Comments on: Did Moms Mabley Predict The 2008 Election? http://www.whatwouldthembido.com/2010/01/did-moms-mabley-predict-the-2008-election.html Pontifications, coonery, quips, blasphemy, miscegenation, freshness, concern for celebrity life, the beauty of blackness, the sorrow of work-life, the curse of brilliance, and sassy stories. [Pop culture criticism, entertainment reviews, and humor writing by Thembi Ford.] Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:29:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Vonmiw http://www.whatwouldthembido.com/2010/01/did-moms-mabley-predict-the-2008-election.html/comment-page-1#comment-6443 Vonmiw Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:08:28 +0000 http://www.whatwouldthembido.com/?p=3089#comment-6443 We had several Moms Mabley and her buddy Pigmeat Markham albums in our home. Now I understand why we couldn't listen to them. I never thought of this woman as a "Mammie" but merely an entertainer. Some of you seem to be having problems with the imagery of yesteryear as it applies to the roles that black women have chosen to play today, but fail to realise much of this had to do with the era and roles were limited to them at the time.They still knew who and what they were and they knew this was how they made a living and there was nothing indignant about that. Fast forward today, roles for black actresses are still limited to them and other women of color in Hollywood. Who's producing the movies of today? Who's showing black women as being diverse and capable of playing any character? Tyler Perry is producing movies and I respect him for that, but where are the rest with the wealth that can do that same thing? Those who have stepped forward to produce on Broadway and Hollywood should be commended for financing these ventures. "As the saying goes put your money where your mouth is." Nothing could be more truer than that!If we want to see what we deem as our diversity as a people in this country than we need to be responsible for creating our own images, until then our story will continue to be told by someone else. We had several Moms Mabley and her buddy Pigmeat Markham albums in our home. Now I understand why we couldn’t listen to them. I never thought of this woman as a “Mammie” but merely an entertainer. Some of you seem to be having problems with the imagery of yesteryear as it applies to the roles that black women have chosen to play today, but fail to realise much of this had to do with the era and roles were limited to them at the time.They still knew who and what they were and they knew this was how they made a living and there was nothing indignant about that.

Fast forward today, roles for black actresses are still limited to them and other women of color in Hollywood. Who’s producing the movies of today? Who’s showing black women as being diverse and capable of playing any character? Tyler Perry is producing movies and I respect him for that, but where are the rest with the wealth that can do that same thing? Those who have stepped forward to produce on Broadway and Hollywood should be commended for financing these ventures.

“As the saying goes put your money where your mouth is.” Nothing could be more truer than that!If we want to see what we deem as our diversity as a people in this country than we need to be responsible for creating our own images, until then our story will continue to be told by someone else.

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