Beyoncé is inarguably one of the most powerful Black women in entertainment. She’s accomplished an unprecedented degree of visibility in the mainstream, not by chance. Along every step of her career, management has guided her shrewdly to make moves that would not threaten her goals. For years, the biggest criticism of Bey’s personal image was she played it too safe, but “safe” set her up for global superstardom.

Now Beyonce, 34, manages herself and approaches her career choices with a similar kind of care but a new boldness. 2013’s Self-Titled saw her visually and aurally cut loose as an artist. She gave audiences more than we’ve ever seen, and now the world awaits her next move.
It appears that Beyoncé, who has long been derided for her lackluster acting, wants to prove her detractors wrong. She will star in a remake of A Star is Born alongside Bradley Cooper, and over the weekend a rumor emerged that she’s set her sights on a biography of Saartjie Baartman. According to the report, Beyonce would like to write and star in the film.

Baartman was lured from her South African home in 1810 and enslaved. During this time until her death in 1815, she was put on display for European onlookers to gawk at her shapely body. She could not escape exploitation even in death. Her skeleton was on display in France until 1976. Baartman’s story has come to represent the intersection of hundreds of years of degradation that Black women endured and global colonialism. It’s a fascinating one. A well-done film version in English (a French film was released in 2010) would be a delight, but Beyonce should, under no circumstances, play Saartjie Baartman.

Beyoncé in the role would only perpetuate the type of colorist representations Black women have long fought against. If the story intrigues her, Beyoncé should aid in getting the movie made. In fact, she may be able to do her most important work as a producer, the kind of position Brad Pitt took in getting 12 Years a Slave to the big screen. Her push would be invaluable. That might be the only way a woman who resembles Baartman in complexion and body-type would be cast.

Moreover, all African Americans should be sensitive to the ways we may participate in the erasure of talent that emerges from the continent of Africa. We certainly do not have the power to perpetuate white supremacy systemically, but with the little visibility we have, we can attempt to elevate authentic voices. Ultimately, those of us who have access and resources must embrace that we are not always the right person to tell every story no matter how deeply it resonates.
Beyoncé draws undue cynicism about any choice she makes. Folks cannot wait to pull out their petty daggers and take aim. Claims that she is interested in the story only for its potential to garner her awards are unfair. She recognizes the power of her voice. Even the rumors of a connection to the project have raised the profile of Baartman’s tragedy. This, too, is important work.

A Saartjie Baartman biopic would not be just “another slave” movie. Americans get far too few depictions of slavery as an international system of trade and women are usually relegated to supportive roles. A Baartman film would be a coup. The history must be told.

UPDATE: Beyonce's reps confirm she is not working on a Saartjie Baartman project

Photo: Eastfjord Productions / Shutterstock.com/Apic/Getty

Kimberly Foster is the founder and editor-in-chief of For Harriet. Email or Follow @KimberlyNFoster

The rejection of respectability is central to the organizing of the Black Lives Matter movement. References to "respectability politics" are often used as short hand to signify standing in solidarity with those most marginalized in Black communities. But rarely is context provided for the phrase, and its origins are almost never mentioned.

by Kaila Boulware

Slavery was the single greatest atrocity of the African race. It was the premeditated attack, kidnapping and torture of African people, an invasion with only two goals in mind: to either enslave us physically and psychologically, or to kill us. Millions of our strongest and smartest African women and men were ripped from the continent, and forced into servitude. Slavery is the only reason why there are African people in America today. But white people continue to undermine and dilute the systemic consequences of slavery by pretending like slavery “wasn’t that bad,” or like it didn’t happen at all.

by Dee Rene

Growing up Black and Southern is a life of subtle racism, one that you learn to choke down in between sips of your sweet tea. The Confederate flag looms at the entrances of roads where no people of color have lived for as long as anyone can remember. It’s worn as a headband by the waitress who drops your plate off with a bit of annoyance, but provides exceptional service to the blonde hair, blue-eyed patron next to you. It waves proudly above state capitol buildings, where laws are passed that seem to choke the life and resources out of our communities.

by Brit Bennett for The Paris Review

In 1864, a nine-year-old slave girl was punished for daydreaming. Distracted by rumors that her brother and father would be sold, she failed to remove worms from the tobacco leaves she was picking. The overseer didn’t whip her. Instead, he pried her mouth open, stuffed a worm inside, and forced her to eat it.

by Anna Gibson


Ben Affleck has been under fire, for actions he took in response to finding out one of his ancestors owned slaves on the PBS show about genealogy and family history, Finding Your Roots, hosted by Henry Louis Gates. Upon learning that one of his ancestors was a slave master, he asked the network to remove this segment from the aired version of the show, and they complied. The email in which he made this request was released on WikiLeaks, and many people are furious that he would do something like this.

