On Saturday, Sept. 19, Diana “Ms. Diana” Williams, the no-nonsense coach from the hit Lifetime series “Bring It,” held her annual “Buck or Die” competition in Lancaster, Texas. Over 25 teams of girls, ages 5-18 came from across the Southeast to perform for Ms. Diana and her infamous Dancing Dolls, and hopefully to snag a trophy and bragging rights for “Buck or Die” champions. Besides Ms. Diana and the girls, my client TLC’s Chilli was flown in as a celebrity guest judge and that offered extra incentive for an all out girl power energized day.
“Buck or Die” was sold out and I watched as little girls in various shades of brown switch by me with identical sass in blinged-out costumes and full faces of makeup; all hoping to be considered as good as the girls they watched on TV, I realized how big of an impact “Bring It” has had on the culture. In case you aren’t up on the latest, the “girls on TV” are Ms. Diana’s Dancing Dolls. The dance troupe based in Jackson, Miss has become one of the biggest hits on the network, inspiring a generation of young black girls to want to “buck” like Kayla, or Cameron or one of the other co-stars of the series. What’s brilliant about the series is that the girls are authentically the girls next door, plucked from Mississipi obscurity and made overnight sheros to their peers. Even after two seasons the girls and Ms. Diana are still as authentic as ever, country accents and mannerisms in tact. All this realness and still I saw merchandising and messaging that proved these girls and their leader are community heroes and there is an audience that needs what they have to offer.
Hundreds of girls and their captains competed for nearly nine hours, stopping only to take pictures with Chilli while the brackets shifted to eliminate the losers and focus on the winners. I watched as beautiful black girls of all ages, shapes and sizes stepped into the center of the gymnasium with their heads held high and determination in their eyes. In the midst of weave tossing, pelvic thrusting and MAC foundation in a variation of three shades I wondered if these girls knew they would be beautiful and just as confident without the additives. I wondered if they knew that what makes each one of them individually amazing absolutely nothing to do with any of the stuff they put on when they arrived, but more to do with the life lessons that Ms. Diana imparts on a weekly basis to her team and this audience of girls by way of Lifetime TV. Being able to support your sisters as a part of a team, Holding your head high, being fearless when going up against the competition and not letting others intimidate you are life lessons that our girls are better off taught young.
I did a study years ago on why girls in the inner-city were more likely to get pregnant or end up forfeiting a college education and the simple answer was confidence. The complicated formula for the lack of confidence was that we don’t push our daughters in sports or team-related activities. We teach girls that its better to be pretty than smart and the only way one can judge pretty with that vantage point is by attention from the opposite sex. Compare this to the fact that we champion our young men for being athletically inclined and being intelligent and push them to be leaders. If you take intelligence and add a competitive edge, the ability to lead and the understanding of the importance of working as a team and you counter it with “being pretty” it makes sense why our young women are unable to work together and often forfeit opportunity for something much less satisfying; like a dysfunctional relationship.
While not the average reality star, Ms. Diana is far more worthy in my opinion of being rewarded with her own vehicle to success. Unlike many of her reality peers, Ms. Diana’s show is based on hard work and an achievement of excellence. Her hard work is evident when you see how the light from her girls eclipses the competition. Long before Lifetime came calling, Diana was sewing blood, sweat and tears into these young girls in Jackson, Mississippi and while the payoff attracted reality TV, seeing the audience of excited new, young dancers it was apparent the pay off was far greater. Ms. Diana and the Dancing Dolls are inspiring a generation of girls to do more than just “be pretty,” to do more than just “look cute” and most importantly to win at the game of life you are going to have to have your sister’s back.
