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Hearing From #BlackWomenAtWork

When Sean Spicer said “stop shaking your head” to a black female reporter, it struck a wider nerve. We’ll listen to #BlackWomenAtWork.

Tough week on the dignity front for some prominent black women. First Bill O’Reilly casually went after Maxine Waters’ hair. A “James Brown wig,” he said of the California congresswoman. Then White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer went at veteran correspondent April Ryan, telling her to stop shaking her head in the White House briefing room. Twitter blew up with the hashtag #BlackWomenAtWork. Women who’ve been there.This hour On Point, April Ryan and more on respect, gender, color and the moment we’re in. — Tom Ashbrook

Guests

April Ryan, White House correspondent and Washington bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks. (@AprilDRyan)

Brittany Packnett, educator and activist. CampaignZero co-founder. Helped ignite the #BlackWomenAtWork hashtag this week. (@MsPackyetti)

Laura Washington, columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times. Analyst for ABC-7 in Chicago. (@mediadervish)

From Tom’s Reading List

USA Today: #BlackWomenAtWork know how Maxine Waters and April Ryan feel — “The treatment of Waters and Ryan was familiar for many black women in the U.S. who’ve personally experienced being dismissed, disrespected and marginalized — whether subtly or with outright racism — in professional situations. Some of these women spoke out on Twitter Tuesday, sharing their own experiences as well as their anger at O’Reilly and Spicer under the hashtag #BlackWomenAtWork.”

Mic: After attacks on Maxine Waters, April Ryan, black women clap back with #BlackWomenAtWork — “Writer and activist Brittany Packnett was moved to action by Tuesday’s events, and on Wednesday evening she tweeted a call to action, urging black women on Twitter to share their ‘Maxine and April moments’ with the hashtag #BlackWomenAtWork.”

Bustle: Hillary Clinton Defended April Ryan & Maxine Waters By Urging All Women To Take A Stand— “Citing the way Press Secretary Sean Spicer scolded Ryan for ‘shaking her head’ and how Bill O’Reilly made fun of Waters’ hair instead of engaging with her comments during a recent address to the House of Representatives, Clinton denounced the incidents as ‘indignities’ that far too many women — especially women of color — are forced to live and work around in their professional lives in order to do their jobs.”

Hearing From #BlackWomenAtWork

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at her congressional office on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
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Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at her congressional office on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
President Barack Obama interviewed by April Ryan aboard Air Force One en route to Air Force Base Waterkloof in South Africa, June 28, 2013. (Pete Souza/White House)
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President Barack Obama interviewed by April Ryan aboard Air Force One en route to Air Force Base Waterkloof in South Africa, June 28, 2013. (Pete Souza/White House)