The first black “Bachelorette” broke down under the pressure and expectations that she feels as a black woman in Monday night’s episode.
Rachel Lindsay stole away for a moment to herself as the drama grew and the black and white male contestants argued amongst themselves.
“I’m going to get emotional,” Lindsay began. “The pressures I feel about being a black woman and what that is and how…I don’t want to talk about it.”
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Lindsay acknowledged that she feels pressure as a black woman to make the right decision and to keep the public happy.
“I get pressured from so many different ways being in this position and I did not want to get in to all of this tonight. I already know what people are going to say about me and judge me for the decisions I’m making,” Lindsay said, wiping away tears. “I’m going to be the one who has to deal with that. And nobody else. And that’s a lot. You have no idea what it’s like to be in this position.”
People have already begun to criticize Lindsay and the show for not doing enough for racial progress. One op-ed argued that the show only helped white people but did nothing for black women. (RELATED: Op-Ed: The Black Bachelorette Only Helps White People)
“Rachel Lindsey, first black bachelorette represents progress for white people. They’ll feel a bit more connected to blackness, and console themselves that like these representative good white people on the show, they too could date a black woman … one like Rachel at least. But this representation doesn’t do much for black women,” Mandy Harris-Williams wrote in For Harriet.
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