Movies That Matter premiere:

"Sarabah" with Sister Fa

- Ending female genital mutilation

It is not easy for women to be successful in Senegal’s active but male-dominated rap scene. Sister Fa did it, but for the past couple of years she's been fighting an even harder battle. Subjected to female genital mutilation as a child, Sister Fa has been campaigning to protect Senegalese girls from a similar fate. In the documentary film Sarabah (directed by Maria Luisa Gambale and Gloria Bremer), she returns to her native village to try to put an end to this centuries-old tradition through music and education.

While oppression was a recurrent subject in Sister Fa’s repertoire, female genital mutilation, prohibited by Senegalese law since 1999, did not occur in her songs. When she moves to Berlin with her Austrian husband and gives birth herself, she decides to travel to her native country and break the taboo using music performances with her band. For a Senegalese woman to oppose female genital mutilation means is itself a taboo, which can lead to exclusion from society, thus the campaign meets with mixed reactions. One man states that only circumcised women can be sexually pleased. And a midwife explains the terrible suffering circumcised women experience in delivery. Despite her fear of being rejected, Sister Fa engages in dialogue with the women who rule the village. Will these women abandon a centuries-old tradition?

Sarabah premieres on Saturday the 26th of March (with repeat screenings on the 27th and 28th) at the Movies That Matter Film Festival in The Hague, the Netherlands. 

When & where?

    * Sat, March 26, 19:45 (Filmhuis Den Haag - Screening room 2)
    * Sun, March 27, 18:00 (Filmhuis Den Haag - Screening room 1)
    * Monday, March 28, 15:15 (Filmhuis Den Haag - Screening room 1)

MEET SISTER FA: Q&A AND DEBATE

The screenings are paired with Q&A sessions (in English) and a debate on the subject of female genital mutilation:

Sarabah – Q&A with Sister Fa
Journalist Renate van der Zee, known in part for her book Honour Killing in the Netherlands, talks to activist and recording artist Sister Fa and director Maria Gambale.

International rap star Sister Fa, portrayed in Sarabah, was born and raised in the African country of Senegal. In an environment where female circumcision and arranged marriages are no exception, she broke through as a successful recording artist. Her first international album was released in 2009, inspired by relevant social issues from her homeland. Sister Fa has been living in Berlin with her partner since 2006.

Saturday, March 26, 19:45 (Filmhuis Den Haag - Screening room 2)
Monday, March 28, 15:15 (Filmhuis Den Haag - Screening room 1)

Sarabah – Debate on female circumcision
Debate on the role of the woman in African culture and their fight against centuries of tradition, chaired by journalist Renate van der Zee (Opzij).

Panel includes activist and recording artist Sister Fa, director Maria Luisa Gambale, Marja Extercate, a research with the Pharos knowledge centre, James Owie, the Nigerian ambassador for Stop Female Circumcision, alderman Rabin Baldewsingh and Zahra Naleihe from the Federation of Somali Associations in the Netherlands.

Sunday, March 27, 18:00 h (Filmhuis Den Haag - Screening room 1)

For worldwide sales & distribution, contact
Contact: Steven Lawrence (yerosha@earthlink.net; + 1 646 325 7351)
Yerosha Productions, Inc.

Documentary details
Germany, Senegal 2011, 58 min.
Documentary, Video, Colour
Spoken language: English, French, Wolof, Dioula
Subtitles: Engels
Productions: Yerosha Productions, Inc.

MOVIES THAT MATTER
Movies That Matter Film Festival is an initiative of the Dutch section of Amnesty International, and is the Netherlands' main platform for engaged cinema. Every year it presents eye-opening films that stir the debate about human rights, human dignity and situations where these are at stake, with dozens of documentaries movies from all over the world.

Besides the regular film programme an elaborate "in-depth" programme of talk shows and debates enables the audience to exchange views with international human rights defenders, film makers, politicians and journalists.

EXTERNAL LINKS
Movies That Matter

SISTER FA ONLINE
Official site
Facebook
MySpace

SARABAH (The Album)
iTunes
Piranha Musik

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Libya: what next?

By Mohamed Hussein BBC Monitoring

The phrase written in Arabic on this Libyan woman's hands reads: " I love Libya"

One week after the United Nations Security Council authorized the use of military force in Libya, a solution to the country's crisis appears nowhere in sight.

