WHEN OUR SPACE GETS ERASED

Okay. I’m scared.

and it’s not just a “oh the networks merged” scared. it’s the kind of scared that sits deep in your chest when you realize history is repeating itself quietly, invisibly, and we’re barely noticing. UPN + WB = CW. see that? c for CBS, w for WB… and UPN? gone. erased. almost like it never existed. (yes, I see you, marketing geniuses.)

for years—YEARS—we fought for programming that didn’t make black people look like cartoons, fools, sex-obsessed, or poor caricatures. intelligent blacks have had to search for shows we can relate to. we turned away from BET long ago. we said no to cheap laughs at our expense. yes, there were laughs, but not at the right place, not in the right way. that was not us.

and now? now the CW swoops in, taking over the WB’s white audience shows (some failing, some mediocre—doesn’t matter) and leaving almost all UPN’s black shows in the dust. Girlfriends survives, I guess, but…yeah. (note my sarcasm.)

i don’t even watch UPN much, but Girlfriends mattered. it wasn’t about stereotypes. it was about women owning their lives, being ambitious, funny, smart, flawed, human. that still hurts when networks treat it like expendable filler.

Bernard Mac (Bernie Mac) said what most people won’t: “this is mine. don’t touch it.” and it worked. he took control, said no to changes that would have been harmful, and ran his show. THAT is power. THAT is sovereignty. THAT is what UPN gave us for a moment—and what the CW is quietly taking away.

this isn’t just about Girlfriends. it’s about visibility. it’s about respect. we don’t want acceptance—we never have—but we do want to exist in a space that doesn’t demean us. a space that acknowledges our intelligence, our humor, our complexity. and now? that space is shrinking.

networks will blame ratings. “oh, poor ratings, gotta make changes.” sure. let’s ignore the fact that black homes hardly ever have the meters. (auntie gave hers up years ago—too much work.) let’s ignore the fact that comparing a UPN show to NBC or ABC is ridiculous because we didn’t get the same chance to be seen. of course ratings look low. we weren’t given the shot.

if Girlfriends disappears, it won’t be because the show was bad. it won’t be because the audience wasn’t watching. it will be because history is still written by people who don’t see our value. and that? that hurts. it hits. it reminds me that space—space for black intelligence, ambition, visibility—must be taken seriously, defended, guarded.

so yes, i’m pissed. not just about Girlfriends. not just about UPN. I’m pissed because even when we carve a little inch, it can be erased with a pen. a press release. a merger. (oh, and yes, my wrists hurt today too, and yes, my coffee was cold.) but mostly i’m pissed because i see the pattern. the erasure. the quiet sidelining. and it is not coincidence.

Our space on television is not given. It is taken, maintained, defended. When it disappears, it is deliberate, not accidental. Respect is not optional. Visibility is sovereignty. When both are threatened, the response must be rooted in awareness and reclamation. Do not mistake temporary inroads for permanence. Every inch must be defended, every narrative protected.We do not exist for permission. We exist for presence. And when that presence is erased, it is a reminder that respect must be claimed, not requested.

—Leata