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Misty Copeland says the ballet world still has a race problem and she wants to help fix that

Black Women in Arts

Misty Copeland says the ballet world still has a race problem and she wants to help fix that

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By Poppy Harlow and Dalila-Johari Paul, CNN

The world knows Misty Copeland as the first African-American principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre — her image splashed across billboards from coast to coast. But her purpose, Copeland says, is far greater than making history on stage or in print.

And, she insists, being a first in no way erases the ballet world’s race problem.
“The ballet world doesn’t really celebrate or have women of color,” she tells CNN’s Poppy Harlow in the latest podcast episode of “Boss Files.”
“There’s not a day that goes by that I feel like this is normal — or that this should’ve happened for me,” Copeland says as she recounts the unlikely path she took from living in a motel with her single mother and five siblings when she was just 13 years old to becoming one of, if not the, most famous dancers in the world.
“I still feel like I’m so grateful for the journey that I’ve been on and for the opportunities that I have..

Read More: Misty Copeland says the ballet world still has a race problem and she wants to help fix that

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I am a future butterfly at the stage of growth when I am turning into an adult. I am enclosed in a hard case shell formed by love, family, and friends. It is the hardest stage of becoming a black butterfly. You will encounter many hardships only to come out stronger and better than what you went in. At this stage, you are finding out who you truly are and how to love yourself.

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