About.com Race Relations

The Word on the �Princess and the Frog,� Disney�s First Film With a Black Heroine

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:45:13 +0000

After much ado, Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" opens Nov. 25 in select cities. The film will be the first Disney production to feature a black heroine. While much of the viewing public is excited that an African American will be added to Disney's multicultural list of leading ladies, which includes Mulan, Pocahontas and Esmeralda, others have lambasted the film long before its November release.

The Word on the �Princess and the Frog,� Disney�s First Film With a Black Heroine originally appeared on About.com Race Relations on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 06:45:13.

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Sammy Sosa�s Skin Controversy

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:15:39 +0000

With significantly lighter skin and green contact lenses during an appearance at the Latin Grammys, baseball great Sammy Sosa has found himself at the center of controversy. Just how did this Dominican's skin go from dark brown to pallid?

The former Chicago slugger told Univision reporter Tony Dandrades that a European skin cream caused his skin color to lighten, EURweb.com reported.

Sammy Sosa�s Skin Controversy originally appeared on About.com Race Relations on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 02:15:39.

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Latinos Cheer Lou Dobbs� Departure from CNN

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:08:20 +0000

Founding CNN anchor Lou Dobbs announced his resignation from the network Nov. 11, despite the fact that his contract didn't expire for two more years. Latino advocacy groups are not only cheering the move but taking credit for it. That's because they campaigned for Dobbs to be removed from the network for misrepresenting immigrants and Hispanics generally.

Dobbs, for example, was forced to apologize after characterizing the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as "an organization that is interested in Mexico's export of drugs and illegal aliens to the United States," NPR reported.

To boot, he blamed Latin American immigrants for a rise in leprosy cases in the States, despite the fact that incidences of leprosy haven't notably risen in the U.S.

Latinos Cheer Lou Dobbs� Departure from CNN originally appeared on About.com Race Relations on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 17:08:20.

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What "Precious" Means for Race Relations

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:58:52 +0000

The film "Precious" premiered in select cities Nov. 6, and reviews are pouring in about the movie with a Harlem teen whose life transforms through education. To say that the circumstances of Precious Jones' life are bleak would be an understatement. Precious is illiterate, living with HIV and has been victimized by her parents in numerous ways, including sexually. Her father has twice impregnated her, and one child she's borne by him suffers from Down syndrome.

"Precious" tackles an array of issues. Because the protagonist is black, however, both the media and the public have raised questions about its effect on race relations. Read more...

What "Precious" Means for Race Relations originally appeared on About.com Race Relations on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 21:58:52.

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�Top Model� Biracial Shoot Creates Uproar

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:58:06 +0000

When I posted a blog about Harry Connick Jr. objecting to a group of Australian performers wearing blackface, many readers suggested that it was silly to take offense to the Jackson Jive's performance because group members were of Indian and Lebanese descent and, therefore, couldn't be racist. I tried to explain that the ethnicity of the performers was irrelevant, as people of color are capable of racist behavior as well.

Tyra Banks of "America's Next Top Model" is a case in point. The supermodel-turned-television personality created an uproar last week when her show featured white contestants in dark makeup. The goal was to make the girls appear to be biracial. Banks called it a "fashion interpretation" of culture.

�Top Model� Biracial Shoot Creates Uproar originally appeared on About.com Race Relations on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 13:58:06.

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Are Bars and Clubs Using Dress Codes to Racially Discriminate?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:16:29 +0000

No baggy pants, no baseball caps, no athletic wear.

These items are among the apparel bars and clubs across the country ban to keep out a certain element. But are African Americans the element they have in mind? According to Macon D., who is white and runs the blog Stuff White People Do, the answer is yes. To make his case, Macon pointed out the public uproar surrounding six black Washington University students denied entry into a Chicago bar Oct. 17 during their senior class trip to the city.

Are Bars and Clubs Using Dress Codes to Racially Discriminate? originally appeared on About.com Race Relations on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 06:16:29.

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Tragic Mulatto Myth: The Reason Justice Denied Marriage License to Mixed Couple

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:50:18 +0000

By now, you've likely heard about the Louisiana justice of peace who recently denied an interracial couple a marriage license. The justice's move has sparked public outcry.

After all, no matter his opinions on interracial unions, it's no longer illegal for mixed couples to marry. Therefore, Keith Bardwell, the justice of peace in question, overstepped his bounds by refusing a marriage license to Terence McKay, who is black, and Beth Humphrey, who is white. Quotes attributed to Bardwell suggest that the justice considers his refusal to grant McKay and Humphrey a marriage license to be an act of conscience.

Tragic Mulatto Myth: The Reason Justice Denied Marriage License to Mixed Couple originally appeared on About.com Race Relations on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 00:50:18.

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Limbaugh Blames �Obama�s America� for NFL Fiasco

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:57:22 +0000

Rush Limbaugh blamed "Obama's America" for derailing his effort to be part-owner of the St. Louis Rams.

The conservative commentator made the remark today on his radio show, according to ESPN.com.

