Literary legend Toni Morrison once called racism a distraction. “It keeps you from doing your work,” she said during a 1975 speech. “It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.” Black people must contend with everything from blatant acts of racist terrorism to small microaggressions that filter into our everyday lives. Instead of existing, you find yourself in a state of constant emotional regulation and survival, one that is exhaustingly unfair and unsustainable. For people of color and Black folks navigating predominantly white spaces, this constant state of code-switching and performance can quickly become horrific and soul-sucking.
Hulu’s “The Other Black Girl,” based on Zakiya Dalila Harris’ best-selling novel of the same name, opens with two Black women walking similar paths in different timelines. In 1988, Kendra Rae Phillips…