The Gaddafi regime remains entrenched in the west and the "rebels" continue to control the east, from Libya's second city of Benghazi to the Egyptian border, raising the spectre of stalemate and the de facto division of the country.

The UN resolution

Security Council Resolution 1973, passed on 17 March, called for a ceasefire and the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya, and it imposed a freeze on "all funds, other financial assets and economic resources" owned or controlled by the Libyan authorities.

Although the resolution authorized member states to "take all necessary measures to protect civilians under threat of attack", it explicitly excluded "a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory".

Since the resolution was passed Western countries, led by the United States, France and Britain, have carried out a series of air strikes which appear to have succeeded in degrading or neutralizing Libyan air defences, thus minimising the risk to the warplanes patrolling the no-fly zone.

Most importantly, air strikes on the outskirts of Benghazi on 19 March removed the immediate threat facing the city where the regime's forces had been poised to advance after Gaddafi promised to search it "alley by alley, house by house, room by room" and to show "no mercy".

Military failures

However, initial speculation that the removal of Gaddafi's air power from the military equation would clear the way for the rebels to advance to the areas still under his control has so far not been borne out.

To begin with, the rebels, who are using Benghazi as their headquarters, have failed to take advantage of the cover provided by the no-fly zone to move westwards.

Poorly trained or untrained, disorganised, without a command structure or, apparently, a plan, and lacking the wherewithal to counter Gaddafi's armour and heavy artillery, they have failed to retake even towns that they had originally captured, such as Ajdabiya, a gateway town to eastern Libya located 100 miles (160 kilometres) to the west of Benghazi, and the oil towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf further to the west.

Moreover, Libyan army units that had turned their back on the Gaddafi regime in the early days of the rebellion, notably the Sa'iqa special forces brigade based in Benghazi, appear to have shed their uniforms and vanished instead of joining the rebel armed forces.

The special forces' long-serving erstwhile commander, General Abd-al-Fattah Yunis, who in February defected from the regime where he was interior minister and is now "chief of the General Staff of the Army of Free Libya", appears not to have used his influence or contacts in the force to mobilise it to the rebel cause.

Consequently, in the areas previously under full rebel control, such as the central city of Misrata, about 130 miles (210 km) from the capital Tripoli, and the western city of Zintan, about 55 miles (90 km) southwest of Tripoli, Gaddafi's forces have continued to tighten their grip through what eyewitnesses describe as the indiscriminate use of tanks, heavy armour, multiple rocket launchers and snipers, as well as by cutting water and power supplies to the population.

Political and communications failure

The rebels' failure on the military front has been matched by an equally significant absence of a communications strategy towards Libyans and, crucially, Western publics whose support is essential if their governments are to continue to participate in implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1973.

Furthermore, although soon after taking over Benghazi and eastern Libya in February the rebels announced an interim leadership the Transitional National Council - which consists mainly of people who either had served in or had been connected to the Gaddafi regime - they have not so far explained their vision for the country or how they intend to achieve that vision, beyond toppling Gaddafi.

This has generated anxiety among some Libyans, and especially in the Western states implementing the UN Security Council resolution where questions are being asked regarding the wisdom of supporting a side in the Libyan conflict about which little is known.

Stalemate and division?

On the face of it, these tactical and strategic failures do not bode well either for the future of Libya or for the rebels' cause.

The inability of the Gaddafi regime to overwhelm the rebels in the absence of air cover, and the failure of the rebel forces to plan and organise a push westwards, could in time result in a freezing of the status quo and the de facto division of the country, with a rump state controlled by Gaddafi in the west and the eastern half of the country under rebel rule.

Both sides have vowed not to let this happen but they may have no choice but to accept it.

From the Western allies' point of view, this would also be a most undesirable outcome because as long as Gaddafi remains in power in one half of they country - and therefore a threat to civilians in the other half - it would mean that they would have to maintain the no-fly zone indefinitely.

The Iraq scenario, then, where the no-fly zone was in position for 10 years, would begin to haunt decision makers, not only because it would create a haemorrhaging of public support for the intervention in Libya, but also because of the big economic costs involved.

As far as the rebels are concerned, a long-drawn-out stalemate would also give the Gaddafi regime time to mobilise international opinion against the no-fly zone and for the lifting of UN sanctions.

