The My Black is Beautiful model search made its last tour stop in New York on Saturday, September 18. When I arrived at the Chelsea venue, the Metropolitan Pavilion, there were hundreds of beautiful, strong, powerful, happy, intelligent, energetic, positive and focused black women lined up, awaiting entry. Notice that I didn’t say that any of them were evil, vengeful, angry, catty, or upset.
Bethany Storro would have you to believe that the latter characteristics would be the way to describe the African American woman that accosted her in her hometown Vancouver, Wash., a suburb of Portland, Ore. near the Washington-Oregon border.
At one point, during the wonderful event that was sponsored by Procter & Gamble to celebrate black women by offering free pampering services including mini-facials, manicures and massages, I grew upset and offended. As I scrolled down the various apps on my iPhone, I ran across another news feature about Storro, who recanted the accusation that an African American woman approached her and asked, “Hey, pretty girl, you want something to drink?” then threw a cup of acid in her face. It was all a lie, the woman confessed. Storro later apologized for upsetting America via her parents. That’s not good enough!
This is one time I couldn’t agree more with the matriarch of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, Caroline Manzo, whose prized-phrase “Own it!” has become my new mantra. Storro needs to step up to the plate and be completely honest about why her face is maimed and she needs to take ownership of what she did to the image of black women with such a reckless, racially charged accusation. This act was not victimless or harmless.
The fact that she provided the local police a description identifying the ethnicity of the alleged attacker makes it harder to just brush off this incident. The depiction of a black woman with her “hair pulled back in a ponytail” that was plastered on national TV news outlets fits just about any health-conscious sister who pulls her hair back when she goes to the gym or is having a bad hair day.
Storro’s selfishness and libel raise the fear of black women to the same level that makes a white woman clutch her purse when a brother crosses her path or the racial profiling that occurs when there’s a group of black men – the assumption is made that they’re a part of a gang.
Storro cheated. That isn’t fair. Blaming a sister for your shortcomings (your lack of self-esteem, depression and folly) is indignant, and you’re even more of a coward because you haven’t apologized to African American women for isolating us and leaving us vulnerable. —yvette caslin
