Nene Leakes deserves grace. There, I said it. While we’re used to seeing the Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA) alumna effortlessly juggling entrepreneurship, motherhood and God knows what else, it shouldn’t be lost upon us that she’s a human just like us. These past few years have primarily been rough for the Georgia peach, as she recently laid her late husband to rest while finding herself embroiled in a sticky lawsuit.

Additionally, the woman who was once the poster child of one of the most-watched television franchises now finds herself at odds with her former network home. A situation I’m sure both parties never saw coming. Regardless of your feelings on Nene or her position, she’s still owed the same grace that so many of her non-Black counterparts receive.

The double standard

Most of us get a kick out of watching the antics our favorite housewives put us through each week. Whether we find ourselves with palms sweating in the heart of an alleged paternity scandal or cheekily witnessing our favorite duos turn into foes, we as fans, are here for the ride. So much so that it should be easy to spot the double standards that Nene and other Black women on the network have endured in the name of reality television.

We’ve seen Nene’s white colleagues, on RHOA or otherwise, destroy property, perpetuate racist tendencies and everything under the sun with little to no reprieve. Yet, when Nene alleges racism, her cries for help fell on deaf ears. Nevermind that at one point, Nene and her larger-than-life personality became synonymous with the brand.

It’s a tale as old as time when the talent of Black women is used as a tool to enhance the workplace, but they’re laid out to dry when the company has no use for them anymore. Thankfully, Nene’s influence lives beyond that network.

Her influence

Because of Nene, we have a meme for just about every situation our community faces. For example, it’s (likely) because of Nene that we’re in a housing crisis because we all refuse to purchase homes with white refrigerators. In all seriousness, Nene is a pioneer and should be regarded as such.

Before reality television became the megahit that it is, we had women like Nene leading ensemble casts of wealthy Black women who exuded luxury while still being a verbal assassin when it called for it. Of course, this isn’t to say that wealthy Black women who epitomize luxury didn’t exist before Nene, but her role in ushering in these images should go down in history. Nene represents more for the culture than most give her credit for.

What she represents for the culture

 

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Nene is Black culture. She’s a Black woman who has beat (and still faces) insurmountable odds while coming out on top as the victor she is. Outside of her extensive resume, her situation with Bravo shines a light on the plight many Black people face in the workplace.

We’re expected to carry our subpar, white colleagues on our backs while simultaneously enduring discrimination. When we finally get exhausted and speak up, we’re labeled as combative or a liar, and the sad part is, that commodification continues to happen. Even when we exit these toxic work environments, the company still profits from our achievements. This is why we must support Nene.

Why we need to support her

 

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I know that it’s become a sordid trend on social media to mock the accounts of Black women who’ve faced hardships, especially discrimination. When we continue to discount Black women’s experiences because we haven’t parted with our internalized misogynoir, it sends a clear message to non-Black folks. They will be led to believe that since we don’t take Black women seriously, they shouldn’t either. They will see our lack of interest in protecting them as a sign of dehumanizing them at every turn. Whether you like Nene or not, I’d encourage you to offer up some support as you’d want it for yourself should a similar situation arise.