+
upworthy
Pop Culture

6-year-old girl absolutely slays as a tiny Viola Davis, Sha'Carri Richardson and more

little girl dresses up as viola davia

Rosie White, as Viola Davis, as Annalise Keating.

One mommy-daughter duo is winning hearts by taking dress-up to a whole new level.

Six-year-old Rosie White is going viral and making headlines for sharing the inspiring stories of Black entertainers, leaders and history makers—using spot-on costumes made by her mother Kenya White, along with her own special dash of Black girl magic.

You might have recently seen Rosie (@go_rosie_grow) boldly channeling multiaward-winning actress Viola Davis, complete with that meme-worthy “grabbing of the purse stare down” we all know and love from “How to Get Away With Murder.”

I mean, where does Davis end and White begin?! Someone give this child an Emmy!

Even Davis saw the video and reposted it. So I’m sure that’s award enough for now.


As Kenya recalls in a Scary Mommy interview, the idea behind this treasure trove of uncanny impressions came when Rosie was just 3 years old. After her daughter was given a printout about Rosa Parks in preschool, Kenya discovered that little Rosie completely memorized all of the information and could recite back what she had just read.

Inspired, Kenya grabbed a makeshift Rosa Parks costume and grabbed her phone, telling her daughter to “do it again!” And from there, a blend of history, creativity and pure joy ensued.

Since then, Rosie has created hundreds (yes, hundreds) of videos featuring prominent Black figures, and received lots of love for her fun personality and God-given talent. Scary Mommy reported that Whoopi Goldberg sent a box of books and Erykah Badu started following her.

Some of my personal favorites are when Rosie pretends to be male figures. Cause, well … little kids in fake mustaches. That’s a level of adorable that can’t be beat.

Her pop star and diva ones are quite amazing too.

*standing ovation*

For Black History Month, Rosie and Kenya are doubling down and releasing a video every Monday and Thursday. Thursdays honor Black inventors, like Sarah Boone, who improved the ironing board, George Crum, creator of the potato chip, Garret Morgan, inventor of the traffic light.

Seriously, if this child doesn’t become an actress, I hope she becomes a history teacher because I am learning so much. And having fun while doing so.

A lot of inspiration also comes from current events, like track star Sha’Carri Richardson following her unfair disqualification from the Olympic Games.

Her tiny tattoos! I can't even...

And though occasionally Rosie will delve into more serious stories, like Breonna Taylor, Kenya says that the tone is consciously celebratory.

“When I was six years old I learned about the negativity of Black history,” Kenya told Scary Mommy. “I didn’t want to teach her such darkness about Black history. Right now it’s all positivity.”

Positivity, yes. But also inspiration. Especially to young Black girls. Kenya told Good Morning America, the message behind these videos is that “you can do anything you want. You can be Kamala Harris, you can be Michelle Obama, you can be beyond those ladies. Whatever your heart desires, whatever you want to do, whether you're an artist or dancer, into politics, just be the best you you can be."

That includes GMA co-anchor Robin Robertson, who now has a “mini-me,” thanks to Rosie.

Next month is Women’s History Month, and we are all very excited to see what Rosie and Kenya come up with. Perhaps Biden’s Supreme Court nominee? We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, sifting through these videos is more than enough to make you, to quote The Lovin' Spoonful, “believe in magic in a young girl’s heart.”

Way to go Rosie. Following your bliss reminds us all to do the same.

True

As AI makes daily headlines (and robots take over), I’ve been thinking more about the future of human work and the value of craftsmanship. Craftsmanship, the human trait that enables us to care for and love the work we produce, especially in the built environment.

Even as we make advancements and increase efficiencies in technology, the built world desperately needs more people who care about craft and want to work with their hands.

In construction specifically, the demand for housing—especially affordable housing—and safer roads and bridges is only increasing. And over 40% of skilled workers will retire in the next 10 years. We need new craftspeople more than ever. And, fast.
That’s why we started MT Copeland: to capture the craftsmanship seen in the built world around us (our homes, our workplaces, our cities), and help anyone learn directly from experienced professionals. We help craftspeople teach the skills they use on the job every day, and inspire others to make a career move into skilled careers. Carpenters, entrepreneurs building homes, painters, and even first-time homeowners can now use methods from generations past to make projects better.

The attention to detail in drywall, painting, or cabinet making requires a unique combination of technical prowess, problem-solving abilities, and an artistic eye. It’s the kind of work made only possible by human touch. Just when it starts to feel like everything’s destined to be automated, remember: some things simply must be made by human hands.

