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Sil Lai Abrams, a domestic violence activist and founder of Truth in Reality joined Roland Martin on “NewsOne Now” to discuss the impact reality TV is having on how women of color are being treated and the movement to change how women of color are being represented in the media.

Abrams told Martin that Black women have jumped on the the genre of reality TV without even knowing what we are supporting. A strong proponent against reality television that undermines the perception of African American women, Abrams said: “It is amazing that the boycott (against VH1’s Sorority Sisters”) happened. It shows what we can do as a people when we are unified and take a stand.”

She added that we need to move beyond “Sorority Sisters” and take this collective power and use it shut down any type of media that denigrates and exploits women of color.”

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Abrams is traveling to college campuses around the country to spread the message of “Redefining HERstory,” where she works to change how African American women are being viewed and reverse the trend of violence against women. Abrams’ TruthInReality initiative will arrive at Howard University today, January 20th  at the College of Medicine from 5pm – 6:30pm in Auditorium Room B5.

Abrams said that TruthInReality will discuss the “Intersectionality of media representation, historical stereotypes, misogyny and how that ties in to the normalization of relational aggression among women, between men and women and how it ultimately violent images a women particularly on reality television decrease empathy for women and increases male aggression towards women.”

Listen to Martin and Sil Lai Abrams discuss the impact reality TV is having on the way women of color are being viewed in the audio clip below.

Be sure to watch “NewsOne Now” with Roland Martin, weekdays at 9 a.m. EST on TV One.

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