Photograph — beinspiredpr.com

American comedian, Chris Rock once said: “We have got a lot of things, a lot of racism in the world right now, who is more racist? White people or black people? Black people, you know why? Because we hate black people too”.

On October 9, 2015, Raven-Symoné proved to the world on The View, that Chris Rock’s joke holds some truth. During the show, Symoné made a statement about black names during a segment focused on discrimination against certain names. She said: “I’m not about to hire you if your name is ‘Watermelondrea.’ It’s just not gonna happen. I’m not gonna hire you”.

As a reminder, Raven-Symoné made an erroneous statement about Africa in a March 2015 interview with E! News’ Alicia Quarles. “I am from every continent in Africa except for one and I’m also from every continent in Europe except for one,” she said.

Twitter blew up shortly after Raven’s statement on The View, with many people taking shots at the actress. Many expressed their disappointment on her brutal honesty and obvious disrespect for ‘her people’. On the other hand, she may have made such an ignorant statement due to her search for white approval.

Since  Raven-Symoné’s comments, the internet has flowed with rebuttals, thought pieces and more, including a piece on Ebony.com where Jamilah Lemieux reminded Raven of her own name, calling attention to the actress’ lack of self-awareness.

However, Raven-Symoné’s comment goes beyond the surface. She is not the only black person who expresses some kind of discrimination against ‘her people’. There is a culture of respectability amongst black people, which transcends borders. Check out the video below for an excellent summary of why everything Symoné articulated last week, is not only unacceptable, but dangerously flawed.

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