Endgame

However, a stalemate and the facto division of Libya are by no means inevitable.

In the first place, the rebels still have time to formulate a strategy, organize a coherent military force and capture the areas still under Gaddafi's control.

Secondly, now that Gaddafi's air defences have been neutralised and a no-fly zone is fully operational, his forces are no longer capable of retaking any of the major towns and cities under rebel control.

Furthermore, with the no-fly zone in place, the air forces of the countries implementing the UN Security Council resolution can now focus their attention on the regime's supply lines and troop movements where these are judged to be a potential threat to civilians, as has happened in Misrata.

This would not only ensure that the Libyan ruler does not expand the areas under his grip, but might also lead army commanders still loyal to him to question the long-term value of their loyalty.

Another factor that would work against the possibility of a long-term stalemate and the de facto division of Libya is the possibility of intervention by Western ground troops in areas where Gaddafi's forces might infiltrate into towns and cities and present a grave threat to the civilian population.

Although Security Council resolution explicitly excludes "a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory", it does not rule out targeted intervention by ground forces, for example, special forces sent in to take out snipers from residential centres.

Finally, there is the possibility of decapitation, that is, targeting Gaddafi himself. Although this is a controversial subject and is not authorised explicitly in the Security Council resolution, the resolution does authorise UN member states to "take all necessary measures to protect civilians under threat of attack".

Given the centralised character of the Libyan regime, and the fact that no major attack against civilians is likely to be undertaken without Gaddafi's explicit endorsement, taking "all necessary measures to protect civilians" could be interpreted under specific circumstances to include taking out Gaddafi himself.

The “Kill Team” Photographs

Posted by Seymour M. Hersh

• 
  La Mohammed Kalay, Afghanistan, 2010.
• Abu Ghraib, Iraq, 2003.
• Soldiers rest just after the My Lai massacre, 1968.
• My Lai 4, Vietnam, 1968.

It’s the smile. In photographs released by the German weekly Der Spiegel, an American soldier is looking directly at the camera with a wide grin. His hand is on the body of an Afghan whom he and his fellow soldiers appear to have just killed, allegedly for sport. In a sense, we’ve seen that smile before: on the faces of the American men and women who piled naked Iraqi prisoners on top of each other, eight years ago, and posed for photographs and videos at the Abu Ghraib prison outside of Baghdad.

It’s also the cameras. Der Spiegel reported this week that it had obtained four thousand photographs and videos taken by American soldiers who referred to themselves as a “kill team.” (Der Spiegel chose to publish only three of the photographs.) The images are in the hands of military prosecutors. Five soldiers, including Jeremy Morlock, the smiling man in the picture, who is twenty-two years old, are awaiting courts-martial for the murder of three Afghan civilians; seven other soldiers had lesser, related charges filed against them, including drug use. On Tuesday, Morlock’s lawyer said that he would plead guilty.

We saw photographs, too, at My Lai 4, where a few dozen American soldiers slaughtered at least five hundred South Vietnamese mothers, children, and old men and women in a long morning of unforgettable carnage more than four decades ago. Ronald Haeberle, an Army photographer, was there that day with two cameras. He directed the lens of his official one, with black-and-white film in it, away from the worst sights; there is a shot of soldiers with faint smiles on their faces, leaning back in relaxed poses, and no sign of the massacre that has taken place. But the color photos that Haeberle took on his personal camera, for his own use, were far more explicit—they show the shot-up bodies of toddlers, and became some of the most unforgettable images of that wasteful war. In most of these cases, when we later meet these soldiers, in interviews or during court proceedings, they come across as American kids—articulate, personable, and likable.

Why photograph atrocities? And why pass them around to buddies back home or fellow soldiers in other units? How could the soldiers’ sense of what is unacceptable be so lost? No outsider can have a complete answer to such a question. As someone who has been writing about war crimes since My Lai, though, I have come to have a personal belief: these soldiers had come to accept the killing of civilians—recklessly, as payback, or just at random—as a facet of modern unconventional warfare. In other words, killing itself, whether in a firefight with the Taliban or in sport with innocent bystanders in a strange land with a strange language and strange customs, has become ordinary. In long, unsuccessful wars, in which the enemy—the people trying to kill you—do not wear uniforms and are seldom seen, soldiers can lose their bearings, moral and otherwise. The consequences of that lost bearing can be hideous. This is part of the toll wars take on the young people we send to fight them for us. The G.I.s in Afghanistan were responsible for their actions, of course. But it must be said that, in some cases, surely, as in Vietnam, the soldiers can also be victims.

