Exclusive Madame Noire Interview!
Every so often a new talent comes along that creates a movement. It can be as simple as a designer creating shoes with red soles to believing for the first time in true democracy with a new president. Either way, Helena Andrews is going to make a lot of people think with her book, B**** is the New Black.
MADAME NOIRE: Some exciting things are happening for you this year, what are you most excited about?
Helena Andrews: The most exciting things this year is my book! I can’t wait for people to read it. I want to have fun grassroots events. Along with the book signings, I’m going to do “b**** brunches,” talks and cool parties at lounges where we can get together and chat.
MN: Heard something about a movie in works as well?
Andrews: Yes, I met with Shonda Rhimes in L.A., who’s the executive producer of Grey’s Anatomy. We sat down and she said, “This book is a movie.” So she asked me to write a screenplay for Fox Studios. But it won’t happen for a little while, still need to generate buzz from the book.
MN: So what can you tell us about the book?
Andrews: The book is really just a memoir about my 29 years of life. It’s a collection of 16 essays talking about everything from my grandmother kidnapping me for a week, because my mother was a lesbian and wanted to take me abroad—to my first dog—to being a black woman dating in D.C..
I keep having to ring the alarm [about the book’s title]. It’s more than the title. We read things about black women from everyone, except us. The book demystifies the ideas and stereotypes about us.
MN: Is “b****” a bad word?
Andrews: I got the phrasing from something Tina Fey said on Saturday Night Live. She said, “b**** is the new black, but b**** get stuff done.” It was originally in reference to Hillary Clinton, but has to do with this stereotype that all black women get.
People think we’re all over-educated and have super cosmic high standards for dating. There’s a 2:1 ratio of us in college, but the numbers are the same for white women as well. Their numbers of marriage are the same as ours.
There are issues for the black community dealing with single family homes, but that’s not our fault as black women. Us being more educated and issues in our community are two different things. I can’t ignore the fact that people see us as b****s. But we sometimes act like b****s. This day in age, I don’t know if that’s how we really act or are acting that way because people think that’s how we are and we’re feeding into the perception.
This book also allows people to know that we’re not these mystical unicorns, black women are like every other type of women with the same thoughts and emotions.
MN: Do you think some black women have to be more subdued in order to break stereotypes?
Andrews: Playing small doesn’t help you, but you have to be aware of the game. We all have to deal with office politics.
What I’ve learned is that I can’t work for other people. For me, it wasn’t being an angry black woman but having the independence. That’s why I’m a freelance journalist. It sucks that black people have to think about stereotypes, but people of all ethnicities have to deal with stereotypes. You just have to shed that and be yourself.
MN: Do you have a role model and if so, who is it?
Andrews: Funny enough, I was telling a friend the other day that one of my fashion icons was Lucille Ball. She was soo chic, but looking back now, I also see her as progressive. She was never satisfied with being in the house—not that there’s anything wrong with being a housewife and mother—but she wasn’t satisfied when it was suppose to be enough. She wanted to be a star.
MN: Did you hear about the girls at Cornell and what are your thoughts on the professor’s statements? Are the students being too sensitive?
Andrews: Like most words and names that seem derogatory, it’s the intent behind it. We’re all intelligent human beings, we all recognized tone. In the context of Cornell University, an Ivy League, where a professor holds some type of power—it’s not OK.
You know when someone is using a word as a pejorative. The most innocuous of words can be pejorative. So basically…we get to make a fuss!
