- Why is my daughter the only one dressed in animal print?
All the other girls get costumes that aren't typecasted.
- You know what? I want her in an afro.
- Since quarantine and "Dance Moms" has had a resurgence
and also because of our 10-year anniversary,
people watch the show now, and it's interesting.
They see and they hear what I was saying,
that they get it now.
- Nia is doing a character piece entitled "Laquifa."
Alright, Nia, you're gonna put this on first, sweetie.
♪ I'm your fantasy girl ♪
-It's so frustrating to watch Nia dance.
She makes the same mistakes over and over again.
- When the "Laquifa" dance came up and Nia
had not really had solos at that point,
and here was finally a chance for her
to have a solo, very excited.
Then it was "Laquifa."
It was like, "Okay, now you're just being --
you're trying to put her in a stereotypical version
of what you think a Black or African American person,
woman, girl is.
What I took objection to was just about I don't want
to be a stereotypical '70s wearing an afro.
- I think Holly's being a little over dramatic.
- Have her picking cotton, might as well,
or put something on her head and be Aunt Jemima.
I don't want that. - Did you just saying,
"Picking cotton"?
- Well, that's what it's like. - Oh!
- It's the same type of thing.
My issue wasn't wearing her hair natural.
Nia has worn her hair natural on the show for several seasons.
It was the idea that someone else
had the power and audacity to tell me,
"This is what Black women, this is what
Black girls look like," and my issue was,
"You don't get to tell me
what it's like to be Black in America."
It's like making a mockery.
It's like, why are you making fun of that?
Why are you making fun of the mane?
Why are you making fun of the appearance?
♪ They call me Laquifa, the postmodern pim-what? ♪
-And I didn't see anyone else
doing something to that extreme or to that extent,
and I felt like Nia being the only
Black child on the team, it was something that one,
they were hoping to get a reaction from
and hoping to see me get angry,
hoping to get some type of fight.
Like, I am not going to fight the way
that you want me to fight.
It's like she's the token Black kid.
- I never use the word "token."
If I send her to an audition, it's gonna be an ethnic call.
Nobody else is gonna get to go but her.
- From the general fan base, particularly people who are not
Black, quite a few people did not get where I was coming from.
People did not understand the larger, the bigger picture.
I'm like, "This is a microaggression.
Don't you get it?" I mean, yes, I mean,
put it in the context of a dance competition,
our dancing world, is it a real-world, you know, issue?
No. It's not a life-or-death issue,
but it's still having a profound effect on a child's development.
But there were a lot, and I will say, a lot of Black women,
a lot of African American women who were very supportive,
who understood where I was coming from,
validating my point because so often,
I felt like no one heard or understood me,
and I was just the only one saying these things
and no one was getting it.
- And I'm telling you this with all sincerity,
there's a lot of teachers out there.
If you're not happy, look for the yellow pages.
- I am fed up with Abby.
Abby needs to learn that my daughter's a dancer first.
She's not an ethnicity first.
If there were positives that came from that,
what were the positives?
And then one of the judges who judged Nia
in that competition for "Laquifa"
has become a mentor for Nia both as a dancer
but just as a person, as another Black woman,
and so there were some positives that have come from that.
And I think that's just the way
that we try to live our lives, yeah.
Definitely was not my shining moment, but I did my best.
- Well, come up, do your hip, hip, hip, hip, and then wipe.
And then death drop, pow.
Yes!