The Der Spiegel photographs also help to explain why the American war in Afghanistan can probably never be “won,” in my view, just as we did not win in Vietnam. Terrible things happen in war, and terrible things are happening every day in Afghanistan, as Americans continue to conduct nightly assassination raids and have escalated the number of bombing sorties. There are also reports of suspected Taliban sympathizers we turn over to Afghan police and soldiers being tortured or worse. This will be a long haul; revenge in Afghan society does not have to come immediately. We could end up not knowing who hit us, or why, a decade or two from now.

Samir Amin

Pambazuka Samir Amin Award

2011-01-13, Issue 512

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/70046

Pambazuka News is pleased to announce the call for submissions for the first annual Pambazuka Samir Amin Award. This award, launched to mark Samir Amin’s 80th birthday in 2011, pays tribute to the extraordinary contribution Samir Amin has made to our understanding of the exploitation of the peoples of Africa and the global South.

Pambazuka News is pleased to announce the call for submissions for the first annual Pambazuka Samir Amin Award. This award, launched to mark Samir Amin’s 80th birthday in 2011, pays tribute to the extraordinary contribution Samir Amin has made to our understanding of the exploitation of the peoples of Africa and the global South.

Entrants are required to submit an essay showing original thinking and of no longer than 10,000 words on the subject of 'Accumulation by dispossession: the African experience'. Essays may be geographically focused on one or more countries, or about the continent as a whole; they may address the topic thematically (for example, focused on the mining sector, or agriculture, etc) or historically. Submissions are limited to one per person.

Submissions are open to citizens of African countries who on the closing date are under the age of 35 years.

A panel of leading African intellectuals from across the continent will select up to five contributors to receive this year's award. The chosen essays will be published as a book by Pambazuka Press, and summaries will appear in Pambazuka News.

The award-winners will be invited to a ceremony (to be held in either Dakar or Nairobi) where they will present their papers and meet Professor Amin and representatives of the award panel. The winners will receive a selection of Professor Amin’s publications personally signed by him; they will also be interviewed by the media. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Awardees may also be offered fellowships to enable them to spend periods at selected research or academic institutions in Africa; full details will be announced later.

Please submit your essay, written in clear English or French, using any common word-processing software, together with a summary of no longer than 500 words, and a copy of your CV. Please follow the author guidelines (.doc and .pdf) and the Pambazuka News style guide (.doc and .pdf) or write to awards@pambazuka.org to obtain copies.

Essays should be submitted by 6pm GMT on 30 April 2011 and sent to: awards@pambazuka.org. The results will be announced in September 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freedom to Create Prize accepting submissions for 2011

 

by Amanda McCuaig on March 22, 2011 · Comments

Last fall we followed the progression of the 2010 Freedom to Create Prize, a prize which celebrates the courage and creativity of artists, and the “positive influence of their work to promote social justice and inspire the human spirit.”

Starting March 24 through July 15, 2011, the 2011 Freedom to Create Prize will be open for entries via their website. Any artist can nominate themselves or be nominated by someone else.

 

Judging Criteria
Entries for the Freedom to Create Main Prize and Imprisoned Artist Prize will be evaluated by a panel of distinguished Freedom to Create Judges based on the following criteria:
• The creativity of the artist in pursuing the freedom to create and conveying their message for social justice
• The courage and/or personal risk the artist has demonstrated in pursuing the freedom to create while promoting their. work
• The subject matter of the artwork and its relevance to a particular social issue
• The creativity the artist has displayed to demonstrate how art can influence change
• The extent to which the artist embodies the vision, mission and values of Freedom to Create

Entry Requirements
• The Prize is open to any individual or group of any gender, religion or nationality
• The Prize is open to all art forms and we welcome submissions from any of the creative arts
• Artists may nominate themselves or be nominated by a third party
• Only submissions entered on this website or on official entry forms will be considere
• Past applicants can submit applications for the Freedom to Create Prize again but must submit a different art work
• The Freedom to Create Youth Prize is now combined with the Freedom to Create Main Prize which is open to any individual or group of any gender, religion or nationality, above 16 years of age

This year’s prize will be unveiled in November 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Good luck, Art Threaters! If you think that this applies to you, your work might also be right for sharing on this site, so consider tossing me an email (Amanda [at] artthreat.net) with a link to your art!

