faeriviera:

tiaraloveskandlupita:

irelandsowl:

glitterandmetal-yt-da:

youngblackandvegan:

kawaiiflowerchild:

Michaela DePrince 

 THIS IS SO FUCKING IMPORTANT!

black ballerina excellence

So gorgeous and elegant

Why is this important? i see a girl doing ballet, stop outlining difference, its important we just admire the skills, and afore mentioned ellegance

First of all shut the fuck up and have several seats 

and heres why in Michaela’s own words what she had to go through beig BLACK and still goes through

When she was around 8 and rehearsing for The Nutcracker, just a few days before the performance she was told, “I’m sorry, you can’t do it. America’s not ready for a black girl ballerina.”

For Michaela, “to say this to an 8-year-old is just devastating. It was terrible.”

When she was 9, a teacher told her mother: “I don’t like to put money into black dancers because they grow up and end up having big boobs and big hips.”

The dancer looked down at her petite figure and protested, “I don’t have boobs. I don’t get it.”

Instead of getting her down, “It makes me more determined,” she said. “Because I’ve been through so much, I know now that I can make it and I can help other kids who have been in really bad situations realize that they can make it too.”

This is why it is important, for little Black girls to see a black ballerina made it despite being discriminated against because of her skin color!!! 

You know something? It just occurred to me WHY people always say, “why focus on the difference?”

Because there’s this misconception that if it weren’t for the differences, all the discrimination and dehumanization would never have happened and therefore acknowledging the differences is inviting more of it.

To those people who feel that way, I assure you; it’s not the DIFFERENCES, it’s the way humanity has REACTED to those differences. We SHOULD acknowledge these differences, especially when it’s a case like Michaela’s, where you honestly CAN’T appreciate just how great it is that she’s getting attention unless you acknowledge how her race has impacted her experience.

You’re not being progressive by saying you don’t see her color. You’re just saying that you can’t imagine any other way of seeing her being just as valuable if you do.