Ellen Cleghorne recalls her 1990s experience as a black woman on SNL

Slate

Cleghorne, who was in the cast of Saturday Night Live from 1991 through 1995, was technically the third black woman to be credited on the show, after Yvonne Hudson and Danitra Vance. But as Slate explains, Cleghorne was "the first woman of color to appear on Saturday Night Live as a full-fledged cast member for longer than a single season." That makes her the "dean of a very specific SNL class," says Slate.  “I still feel my blackness is objectified,” says Cleghorne, “as opposed to individualized, in the way white people are. There’s 10 white boys on that show. Each one of them are individuals, they bring something special … there’s always tokenism. It’s very dangerous.”