Nimrod Literary Awards

Founded by Ruth G. Hardman

 

 

 

The 33rd Nimrod Literary Awards

The Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction &

The Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry

Founded by Ruth G. Hardman

FIRST PLACE: $2,000 and publication

SECOND PLACE: $1,000 and publication

Contest Rules

Contest Begins: January 1, 2011

Postmark Deadline: April 30, 2011

Poetry:3-10 pages of poetry (one long poem or several short poems).

Fiction:7,500 words maximum.

No previously published works or works accepted for publication elsewhere.  Author's name must not appear on the manuscript.  Include a cover sheet containing major title and subtitles, author's name, full address, phone & email.  "Contest Entry" should be clearly indicated on both the outer envelope and the cover sheet. Manuscripts should be stapled, if possible; if not, please bind with a black clip. Manuscripts will not be returned.  Nimrod retains the right to publish any submission.  Include SASE for results only.  If no SASE is sent, no contest results will be sent; however, the results will be posted on Nimrod’s Web site. Submitters must be living in the USby October of 2011 to enter the contest.  Winners will also be brought to Tulsafor the Awards Ceremony in October. All finalists will be considered for publication.

Entry/Subscription Fee:$20 includes both entry fee & a one-year subscription (two issues).  Each entry must each be accompanied by a $20 fee.  Make checks payable to Nimrod.

Send to:

Nimrod Journal

Literary Contest--Fiction or Poetry

The Universityof Tulsa

800 S. Tucker Dr.

Tulsa, OK74104  

 

Nimrod Literary Awards 2010

The editors of Nimrod International Journal are delighted to announce the winners, honorable mentions, finalists and semi-finalists of the 32nd Nimrod Literary Awards.

Nimrod Literary Awards: The Pablo Neruda Prize in Poetry       

FIRST PRIZE: $2,000                        

Terry Blackhawk, “The Lost Life List” and other poems

SECOND PRIZE: $1,000                   

Jude Nutter, “My Mother’s Teeth” and other poems

HONORABLE MENTIONS: 

Harry Bauld, “Final Gravity” and other poems

Katie Kingston, “Framing a Piece of Ruin”

Francine Marie Tolf, “Tonight” and other poems

 

Nimrod Literary Awards: The Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Fiction

FIRST PRIZE: $2,000                        

Shannon Robinson, “Miscarriages”

SECOND PRIZE: $1,000                   

Laura LeCorgne, “Really Good Feet”

HONORABLE MENTIONS: 

LydiaKann, “The Arrival”

Sue Pace, “Obituary for an Asshole”

 

Nimrod extends deep appreciation to all who submitted. There were 690 poetry manuscripts and 571 short stories submitted to the 2010 competition. Selecting poetry finalists and fiction finalists from these was a task that dominated the lives of 41 Nimrod editors all spring.  They approached their mission with dedication and discretion, reading and rereading the final group, comparing notes, and speaking for favorites. The finalists’ manuscripts, without cover letters or names, were sent to the judges for 2010, Molly Peacock, poetry, and David Wroblewski, fiction.  They chose the winners and honorable mentions from the finalist group.

The 33rd Nimrod Literary Awards competition begins January 1, 2011; the postmark deadline is April 30, 2011. We welcome your submissions, knowing that each year brings new discoveries, often from those who have submitted to the competition before. (All entrants not previously contacted by Nimrod about their work may consider their work released at this time.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Burrell

Portrayals Of African American Women in the Media

January 9th, 2011

by Tom Burrell

In BRAINWASHED, we explore the portrayal of African American women as sexual objects in the chapter Studs and Sluts. Check out this Fan-Made movie short that was inspired by the book. This is a fantastic example of what can be done with a little ingenuity and access to a computer!

Q&A:

Curvy Ballerina

Misty Copeland

Talks Body Image

By Aisha I. Jefferson on Mar 21st 2011 3:00PM

 
Filed under: Diet & Nutrition

Comments (12)

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If you've seen the Oscar-winning film 'Black Swan,' you know that the ballet world can be brutal. The movie may include exaggerations, but the message is clear: It's highly competitive, overwhelmingly white and the dancers are incredibly thin.