Keep ReadingShow less

A woman is upset with her husband and wants to leave him.

There are a few big reasons why 70% of divorces in the United States among heterosexual couples are filed by women. Women have more economic opportunities than in decades past and are better positioned to care for themselves and their children without a husband’s income.

Another big reason is that even though the world has become much more egalitarian than in the past, women still bear the brunt of most of the emotional labor in the home. Gilza Fort-Martinez, a Florida, US-based licensed couples’ therapist, told the BBC that men are socialized to have lower emotional intelligence than women, leaving their wives to do most of the emotional labor.

Secondly, studies show that women still do most of the domestic work in the home, so many are pulling double duty for their households.

Keep ReadingShow less
Canva

There is no time for the perfect mom to be perfect... take it or leave it.

Every parent has been there.

The sink is overflowing with dishes. Legos cover the entire floor, piercing your foot every time you take a step. And you suddenly realize that you've made the kids chicken nuggets and mac n' cheese five nights in a row.

Every parent has moments where it all seems to be spinning out of control.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

Keep ReadingShow less
Education

Doctor's 1851 description of 'drapetomania'—the runaway slave 'disorder'—is a must-read

Dr. Cartwright's published explanation of the "malady" and its "cure" sheds a disturbing light on the "kind" treatment some enslaved people received.

Public Domain

Dr. Samuel Cartwright invented an entire mental illness to explain why Black slaves repeatedly ran away.

If you've never heard of drapetomania, you're not alone. It's a disease that doesn't exist anymore. In fact, it didn't even exist when it was coined, but plenty of people in the Antebellum South believed that it did.

After all, a renowned, well-respected doctor defined "drapetomania"—combining the Greek words for "runaway" and "madness"—as "the disease causing Negroes to run away" in 1851.

Dr. Samuel Cartwright was the first president of the Mississippi State Medical Society and a leading expert on diseases and medicine in the Southern states in the mid-1800s. He was also an unapologetic white supremacist. In a short paper titled, "Diseases and Peculiarities of the Negro Race," Cartwright managed to pathologize the normal human desire to not be enslaved and even prescribed a "remedy" for it.

To be frank, Cartwright's explanation of drapteomania, its causes and its cures is a nauseating read, but it's also an important one. Slavery minimizers often try to argue that "not all masters treated their slaves badly," insinuating that the enslaved person's experience wasn't always terrible (as if being enslaved in and of itself is not terrible). But reading a doctor explain how to cure the "disease" of wanting to escape slavery highlights how even "care" and "kindness" toward enslaved people were often deeply steeped in racism.

I'm sharing the four paragraphs that explain drapetomania in their entirety because reading primary documents is a big part of a full education. (If you want the TL;DR version, it's basically, "Holy blatant white supremacy, Batman.")

Again, this came from one of the most renowned doctors in the American South at the time:


Keep ReadingShow less

Bearded dragon freaks out over his favorite sock on laundry day.

Not everyone has a cat, dog or bird for a pet. Some people prefer their animals without fur or feathers and instead go for spikes and claws—and big personalities. Reptiles are usually viewed as tank-dwelling creatures that sort of just hang out, but they can be just as entertaining as having a silly Golden Doodle around.

One bearded dragon, Percy, is showing the internet just how fun reptiles can be with the help of his favorite sock and human mom, Caitlin. The sock isn't a tiny sock made for dragons; it's a human sock that's almost as big as he is. Percy pulls the sock around the house, but it's wash day that really gets him going.

The beardie just can't contain himself when his favorite sock is being washed. There's no tricking him either. He knows which sock is his, and he will let his human know that a different sock is unacceptable.

Keep ReadingShow less

Jessica McCabe explains why her 20-something kids have it so much harder than she did.

Historically, there’s always been a battle between older and younger generations. Invariably, the older generation will always say that the younger kids are lazier or softer than they were growing up. We’ve seen this over the past few years with baby boomers accusing millennials of being entitled and oversensitive.

But Jessica McCabe, 51, who is retired from the Air Force, is bucking the historical trend by pointing out that the game has changed since she was in her 20s. In a passionate rant, she says it’s much harder for her 25- and 28-year-old kids to get by.

The video has obviously struck a chord on TikTok, where it’s received over 11.5 million views and 68,000 comments. Her primary complaint is how costly it is for her hard-working kids to afford housing.

Keep ReadingShow less