For years, I’ve been hearing many Black entertainers say that in order for them to succeed, they were asked or told they needed to wear a dress for a particular part/scene in a movie. Comedian Dave Chappelle even brought the topic up on the Oprah Winfrey years ago. Many people wrote it off as a bizarre conspiracy theory to make Black men appear feminine to make mainstream America more comfortable.

Ironically when Harry Styles, a White performer who often wears dresses and feminine attire, beat our Queen Beyonce’ for Album of The Year at the Grammys, this topic came to mind. Granted, he’s not a person of color, but mainstream America is doing everything possible to position Harry as the “New King of Pop”! Don’t believe me, Rolling Stone magazine put him on their August 2022 cover proclaiming him as Michael Jackson’s successor. Are you kidding me? This relative new comer hasn’t been alive longer than Michael’s incomparable career, but I recognize audacity when I see it. Also, never forget that there are many paths to a goal.

If they were trying to replace the “greatest entertainer of all time” with Styles, I knew that no one was safe, including our beautiful Queen Beyonce’ Knowles- Carter was safe! They say history repeats itself, and as a card carrying members of “the culture”, we all know the drill. We will never get the rewards that we are due, as long as we continue to look outside of the culture for validation. Let’s be honest, everyone in attendance and watching knew who earned the Grammy for Album of The Year. Let’s not forget who it was given too.

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