I Run the 'Strong Black Lead' Netflix Instagram Account

Howdy, y’all! My name is Ashley, but y’all might know me better as @strongblacklead on Instagram. I hope y’all are having a good ass day like Ice Cube, but even if you ain’t, remember that tomorrow it’ll be A Different World! So seize the day, cus’ Forever sure as hell ain’t promised (even if a Season 2, and Keisha and Justin eating us the fuck up is).

A little bit about me—I live in the Big Apple, I love gangster rap, and I am being exploited by a multinational corporation. That last fact makes me feel a little #Insecure, but She’s Gotta Have It! “She” being Netflix, and “It” being my soul and dignity.

It’s honestly a really fun job, though! It’s remote, so I basically spend all day in a closet that I rent out with four other closet-mates, watching any Netflix show that has a trace of a Black person in it, and looking for how scenes can be related to Kamala Harris and not getting tickets to Cowboy Carter.

For example, I’m currently trying to see how I can make different scenes from the show When They See Us fit with the theme that my boss gave for today: “When the girls trip makes it out the group chat”.

When I’m not remote, though, I like to go to Harlem soul food restaurants during brunch hours and eavesdrop on the conversations of Blacks. It helps a lot when it comes to writing the page’s captions. Somebody has to be staying updated on the newest trends in AAVE. #DearWhitePeople, you can’t steal if you don’t know where they keep the product! It’s the Survival of the Thickest out here.

Unfortunately, work is getting a little difficult to do, as my landlord keeps asking us What Happened Miss Simone? On My Block I thought I would be safe from the effects of gentrification because I was White, but as it would turn out, gentrification does not spare underpaid interns. I’m barely Passing out here, for real. #HomecomingSoon.

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