Last week a video posted on YouTube went viral. On Twitter the headline was something along the lines of Ellen Pompeo teaches a master class on how white people can be allies to people of color in all aspects of life but mainly focusing on media. The video linked here is a basically a replica of every discussion we’ve had in class about stereotypes and stigmas placed on actresses specifically women of color except this time it is coming straight from the mouths of four women that we see on our television and phone screens every day. What stood out the most to me in this video is something Gabrielle Union talked about. She mentioned communication within actresses as friends, as fellow women, and as individuals who need to band together and fight for what they deserve just as any white man in power would. She makes the point that women have power when they stick together saying, "I lose nothing by making sure you get your money."
"As Caucasian people, it's our job. It's our task, it's our responsibility to make sure that we speak up in every single room that we walk into." - Ellen Pompeo
Ellen Pompeo does an excellent job of making it clear that as a white woman she has privilege and she makes it even more clear that as a white woman in her position she has an obligation to open doors for people of color and making sure there are diverse crews and cast in everything she does. This can be seen in Grey’s Anatomy which has just completed the first half of the 15th season.
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