From struggles to success
Arriving in Hollywood with little more than a fierce spirit and flashy club dresses, Mosley transformed her setbacks — including scams from employers and acting coaches — into a platform for growth.
“I decided that I was still going to live the life that I wanted, no matter what,” she told Essence.
Despite her success, the societal narrative surrounding Black women and the expectation of self-sufficiency mirrors the insidious “welfare queen” myth, a stereotype that suggests Black women thrive by manipulating systems, whether they are welfare, housing or otherwise. Mosley’s unapologetic use of creativity to navigate unjust systems — like altering pay stubs to secure housing — directly challenges the harmful implications of this stereotype.
Redefining strength and resilience
Mosley challenges the traditional narrative of Black women as superhuman, expected to endure everything.
“Everybody wants a Black woman to save them — shout-out to Kamala,” she said in the Essence interview, pointing out the unfair burden of strength placed on women of color. But for Mosley, survival sometimes involves bending the rules — a perspective that further complicates the idea of Black women scamming, especially against the backdrop of the welfare queen myth.
This stereotype, born from anti-Black female prejudices, suggests that Black women are always “gaming the system” — a narrative Mosley consciously confronts and reframes. While the myth depicts Black women as greedy and deceptive, Mosley’s countermessage is one of resilience in the face of systemic barriers. Her acts of survival and self-preservation are not about deception, to her way of thinking, but resistance against discrimination and injustice.
Scamming as a survival strategy
Mosley’s philosophy acknowledges that the entire system is built on institutionalized scams.
“So much of our government is a scam; everybody made things up, nothing is real,” she argued in the interview. In her view, navigating these structures creatively is necessary. But, for Black women, operating within this framework is fraught. The welfare queen myth portrays any attempt by Black women to work the system as morally suspect — even when it’s done out of necessity or survival.
By reclaiming the idea of scamming as a tool of empowerment, Mosley challenges the long-held perceptions of Black women as inherently dishonest. Her actions — like Photoshopping pay stubs to bypass discriminatory housing practices — become acts of defiance, not deceit.
“If you’re going to discriminate against me, well, then let me go ahead and open up my Photoshop,” she explained, illustrating how institutional scams leave marginalized people little choice but to fight back.
Empowerment through vulnerability
Ultimately, Mosley’s approach is about reclaiming power in a world that has long mischaracterized Black women. While the “welfare queen” stereotype suggests that Black women manipulate and deceive for personal gain, Mosley’s use of scams is about survival and justice.
“Sometimes I have to lean into that scam,” she admitted, acknowledging that in a rigged system, Black women must often play by their own rules to get ahead.
Her ultimate goal is to amass power not for selfish reasons but to uplift others, challenging the pervasive narratives that seek to undermine Black women’s success.
“I want to be one of God’s weakest soldiers when the army of the Lord shows up,” she declared to Essence, emphasizing her desire to support her community while maintaining her own strength.
Mosley’s story, in its defiance of harmful stereotypes, is a testament to resilience, creativity and the need for justice. Her story has a certain “I might not do it, but I understand” relatability to it; quite a few of us either know people or were those people who have, for example, used their children’s Social Security numbers so they can get or keep their utilities. At the same time, is hustling to hustle really worth it? Yes, it worked for Mosley, but also that mileage might vary — a lot.
