As people we love to visualize, whether we are reading a book or dreaming during the day/night or imagining how a certain person looks based on their name.
Stereotyping is so prevalent that it has seeped into our subconscious, making us unaware of when we stereotype others based on our prior experiences. For example, most think initially if a person is a hardcore fan of Harry Potter that they are nerdy or that a passing car with rap music blasting has to be a black person. We make rash assumptions because they have evolved to be a social norm. These social norms lead to individuals with power exploiting untrue realities. On The View, former child star and co-host, Raven-Symoné commented that:
"I am very discriminatory against words like the ones they were saying in those names."
"I'm not about to hire you if your name is Watermelondrea. It's just not gonna happen. I'm not gonna hire you."
After making the comment, she looked around at the table for conformation as if the remark she made was not discriminatory and racist. She was indeed making reference to a viral video published in 2013. Although, she stated that she was not attacking a specific race, it was clear that she was attacking African American women who do not have a choice of name as a newborn. It is extremely peculiar that she would attack African American women when she is black with pink hair and an accent mark in Symoné (also spelled with a y when the typical spelling is Simone). Wouldn’t it be hard for her to get hired in corporate America with that appearance and name?
Raven-Symoné made her first appearance 26 years ago in "The Cosby Show" and "A Different World" at the age of only 3 years old. Both shows are African American based. "The Cosby Show" was about a successful upper-middle class black family in Brooklyn, New York that addressed several serious topics that impacted the lives of African American’s. "A Different World" was a series that discussed college life at Hillman College, a fictional HBCU (historically black college/university), through the lens of different forms of black people. With this said she has a prominent background in African American culture. Fast forwarding to her recent work, she played the lead role in "That’s So Raven." In 2005, the episode “True Colors” aired where Raven was racially discriminated against as a lesson of the existence of racial injustice. The white manager of a high scale store in the mall hired Chelsea, Raven’s white friend who was clearly under qualified, and denied Raven the job based on her skin color because she was clearly overqualified. The episode was aired during Black History Month to teach the audience about adversity faced as an African American. After learning her background in African American culture, you can see why so many people were offended and upset by her ignorant comment made to an audience of millions.
In response to her ignorant comment, Tre Melvin said “there are millions of Susan’s out there putting in mediocre work that Watermelondrea’s have to work twenty times as hard to score interviews for” to point out that a name is not an accurate measurement of work ethnic. Melvin also said his intention was not to attack Raven-Symoné but to enlighten her about how her opinion was dogmatic. This article is not an attack toward Raven-Symoné either, yet a reflection of how comments made in the media are going to be analyzed if they even have a hint of discrimination, racism, sexism, etc. The comment she made was inappropriate and disrespectful because she used her prior knowledge and experiences to make an assumption of character based on a name.
