Hello, 2018–and the aftershocks of 2017 and all it brought.

Excited about the announcement from the Today Show that Hoda Kotb is the permanent new co-host of that show–ratings have been good, she’s been a very good soldier, and it is such a great example of Brown Girl magic. As happened on NBC’s Nightly News, when Lester Holt rose to primary anchor–there was a person of color standing in line to assume power. In both cases, it took a scandal to clear the pathway.

It took many scandals to power up the women of Hollywood, but now they are mobile: announcing a 300+ person strong initiative to clear out the rot in entertainment, most notably creating a $14 million dollar legal fund for women who don’t have lawyers, agents and pr folks to go up against what high powered legal expert, the great Catharine MacKinnon of Harvard calls the “prostitution of work.”

Known as “Time’s Up,” it is this group that also formed the commission, headed by Anita Hill (what a great choice!–let’s be sure to remind them) to figure out what to do. Understandably, with the big names involved (Oprah, Shonda,) and the sheer numbers, it would be unrealistic to expect immediate agreement. One thing they have agreed upon, so it seems, is to wear black to the Golden Globes this Sunday, in protest.

I’m sympathetic to the idea of a statement. Not sure I expected it to be, after all, a fashion statement.