In our second post of the semester, we will be taking a look at how Anti-Blackness played out in the interview of Miya Ponsetto. Miss Ponsetto falsely accused Keyon Harold Jr, a 14 year old black boy, of stealing her cell phone and proceeded to physically attack him over the false belief. These actions led to her being interviewed on CBS This Morning by Gayle King. Which is what we will interrogate in the ensuing post. First, A. will breakdown exactly what were the concerning issues in the interview. Next, Rachel will provide context so that we can build a full picture of the issue at hand. Finally, we will have a prospective solution provided by Obie.
The Problem:
Ponsetto’s interview with CBS journalist Gayle King profoundly highlights her rampant Anti-Black racism as she vulgarly cuts King off in mid-sentence, attempts to control the direction of the interview and silences King by putting her hand in front of her. These classic outbursts employed by Ponsetto directly demonstrate how she believes she has a right to exercise power over King. As a white woman, she strategically uses her power to speak over top of King-while going to the extent of calling her by her first name. Historically white women have called Black women by their first names in order to belittle them in professional settings. Essentially, this reduces Black women who are professionals to that of amateurs. In Ponsetto’s graphically Anti-Black interview, she purposely calls King by her first name to put her in her place. Ultimately, King faces the wrath of Ponsetto, and the problem is that she is not the only Black woman to have to endure this very same fate at the workplace. In the workforce, countless Black women are subjected to the violence of white women. Worst of all, they are expected, by default, to turn the other cheek. Ponsetto expects the same of King and this expectation plays directly into the humbling of Black women: a phenomenon in which no matter how cruel Black women are treated, they are expected to be the bigger person in the face of injustice.
Context:
The context of this interview begins with the assault on Keyon Harrold Jr. by Miya Ponsetto on the afternoon of December 25th,2021 in a hotel lobby in New York City. Ponsetto had misplaced her phone, asking hotel staff for assistance in finding it. At some point, Ponsetto fixated on Keyon Harrold Jr, a 14 year old boy who was going to have lunch with his father, accusing him of being the one who stole her cell phone and insisting that he show hotel staff his cell phone proving it was not her property. When Keyon dismissed her requests, Ponsetto proceeded to jump on him, attempting to stop him and steal his phone from his hands, and exclaiming she would not let him get away with her phone.
Miya Ponsetto was not initially charged or arrested for the incident and went on to have an interview with Gayle King of CBS This Morning, sharing her stance on the attack with her attorney by her side. This was prior to her arrest on January 8th. In the interview, Gayle King prompts Ponsetto to share her side of the story, knowing viewers had seen the viral video of her assaulting Keyon. She is immediately defensive, dismissing the incident and feelings of both Keyon Harrold Jr. and his father, saying they were unbothered by what happened because they ate a meal afterwards. Ponsetto denies the claim that her actions could have been racist because she is a Puerto Rican woman of color, and says that “her accusation [of Keyon Harold Jr. stealing her phone] is not a crime,” failing to mention at all her attack on Keyon, the crime she was charged with. Her flippant attitude towards the impact of her actions is reflected in how she interacts with Gayle King throughout the interview, often trying to dictate the dialogue, refute and critique the questions Gayle poses, and disrespect her as a professional by cutting her off and challenging her credibility at the end of their interview.
The Solution:
It is always interesting to me that the solution to racially infused problems, issues, and challenges such as these are not hidden in a new or an improved policy, rule, or regulation. But in the consistency of the laws that have already been put in place. The biases that occur are blatant; these biases that occur are to protect whiteness and to promote anti blackness. America still struggles with the language of the constitution and the 14th amendment. This is America’s Achilles heel. The solution is to enforce the law and enforce equal protection of the law to all people. The fact that Miss Ponsetto was able to walk away from this incident after physically attacking a black young man who was also a minor is disheartening but not surprising. The fact that Miss Ponsetto who as a white woman was able to gather herself, go back home, get proper legal representation and not only that; was able to utilize white privilege to get on national television and attempt to rewrite the narrative. Miss Ponsetto desired to re write a narrative to create a new context and soften the cruelty of her actions, this access and liberty expresses the power of being white in America still in 2021.
We see this time and time again this does not surprise anyone but the solution again I say is enforcement. Enforcement of the law to all people and that means the protection of the law to all people. We can sit back and play blind to this situation, but we who are “woke” all know that if it was this young black boy who attacked Miya Ponsetto unjustly in this same manner; this young man would still be in jail and he would not have received the opportunity to rewrite history on national television.