Why White Women Defending Eva Longoria Is Problematic: Shh and Let WOC Work It Out
Lean out and just listen and learn
A woman wrote a piece praising Eva Longoria for not apologizing and argued that she was justified in simply clarifying her statement. This is my response to her piece and any white women who feel compelled to comment on the controversy.
Stop. Full stop — hard stop. Eva Longoria did in fact clarify her statement, and gave a heartfelt and thorough apology to Black women. As a matter of fact, it should be a teachable moment for white women who call themselves feminists and allies.
While Eva’s original comment may not have intended to dismiss Black women’s efforts, she did when she only gave Black women credit for Georgia and further elaborated. Saying she didn’t diminish the contributions of Black women throughout the country is biased — but most women outside of the Black community wouldn’t or couldn’t fully understand why.
After all, the average white women still thinks all Black women are the same and struggle to recognize the regional, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity within the African diaspora. They don’t understand we have just as many cultural groups and identities as our European counterparts -which includes Afro Latina and Hispanics of African descent. They are our…
