Produce Receipts or Let Amanda Seales Be

I think about sisterhood a lot, possibly to the point of overanalyzing how well Black women practice and promote it. I think bell hooks felt the same when she discussed how fragile sisterhood can be when dealing with racism and patriarchy. Specifically, she wrote “It is sexism that leads women to feel threatened by one another without cause.”

Tell me if this is a stretch, but a recent op-ed about Amanda Seales vs. (Black) Hollywood is an example of what bell hooks described. Especially when you consider where the op-ed appeared and what the author used to defend her argument.

Jasmine Browley, a contributing writer at Essence Magazine, published this take on why actor/comedian Amanda Seales isn’t “likable” to most people in her industry. Her evidence included:

a) an interview in which Seales accused “a fairly esteemed” male public figure of sexual assault (though proof shows her words were misinterpreted),

b) her outrage at being kicked out of an Emmys Black Hollywood party without cause, and

c) her complaints about a toxic work environment at “The Real” talk show.

If this is an exhaustive list of why Seales doesn’t meet Browley’s definition of “likability”, then we’re all in trouble.

Or, if this is not an exhaustive list, but a list of what Browley considers Seales’ most egregious offenses, I wonder how and why this article met the benchmark for being published in a magazine calling itself a “trusted confidante and ‘home’” for African-American women.

I mean this with all respect to the brand and legacy of Essence Magazine. By both its standards and journalistic standards, Browley’s article threatens Essence’s presence as a safe, uplifting space for Black women.

Instead, it makes the magazine look like a pulpit for bullying, gossip, and (as bell hooks put it) sexism.

“Sexism teaches women woman-hating, and both consciously and unconsciously we act out this hatred in our daily contact with one another…”

This is another quote from bell hooks’ essay titled “Sisterhood: Political Solidarity between Women.” By this illustration, it’s not far-fetched to describe Essence’s article on Seales as irresponsible or at minimum just mean.

If we’re going to call out Seales for not being likable but create an honorary Grammy for an admitted woman beater, then we’re perpetuating sexism. If you care more about excommunicating Seales for being “a professional polarizer” but were flexing at parties for an alleged rapist whose violence was a well-known secret, then you’re upholding sexism.

Genuine sisterhood, according to bell hooks, requires a thoughtful approach to calling in versus calling out harmful behavior. Under a system of racism and patriarchy, women lean more towards calling out behavior when someone is an easy target, or if her behavior threatens their proximity to influence and power.

One thing I agree with is Browley pointing out that this “uneven plight” isn’t a hall pass for Black women to avoid accountability. Also, the point of White-Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy is to make Black women easy targets, by reducing their humanity to the black-and-white (i.e. all good or all bad) versus the gray. 

Systemic oppression places very strict rules on how Black women can show up and defaults to villainizing them rather than understanding and appreciating their complexity. If we’re not careful, we’ll ignore the way our accountability systems promote this way of thinking, knowingly or unknowingly.

I’m a big believer in the saying you are the company you keep. I never met Amanda Seales, but I’m a fan of the people who endorse her: Marc Lamont Hill, Nicco Annan, Roy Wood, Jr., and Yvette Nicole Brown—who is just as outspoken and a victim of sexist attacks for her confrontational views. 

There’s integrity in the company she keeps and, for this reason, I’m giving Seales the benefit of the doubt. That doesn’t mean she’s perfect. 

Please, if there are receipts that undoubtedly prove she’s a difficult person to work with, deliver them. I’d appreciate it if someone could let us commoners know what Seales has done to make the powers that be hate her so much.

More importantly, I’d love it if Black women in positions of power modeled what it looks like to clearly communicate what is bothering them about Seales, not to further push her down in the mud but to restore her lovingly into the community she seems committed to serve.

This video also sums up my thoughts on Black women and solidarity. Give it a watch!