Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #harrietdeservesbetter

Most recents (2)

Here is why Cynthia Erivo, in particular, should not play Harriet Tubman.

TL; DR: There’s a troubling pattern of Cynthia repeatedly, deliberately, selectively *choosing* to not give respect to African-American heritage – the heritage of Harriet Tubman.
#HarrietDeservesBetter
Note: There’s an argument to be made against Africans/non-DOS Brits playing important African-American figures – & vice versa. Performance & perspective, where & how we take up space, larger economic & cultural issues at play.

Others have unpacked that; this thread won’t.
This thread is about why Cynthia Erivo should not play Harriet Tubman, “the Moses of her people” & a sacred African-American ancestor. It goes beyond Cynthia’s birthplace, accent, heritage & even her association with an ethnic bigot.

It rests on a pattern of behavior & choices.
Read 59 tweets
The framing of @paularogo's @Essence piece on Cynthia Erivo is…interesting.

This response will be a long thread bc it's impt that:
◾️we step back to analyze the larger narrative that's being created ◾️Essence is aware that we're aware of deliberate editorial decisions.
And to expand on point about potential context: She might've even looked into the data or done a quick tally herself of prestige dramas (particularly historic fiction) to see what the breakdown is of non-African American Blacks portraying African-Americans over the last 10 yrs
…And the market parallels of Euro & Aussie actors taking advantage of US opportunity.

She might've even looked into the existing research to contextualize Cynthia's allusion to lack of opportunity for Black Brit women…
Read 6 tweets

Related hashtags

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!