The current events in our country have made systemic racism more evident and more front-of-mind for our citizens. Many people have taken to the streets, protesting the unjust deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and so many others. We recently had an opportunity to chat with Aba Asante, a Tik Tok content creator who is passionately working to make a meaningful difference.
Who is Aba?
Aba Asante is a content creator on Tik Tok. She is an aspiring makeup artist, dancer, and fashion guru. Aba is of Ghanian descent and grew up in Indiana. According to her, being a content creator of color is extremely difficult and comes with numerous hurdles along the way.
Aba is also a passionate activist. She fights for African-American rights using her platform to inform her followers. She also teaches about the beauty found in her culture. We’ve had the chance to talk to her and she revealed the top struggles influencers of color face every day. Here’s what she wants to tell people.
1. Skewed Beauty Standards
Perhaps everyone has already heard the saying “Beauty is on the inside”. According to Aba, our society has a European-centric set of beauty standards. It’s hard for African-American creators to thrive in the platform especially when they do not fit the standards.
“I would always see people with less likes than me but more followers than me, I knew I wasn’t as pretty as the other girls and it made me work harder. I worked day and night thinking of new ideas to pour out to my audience. It was difficult, but it was worth it.”
Aba Asante
2. Vulnerability
The comments section of Tik Tok sometimes brings the worst in people. Aba would regularly see racial slurs, inappropriate jokes, and cultural appropriation. It definitely hurts her and she can’t do much about it. According to Aba, she trys to keep the peace in her profile which is strictly based-off her content and nothing more.
3. Disparity in getting brand deals
Getting brand deals as an African-American is an extreme struggle. Brands do not make products that fit the profile of people in the minority group. As a result, Aba has found a way to test out products that do not necessarily fit her. She also found trouble collaborating with others because of others’ fear of getting hate. Here’s what she said:
“A third reason as to why it’s hard being a black creator is, its hard to get the same brand deals as other people. Some brands don’t make products for my hair type, or my skin type, that’s why I bought wigs so I could test out their products. Not only that, I’ve had instances where creators didn’t want to collaborate with me because of my race and my beliefs because they didn’t want their audience to dislike them because of it.”
Aba Asante
4. There aren’t a lot of black creators
She laid out her perspective. There aren’t a lot of black content creators. Aba believes that this happens because not everyone believes in their history. Not everyone agrees with what they are fighting for. This pushes her and other African-American creators to fight harder for change.
“Overall, it’s been an amazing journey and I hope I can continue to influence and inspire young people of color to love who they are.”
Aba Asante
What are you doing to make change? Check out Aba on Tik Tok!
