One would have thunk I told her to fly into the sun, without dissipating, and blow out it’s light. All I did was suggest she apply to restaurants in Manhattan. The idea alone was daunting to her. A state of disquietude emanates from her body, as she goes wide-eyed and stock still. Confused, I tell her she would make five times the money. Duh. There are levels to this ish. A franchise like this is considered a joke in the service industry. Pete Wells would never spit on this place, informing him of it’s existence would be the highest form of impertinence. She had no idea who I was talking about.
“I had some time one day, so I walked around the Financial District and when I looked into those fancy places, I didn’t see anybody who looked like me [black].”
A poignant observation, reminding me shooting for the moon was different for everyone. A server job wasn’t a big deal to me, but meant everything to her. Katrina was a single mom, with a Staten Island mortgage to boot. Representation across the board is essential, it is the barometer which people base their potentiality.
Imagine if Michael Jackson had seen this cover? He wouldn’t have bleached his skin, but found beauty in his vitiligo. Shahad Salman, had the good fortune to grow up in a world with Winnie Harlow. Now a skin condition that was considered a beauty blemish, is embraced. This is why we fight for flesh matching band-aids, skin toned ballet shoe’s and Disney princesses.
Name an instance where you doubted yourself, but seeing someone else do it gave you confidence? Each of us play an important role, because we spark each other.
