Mara Brock Akil is proud of Girlfriends' impact on TV's portrayal of Black women

ETonline

Friday marked not only the 20th anniversary of Akil's UPN/CW sitcom, but also its streaming debut on Netflix. “I have been telling anyone who would listen, who had a little bit of a signal to a huge signal that Girlfriends and (its spinoff) The Game needed to be on a streaming service and deserved a place for their audience to be able to enjoy it,” Akil told ET. Akil also recalled the fight over whether Tracee Ellis Ross' hair should be worn  naturally or be blown out. “I’m really proud that Girlfriends was a big part of leading that change for Black women wearing their hair naturally,” said Akil, who added: “Fighting that fight and bringing in Black culture into that education for executives was important. But those fights, I’m so proud of all of them because we got to reflect their beauty, let alone tell stories about HIV and AIDS, Black women and fibroids… or even women’s sexuality.” ALSO: Three Black female writers look back at Girlfriends' impact.