How One Woman is Working to Change Negative Representations of Black Women in the Media.

Sil Lai Abrams


It all started in 2012. Reality star Evelyn Lozada had been involved in a domestic violence incident with her then fiancé Chad Johnson, during which she claimed he head-butted her. Despite the fact that images of Lozada’s injuries — a large gash on her forehead, were widely circulated, many blamed her for her injuries, claiming that she somehow incited Johnson.

This particular incident, and the discussions surrounding it, struck a chord with activist and filmmaker Si Lai Abrams. Through her work as a writer and public speaker, Abrams has always been outspoken about the need for better representation of black women in the media. She also works for change through Truth in Reality the non-profit organization that she founded.

In collaboration with Truth in Reality, Abrams is also producing a new documentary, Redefining HERstory, which she hopes will bring attention to the negative and unbalanced portrayals of black women in the media.

Redefining HERstory ™ is a groundbreaking feature-length documentary that aims to re-affirm the power and redefine the dominant media narrative of one of the world’s most exploited demographics: Black and Afro-Latina women and girls. We envision our film will expose the truth about the origin and damage of these images, explore the diversity and beauty of Black womanhood, encourage adults and young people to make informed, thoughtful decisions about the media they consume, and spark a national dialogue on the need to diversify the existing images of Black and Afro-Latina women across all media platforms.

Watch a trailer for Redefining HERstory below and contribute to the project’s crowdfunding campaign HERE.