Rosa Parks was a demure seamstress who defied a Montgomery, Ala., bus driver's order to give up her seat to a white man because -- on that particular day -- she was tired. Her spontaneous act sparked a 1955 bus boycott that launched the civil rights movement.

by Jolie Doggett

How exactly are you supposed to celebrate Martin Luther King Day?

Nine years ago, I went to a ratchet, all-night pajama party in a warehouse (For the record, I had a damn good time).

Two years ago, I sat at my desk at my sales job looking mean looking because I didn’t get to sleep in that day.

Last year, I went to the gym with my mom because we both had the day off, and why not?

by Brittany Dawson

A recent report conducted by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law revealed approximately 1 million African Americans identity as LGBT. On Monday October 6th, the Supreme Court’s decision to deny reviewing same-sex marriage cases resulted in the freedom to marry in an additional 5 states: Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah, Indiana, and Virginia, a striking testament oton our nation’s progress towards creating safe spaces for LGBTQ persons.

by Nana Aduba-Amoah
Tracy Lewis is paving a way for black women in the public safety industry after being promoted to firefighter lieutenant at the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) ceremony held Wednesday morning.  Lewis, 41, is the second black woman in the history of the FDNY to be promoted in twelve years.

Not terribly long ago in a country that many people misremember, if they knew it at all, a black person was killed in public every four days for often the most mundane of infractions, or rather accusation of infractions – for taking a hog, making boastful remarks, for stealing 75 cents. For the most banal of missteps, the penalty could be an hours-long spectacle of torture and lynching. No trial, no jury, no judge, no appeal. Now, well into a new century, as a family in Ferguson, Missouri, buries yet another American teenager killed at the hands of authorities, the rate of police killings of black Americans is nearly the same as the rate of lynchings in the early decades of the 20th century.

Alice Coachman, the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal, died at age 90 in Albany, Ga., on Monday morning.

Coachman, the 1948 Olympic high jump champion, suffered a stroke in April and died at an Albany hospital, according to Albany’s NBC affiliate.

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling, For Harriet would like to celebrate the Black Women who spearheaded the civil rights movement through their commitment to education integration and equality. Their lives and courage have had a lasting impact.

by Stacey Patton

As we grieve, rage, and try to assess the verdict in the racially-charged Michael Dunn murder case, it is essential for us to remember that the brutal and random killings of black children like Aiyana Jones Jordan Davis, Travyon Martin, Kimani Gray, Darius Simmons, Renisha McBride, and Dione Payne who was beaten, raped and killed by two white men in 2012, is nothing new.

The U.S. Postal Service paid tribute Friday to pioneering Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm with the issuance of a limited-edition 37th Black Heritage Forever Stamp during a special ceremony at Brooklyn Borough Hall in Brooklyn, NY.

The Shirley Chisholm Black Heritage Forever Stamp goes on sale Friday at Post Offices nationwide, online at usps.com/stamps, at the Postal Store on eBay at ebay.com/stamps, and by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724).

In September 1963, white supremacists bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The blast killed four girls: Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley. The girls died inside of their Sunday School classrooms, and the blast kill 22 other congregants.

The Ashanti nation goes down in history as one of the fiercest African nations to resist European colonialism. Second only to the famed Zulu warriors. Today, the Ashanti display such cultural pride; images of them cause a yearning for the days of old. What a wonder it must have been exist in the colorful, golden pre-colonial Ashanti kingdom. Among their fiercest leaders, one stands out more than others. Not just because she was a woman—because she was prepared to fight just when everyone else wanted to give in. In spite of the fall of the Ashanti, their fierce resistance earned them a place of high esteem even among the same empire that was massacring their people.

Black women have come a long way, but through it all we've kept fighting. Remember that spirit with these 12 quotes that will motivate you and make you think.
 
"Faith and prayer are the vitamins of the soul; man cannot live in health without them." -Mahalia Jackson Tweet This

It’s always interesting to learn the diverse events that occurred years ago on the same date that you are alive. This time, it’s the anniversary of Harriet Tubman‘s death 100 hundred years ago on March 8, 1913. In the state of New York, in Auburn, where she is buried, and in Maryland and Canada, where she led hundreds to freedom, dozens of events will be held to mark her contribution to American history, not just Black history.

Each year in America we dedicate February to Black History Month. During this time, our children are told the stories of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and many of the other prolific figures in the modern Civil Rights Movement. We celebrate these champions for our rights and equality (as we should), but tend to give very little thought to the other people who were there in the trenches, working alongside the Martins and Rosas to make things happen. There are many “unsung” heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, many of them women.