Keisha Ramsey

[macca]

We seemed to hear a lot about the 'hometown' best friends of Stacey and Dawn, but Keisha was mentioned almost as an afterthought. Probably because she was black. It seemed as if Jessi completely wrote her off once she became friends with Mallory.

[ktag]

That reminds me of a funny quote from Secret Language...

"I don't believe it," I whispered. "I'm dreaming, right? This is a dream."
Keisha shook her head slowly. Then she glanced at Mal, and I realized that Mal and I were still holding hands. That awful guilty feeling came over me again.
Did Keisha think I'd betrayed her? I dropped Mal's hand.

I guess she's not mentioned as much partially because Jessi never goes back.

[sparklymouse]

She never visited Stoneybrook either, did she? Strange considering Jessi was actually family and not just a friend like Sunny or Laine. I'm sure Stoneybrook only allows a certain amount of black people in at once. Of course she was given the generic black girl name too. Once in a while Jessi would write her a postcard in a superspecial, but it was weird that she didn't ever talk to her on the phone or anything.

[macca]

Of course she was given the generic black girl name too.

I never realised that was a black girl name until I read these online forums, although I always thought it was a weird name. I wonder why they gave Keisha a "black" name but the Ramsey kids were Jessica, Rebecca and John?

How do you pronounce Keisha anyway? I always assumed it was Kee-sha. Not sure if it's right or not.

[aln1982]

sparklymouse said:

She never visited Stoneybrook either, did she? Strange considering Jessi was actually family and not just a friend like Sunny or Laine. I'm sure Stoneybrook only allows a certain amount of black people in at once. Of course she was given the generic black girl name too. Once in a while Jessi would write her a postcard in a superspecial, but it was weird that she didn't ever talk to her on the phone or anything.

In Happy Holidays, Jessi (I think that is what it is called) Keisha and her family did visit. Jessi also talked to her on the phone and was really excited about the visit. I think Keisha also came to one of Jessi's ballet performances. I agree with ktag that Keisha probably isn't mentioned as much as Stacey and Dawn's hometown best friends because Jessi and the BSC don't visit NJ like they do NY and CA. I really think this is the reason more than it being a racial thing.

[jen]

There are less stories/plot lines with Jessi in general (compared to Dawn and Stacey, at least), aren't there? So maybe Keisha just didn't get much of a chance to be in the series. She appears in "Dawn and the Big Sleepover" - she comes up for a day or weekend to help Jessi with the carnival in the Pikes' backyard. That actually made it sound like it wasn't that difficult for Keisha to visit, so I don't know why she wasn't in the series more.

[sotypical42483]

It is pronounced Kee-sha.

I always wondered about her when Jessi would mention her. I think it would've been interesting to have her like, come for a month or something (maybe in NJ they get a random month off of school for some reason? It could happen in BSC land) and see how she interacts with the rest of the girls. I picture her as kinda ghetto. I also imagine her as sort of a bad girl... maybe one who changed after Jessi left or something.

[lisa]

I alwyas thought Keisha sounded alright. I was disappointed when Jessi went back to NJ for a weekend and Keisha had a new friend.

[alula]

I just read BSC in the USA for the first time, and also Jessi's Big Break (which doesn't feature Keisha, but other OMG!black characters), and I was wondering if anyone else feels that the writing sometimes goes a little overboard in trying to make them "sound" (stereotypically) black? I think it stuck out to me reading the two in such close proximity (well, and I thought the "Jessi in Dalton" chapter was really clumsily written and it actually made me kind of uncomfortable, but I should probably take that to the super special thread). I don't remember it in Jessi and the Secret Language, or the Ramsey family, but there's something very finger-snappy "Girlfriend!"-ish about the dialogue in those books that kind of bugged me. (Obviously I have no idea about the race of the ghostwriters--it all just felt to me like they were trying too hard to be "authentic," and went over the top).

[wanderingfrog]

Since Jessi and Keisha do visit each other, I always thought it was weird that they don't write or call each other on a regular basis, and that Jessi almost never mentions Keisha except if she's actually visiting. I know that even best friends might drift apart if one moves away when they're only eleven, but when they're also cousins, this seems less likely. And since they do visit occasionally, it's obvious that they haven't lost touch, so why doesn't Jessi mention more often that she called or wrote Keisha, or even that Keisha exists? It's as if Jessi likes Keisha enough to have her visit, but not enough for her to be part of her life in any way when she's not standing directly in front of her.

[Amalia]

Well, remember how Jessi felt when Mallory moved away? She resented her for a while. Maybe Keisha resented Jessi also, maybe to a lesser extent, so if Jessi sent her a letter, Keisha might not have sent one back? I remember once when Jessi visited Keisha, Keisha had already found new friends and were not being so best-friend-ish towards her. Or maybe black people just don't send letters, except to immediate family members? (Just kidding) I dunno.

[memory]

kiesha was in one of the book where jessi is danceing i think is in the 16 but i am not sure

[lyricalangel]

^It was. She surprised Jessi at her opening night of Coppelia.

[aln1982]

I loved that one when Keisha came and met Mal for the first time. I wish she would have vistited more often. See a lot of potential for interaction between her and Mal and possible problems this might create for Jessi. I wonder if she and Mal would have fought over Jessi or become best friends and made her feel kind of left out. Interesting but another missed opportunity (I seem to be seeing a ton of those today ;D)

[mckay]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that Keisha got the "generic 'black' name," because I was starting to feel like an OMGRACIST. She also talked like a stereotype, all "Hey, girl!" in BSC in the USA. I know lots of people talk that way, but that just sort of rubbed me wrong.

Although I've only ever met one Keisha, and she was white. Go figure.