A Black Woman Teaches White Women To Step In New Netflix Movie Step Sisters And People Feel A Way

Netflix

Lena Waithe seems determined to keep shining. After a stellar 2017, including an Emmy win for her writing on the “Thanksgiving” episode “Master of None” and the upcoming Showtime series, “The Chi,” she is not slowing down.

For her latest project, she’ll serve as producer for Netflix’s new movie Step Sisters.

The title is a play on words. Instead of exploring the dynamics of a blended family, Step Sisters follows the life of a Black woman, in a historically Black sorority, who decides to teach a White sorority how to step in order to repair their reputation and secure her admission to Harvard.

The teaser trailer for the film dropped yesterday.

I bet you can guess where I’m going with this. Y’all know what happens when Black Greeks are featured as the subject of a piece of art, Black folk, Greek and non-Greek alike, have plenty to say. And now that there is a racial element to it, there are more than a few opinions swirling around.

On the Instagram post, that Waithe posted herself, a member of a Greek organization wrote to Waithe saying:

“I love your work, but as a D9 member and a Black woman, this gives me pause. Like a commenter said earlier, at first glance this looks just another way to minimize Black greek traditions. Yes, white folks step, but this feels like a vehicle for large scale cultural appropriation. It wouldn’t shock me if Vogue or somebody declares stepping to be the hot new thing and try to take credit, just like white folks do with EVERYTHING else, especially in the social media era. Not trying to bash, but just thought another perspective wouldn’t hurt.”

Waithe responded, “characters in the movie have that same point of view. Check it out and let me know what you think.”

I think that’s just a good strategy for most types of art forms. Personally, I know I’m going give it a chance.