Some people can't take black excellence and let the vilest crap spew from their small brains and big mouths.
This is Salem Mitchell:
Ain't she and her long individuals pretty? Vogue seemed to think so, but one of its readers got outta pocket.
“What with these ghetto people vogue been showing lately is not vogue at all," wrote the grammatically challenged person.
Salem saw the comment and decided she had time. She clap backed in her Instagram story.
— SALEM (@salemmitchell) July 8, 2018
“Let’s talk about this. The reason black women/POC fight so hard for representation, diversity, and [are] over cultural appropriation is because of this!" she wrote. “Everything about what I look like is considered "trendy" in the media and in fashion right now. The freckles, the braids, the big lips, etc., but on a black woman it’s ghetto for NO reason and we’re tired of it.”
Mitchell spoke to Teen Vogue about the incident and says this particular incident struck a chord.
“I wanted to speak out on this particular comment because it was completely discriminatory [and] completely racist," she said. “It wasn’t, ‘I think she’s ugly’ or ‘I don’t like this photo.’ It was, ‘By looking at this woman the first way I can describe her is by calling her a ghetto person.’ Calling me ghetto or any black woman ghetto based on a photo is so dismissive of who we are as people, what we’ve accomplished and how we carry ourselves.”
The 19-year-old knows she has a platform and feels it's her responsibility to speak for those without that privilege.
“It’s really important to speak up when the issues are probably affecting more than just me,” she said. “When people make negative comments about freckles, I speak up because although I’m confident, other young girls with freckles might see those nasty comments and feel bad about their own skin. When people say ignorant things like the ‘ghetto’ comment, I speak up because I know other girls are hearing [it] in their own lives too. Overall it’s best to save your energy and speak up when you know it’ll benefit more than just your own ego.”
Now, check this out:
Here’s How Instagram Lite Is Helping To Give Black & Latino Communities A Wider Voice
10 Things Many Black Women Experience When Stepping Into The World Of Work
A Conservative Advocacy Group Wants To Help West African Hair Braiders Keep Their Businesses Open