Yet with all of this, classical ballet dancer Misty Copeland of the American Ballet Theatre has managed to navigate this elite world and, in 2007, even etched out a spot as a soloist -- the first African-American female to do so. She was even the featured dancer on legendary singer Prince's Welcome 2 America tour this past year.

However, it's not Copeland's ethnicity that makes her unique; it's another "cultural" attribution that sets her apart: her voluptuous body. At 5'2 and 103 pounds, the petite, curvy ballerina doesn't feel pressure to represent for all African Americans but says it'd be nice to see more ballet dancers who looked like her.

We chatted with 28-year-old Copeland about her experiences with this grueling art form.

BLACK VOICES: You began ballet at 13 -- considerably late for that industry -- and you've said you have to get the body and mold it before it changes. Please explain.We chatted with 28-year-old Copeland about her experiences with this grueling art form.

MISTY COPELAND: Well, I think that it's more important with women to start early because we go through puberty, and it's harder to get your body to adapt [to ballet dancing]. When you're working with something like ballet, you're changing the way your body is shaped and how your body grows.

I wouldn't say that ballet is a natural art form because most people are working against what their bodies are supposed to be doing. Few people have naturally flexible bodies and can do certain things. We still end up with major problems at the end of our careers. It's beautiful and I think that my body has adapted very easily to this form of dance. I don't think my body would've been any less curvy, because it's genetic.

BV: You are a curvy young lady; what has been your experience?

MC: It's been a struggle, especially corps de ballet sets (the large group of dancers). When I was in the corps de ballet, my body was harder to deal with because they made the clothes for the size they expected dancers to be and look like. And just coming to terms with looking around when we're training and not seeing women who look like me. It was harder when I was a teenager.

BV: When do you think you became more comfortable with yourself in that way?

MC: When I was around 24-ish, I stopped [being uncomfortable]. I think [that in] being a woman, in general, it's hard to be completely comfortable and confident with how you look. Especially in an art form like this when it is about your physicality and what you look like. It's difficult being critiqued and judged on that basis.

I had a breakthrough with accepting my body. I surrounded myself with other women who looked like me and who were successful -- other successful black women. Even though they weren't in my field, having that motivation helped me to come to terms and accept myself.

BV: Have you felt pressure to lose weight or had to deal with any mental or physical challenges with accepting your body?

MC: Absolutely! I felt pressure to lose weight. It's kind of hard to avoid that when you're in this field. I never dealt with an eating disorder in any way, and yes, I was told many times to lose when I joined the company. I learned to accept my body but I also learned to take care of it, which is hard. Most people who join a company like American Ballet Theatre or New York City Ballet have some problems because they're young, alone and don't have much guidance, and it's easy to fall into having an eating disorder.

BV: Are eating disorders commonplace in the ballet world? Is that something you see your peers struggling with?

MC: When someone is doing something like that, it doesn't matter what you say to them. They have to find it by themselves. I don't think it's as common as some people may want it to be, but it's there.

BV: Prince featured you in his 2009 'Crimson and Clover' video and you even toured with him last summer. How was that experience?

MC: He's been a mentor to me and a friend. I'm very lucky to have him in my life and he's introduced me to other artists like Esperanza Spalding, who I adore. It was a great opportunity. It's important to expose that world to what I do. I want people to know that classical ballet is what I'm here to do and, hopefully, will open up other doors in the ballet world. Even with this, I'm not distracted and classical ballet is still my priority.

Prince - Crimson and Clover (Official Video) by Lemongol

BV: What message do you have for other black women or curvy women who want to be classical ballet dancers?

MC: I've seen so many talented black women who come in with the perfect physique and still not get into this company or another one. I think it's probably about timing as well, but it definitely may have been because they were too dark. I think I was lucky to get in when I did and maybe they felt that position was filled.

A young black girl came into the company, and she's fair-skinned like me. We have yet to see a dark-skinned woman come into the company. It's a very touchy subject, in general. Some black women give up and don't do classical ballet dance. I want them to know that times are changing. The more people we have auditioning, they can't deny talent.

To learn more about Misty Copeland, visit mistycopeland.com.