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KTBS-TV Rehire Rhonda Lee
- Posted by Sabrina Denise Whiteman
To: KTBS-TV
Rhonda Lee deserves to have her job back. Her eloquent response to the bigoted and sexist remarks of viewer Emmitt Vascocu were warranted. Employers such as KTBS-TV should stand by their on-air talent when they are verbally attacked based on their looks, values or merit. Please sign this...
…This petition closed on January 18, 2013.
41,395 people signed a petition
Sign this petition to show KTBS and other televisions stations that women should not be silenced and reprimanded when they speak out about making the choice to wear their hair in a neat and attractive manner of their choosing. Women of color in general are expected to confirm to unfair and unrealistic standards of beauty that are outdated and sexist. All women no matter their size, stature, skin tone, and appearance should not be open to ridicule and punished for tactful responses. Rhonda Lee has shown nothing but professionalism and deserves to keep her job.
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Update #2
Posted by Sabrina Denise Whiteman (Campaign Leader) on Mar 13Since the launch of this campaign more than 41,000 signers have stood up for Rhonda Lee and her choice to respond to remarks made about her appearance especially her hair. Not long after this controversy 26 people including 20 young children were gunned down in Newtown, CT at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Out of respect for this incredible tragedy we made the choice to suspend messages until a more appropriate time.
The debate about guns and ownership has taken over the attention of the...
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Update #1
Posted by Sabrina Denise Whiteman (Campaign Leader) on Dec 14, 2012Wow we've gotten over 13,000 signatures in just a few days. Thank you so much for helping to speak out against the treatment of Ms. Rhonda Lee. Let's keep up the momentum everyone! This is a great opportunity to create dialogue around issues that concern women like Ms. Lee who have chosen to allow her natural beauty to shine through against all societal pressures to conform to another beauty standard.
Her eloquent response to her heckler taught many of what Black women like myself face on a...
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Discuss the petition
justice must take place.
I wouldn't take such a job back....
Please Help with your support! <3
As a Black woman, who also wears my hair natural, I don't see her response as an attack on anyone. She was educating a man who seemed to be uneducated on the Black woman's natural hair and beauty. She didn't know his state of mind and that really doesn't matter. She answered him in a very respectable and level-headed manner. What KTBS-TV should have done was commend her for her tact and her intellect while addressing the matter. I view KTBS's firing of Ms. Rhonda Lee as a retaliation against...
…As a Black woman, who also wears my hair natural, I don't see her response as an attack on anyone. She was educating a man who seemed to be uneducated on the Black woman's natural hair and beauty. She didn't know his state of mind and that really doesn't matter. She answered him in a very respectable and level-headed manner. What KTBS-TV should have done was commend her for her tact and her intellect while addressing the matter. I view KTBS's firing of Ms. Rhonda Lee as a retaliation against her for an earlier lawsuit that she had against them. For that, they should be sued again...out of existence this time. I pray that Ms. Lee is reinstated and there are valuable lessons learned from this incident.
Here is the exchange that prompted the firing:
Emmitt Vascocu: "The black lady that does the news is a very nice lady. the onlt [sic] thing is she needs to wear a wig or grow some more hair im not sure if she is a cancer patient. but its not something that i think looks good on tv."
Rhonda Lee: "Hello Emmitt I am the "black lady" to which you are referring. My name is Rhonda Lee. Nice to meet you."
"I am sorry you don't like my ethnic hair. And no I don't have cancer."
"I am very proud of my African-American ancestry which includes my hair. For your edification: traditionally our hair doesn't grow downward. It grows upward.
"Many Black women use strong straightening agents in order to achieve a more European grade of hair and that is their choice. However in my case I don't find it necessary.
"I'm very proud of who I am and the standard of beauty I display. As women we come in all shapes, sizes, nationalities, and levels of beauty.
"Showing little girls that being comfortable in the skin and HAIR God gave me is my contribution to society," the TV personality concluded.
"Little girls (and boys for that matter) growing up in this world need to see that what you look like isn't a reason to not achieve their goals."
Just utterly unbelievable! She is beautiful.What's wrong with this world....She does her job and very great as well......I don't like bald men who work at KTBS...are you going to fire them? Hire Rhonda Lee back asap!
I haven't heard of this until now and it sounds horrible! I'd like to see a video or news report of exactly what was said on both sides. No one should ever be forced or even encouraged to submit to one standard of beauty because there are many forms and all forms are equally beautiful. People just have to work with what they were born with and create their own beauty and not try to look like the person on their left. Regardless, this isn't about the standards that women of all shades have to...
…I haven't heard of this until now and it sounds horrible! I'd like to see a video or news report of exactly what was said on both sides. No one should ever be forced or even encouraged to submit to one standard of beauty because there are many forms and all forms are equally beautiful. People just have to work with what they were born with and create their own beauty and not try to look like the person on their left. Regardless, this isn't about the standards that women of all shades have to live up to. This is about the archaic beliefs of certain sexist men. It should be noted that many men in our lives do not adhere to such beliefs (and if you find men in your life that are sexist you should take them out of your life) and can easily appreciate the beauty of all women.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2MFo2BJJdI
Ignorance is always misrepresented. Prejudice is always accepted as a language covered by fear. I was told not to wear the color RED about 20 years ago at my place of employment if I wanted to keep my job, in which they said that it caused me to be a distraction. But a persons hair style? wow. This is not only ignorant, but offensive on many levels!
quando si parla di lavoro, i datori di lavoro devono dare asssolutamente dignita' al dipendente che produce ricchezza all'azienda, seppoi il lavoratore ha valore e merito deve essere reintegrato immediatamente, dico di piuì questa petizione verra' divulgata tramite uno spot americano esattamente di new york in tutto il mondo, percio' chiedo che il lavoratore abbia all'istante di nuovo il suo impiego che the miei accertamenti in loco e' un'ottimo lavoratore percio' dadevi the fare e date...
…quando si parla di lavoro, i datori di lavoro devono dare asssolutamente dignita' al dipendente che produce ricchezza all'azienda, seppoi il lavoratore ha valore e merito deve essere reintegrato immediatamente, dico di piuì questa petizione verra' divulgata tramite uno spot americano esattamente di new york in tutto il mondo, percio' chiedo che il lavoratore abbia all'istante di nuovo il suo impiego che the miei accertamenti in loco e' un'ottimo lavoratore percio' dadevi the fare e date opportunita' al prestatore d'opera la dignita' ok bubbas@@@.
This was me in 1980. But I was just told by a post master at the U S Post Office that it would be be better for me and better for the post office in a long run and I was fired. Does this kind of thing still go on? Heaven forbid. Give her her job back. There ought to be a LAW!!!
She deserves to have her job back with an apology as well, because she was wrongfully terminated!
Rhonda Lee looks beautiful and should be rehired.
Who are these people to tell her how to wear her hair, sometimes people need a change and sometimes your hair can weigh you down and give you head aches, so no one should tell this woman or any other how to wear her hair, or not to cut it. Stop telling women what to do with their hair.
When are we going to realize that choices are what makes us beautiful. Beauty is within one self.