admits to Struggling with Bias: ‘Blonde Hair on White Women Just Triggers Me’
Jada Pinkett Smith is revealing what “triggers” her about white women.
On Monday’s episode of Red Table Talk, the 47-year-old actress spoke about the relationship between white women and women of color, and revealed a surprising revelation of how she views the former.
“I think what crushes me, specifically in my relationship with white women, the thing that really breaks my heart is that white women understand what it feels to be oppressed,” Pinkett Smith said.
Her 17-year-old daughter, Willow, chimed in, “Because of their sex.”
“Exactly. Because of their sex,” the mother of two agreed. “What it feels like to be ostracized or not being treated as an equal.”
Pinkett Smith admitted to her own biases, saying, “I have to admit I’m guilty to that to a certain degree because I do have my own biases, specifically to blonde women.”
“Blonde hair on white women just triggers me,” the Girls Trip star said while snapping her fingers. “I’ve had to catch myself.”
“Do you have a specific incident with someone who had blonde hair?” her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, asked.
“Absolutely. All throughout my childhood. I do remember experiencing being teased by white women in regards to my hair, how I looked, feeling belittled,” Pinkett Smith said.
Pinkett Smith then invited Red Table Talk producer Annie Price to the table to share her opinion on the racial divide between white women and women of color.
“Any time I want to have a conversation [about race] I’m afraid I’m going to offend somebody just by starting to talk,” Price said. “I feel like I’m going to say the wrong thing.”
She continued, “I hear a lot of times that white women have privilege and they need to recognize they have privilege. I’m sure I do. I just haven’t had the experience to recognize that I have the privilege. I don’t understand the feeling of racism. I feel a lot of times trying to be friends or trying to reach out to women of color, sometimes I feel like they don’t want to be my friend.”
Pinkett Smith said she believed “there is something unique” about “why black women and white women have such a difficult time [talking to each other].”
“We, even as black women, have to be willing to look at our biases that keep us from being able to bridge the gap,” she added.
Red Table Talk airs Mondays on Facebook Watch.
Article via People
3 women arrested after using bathroom in restaurant claim racial discrimination
Three women are accusing a Georgia restaurant of racial discrimination after being arrested for allegedly taking too long in the bathroom.
WMAZ reports Brittany Lucio, Asia’h Epperson and Erica Walker asked to use the restroom at an Atlanta-area restaurant called Houston’s on Mother’s Day last week. A shift manager claims they were in the bathroom after the restaurant closed at 10 p.m. and, when they refused to leave, asked a police officer who was working security at the restaurant to escort them out.
A police report says the security officer found the women on their phones inside the restroom, ignoring his request to leave. When he grabbed Lucio by the wrist and said “Let’s go,” she pulled away and shouted “Get your hands off of me!”
The situation worsened from there; the officer says Lucio threw a punch, hitting his mouth. He asked Houston’s staff to call 911 for backup while restraining Lucio and Walker outside the restaurant.
Epperson, a former “American Idol” contestant and “Greenleaf” actress, began recording the incident on the phone, showing the officer pinning one of the two women down on the ground.
WSB-TV reports all three were arrested when additional officers arrived, and booked in Fulton County Jail. Lucio was charged with criminal trespass and felony obstruction; Walker and Epperson were charged with criminal trespass.
Lauren Pozen WSB@LaurenPozenWSBThese women were charged with a crime after they say a Houston’s security guard assaulted them. At 5, why they have the support of @Tip and what the security guard says led up to this.
Epperson told WSB-TV on Tuesday that she plans to take legal action against the Atlanta Police Department, claiming the officer lied on the police report. The restaurant was open and “full of people,” she said. They were in the restroom less than 10 minutes, including using a phone to give an Uber driver directions to pick them up, she added.
“We weren’t doing anything wrong. We were never asked multiple times to leave. That is a lie. We are moving forward very rapidly with this matter things will be handled legally,” Epperson said in a statement.
Epperson, 29, was a semi-finalist on “American Idol” season 7 in 2008. She also notably played Felicia in the 2015 movie “Straight Outta Compton” about N.W.A. rappers Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Dr. Dre.
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