Earlier this year, a group reportedly approached Limbaugh about joining them in a bid to buy the Rams. When word spread recently about Limbaugh's ambitions, however, NFL union leader DeMaurice Smith, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Indiana Colts owner Jim Irsay voiced concerns about having a divisive figure like Limbaugh involved in the league. This led the group that had approached Limbuagh about joining them in the bid to announce Wednesday that they'd dropped him. It's not just that Limbaugh is Republican--so are many NFL team owners--it's that the radio personality has made remarks deemed polarizing at best and racist at worst.

Six years ago, Limbaugh stirred up controversy after commenting on ESPN show "Sunday NFL Countdown" that support of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was race-related.

"I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL," he said. "The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well."

Historically, African American players were excluded from the quarterback position because quarterbacks are supposed to be intelligent, a quality seen as lacking in blacks. After suggesting that eagerness to right this wrong rather than McNabb's skill was responsible for the support he received, Limbaugh was forced to resign from ESPN. He'd essentially equated McNabb's rise to quarterback with affirmative action.

More offensive than the McNabb comment was when Limbaugh reportedly said in 2007, "The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it."

I find it curious that Limbaugh would seek to purchase an organization he believes consists of thugs or thug wanna-bes. On the other hand, it's very easy to see why black players throughout the league would make a point to say that they would never play for the Rams if Limbaugh served as co-owner. African Americans make up two-thirds of the NFL. Therefore, Limbaugh's remarks alienated most of the league's community. I would hope that this teaches Limbaugh a lesson, but that seems unlikely. The radio host took no responsibility for his failed attempt to buy the Rams. ESPN reported:

"Limbaugh said the real reason he's out is the (National Football League Players' Association's) attempt to influence negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. 'It's designed to intimidate the owners, frighten the owners, and say, 'We're running this league now, gang, not you.'"

Clearly, Limbaugh jests. The real reason he was dropped from the bid is because his racially divisive rhetoric made him a liability. Had he been allowed to co-own the Rams, angry fans could have caused advertising to be pulled from the NFL.

"There's an argument that says the very principles Rush espouses--the free market--are what did him in," conservative radio host Michael Smerconish remarked. "This is the free market. These are private businessmen who made a decision about what was in the best business interest of their thriving venture."

I can't say I feel sorry for Limbaugh. After all, when Chicago was ruled out as a candidate to host the Olympics, he seemed ecstatic. Why? Because Obama had failed, and Limbaugh made no bones about wanting the President to fail when Obama first took office. Why would Limbaugh expect the NFL and America overall to cheer him on now, then? His insistence on blaming his downfall on "Obama's America" doesn't help matters. This is the same sort of racially coded language that made his bid fail.

If Limbaugh should ever decide to bid for an NFL team again, he'd do best to follow the lead of late Republican politician and football player Jack Kemp. Rather than stereotype and alienate black players, Kemp advocated for them, helping to lead the effort to have an all-star game move from New Orleans to Houston when black players complained of discrimination in the Big Easy. Despite his conservative politics, Kemp sought to support blacks in the NFL and otherwise.

Limbaugh Blames �Obama�s America� for NFL Fiasco originally appeared on About.com Race Relations on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 22:57:22.

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Harry Connick Jr. Tackles Blackface in Australia

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:02:11 +0000

Harry Connick Jr. took a stand Wednesday night. While serving as a guest judge on Australian variety show "Hey Hey It's Saturday," the jazz musician reprimanded performers who donned blackface and Afro wigs while spoofing the Jackson Five.

Not only did Connick, a New Orleans native, declare that he wouldn't have appeared on the show had he known about the skit beforehand, he told host Daryl Somers, "I just want to say, on behalf of my country, I know it was done humorously, but we've spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons, that when we see something like that we take it really to heart."

Now the Internet is buzzing with debates about the controversy. Was Connick just being too PC? Did the performers mean no harm? Do Australians simply not get that blackface is offensive because the history and makeup of the continent is so different from America's?

While these are all thought-provoking questions, I am more interested in the message that Connick sent by taking a stand than debating the offensiveness of blackface. (But, yes, I do consider it to be offensive). When Connick spoke out against the Jackson Jive skit, he sent the message that whites have a duty to stand up when racism is at hand. Usually, the opposite message is sent.

It's oft insinuated that racism is the problem of people of color, and, therefore, they alone have the burden of fighting it. In actuality, racism is a problem that affects everyone's lives. If certain segments of the population face educational, employment and healthcare barriers because of race, the whole of America suffers the consequences of it. Our workforce falls behind other globalized nations in ability. We foot the bills of people without health insurance who end up in the ER when an untreated medical condition takes its toll. This is why I applaud Harry Connick Jr. for saying that he spoke for his country when challenging the Jackson Jive skit. Hopefully, he will inspire not only other whites to speak out against racism but also blacks to speak out when they see racism targeted at Asians or Latinos to speak out when they see racism targeted at Middle Easterners and so forth.

Calling out someone for racist behavior can be awkward. You might be considered a buzz kill or someone who can't take a joke. Tensions may arise between you, your coworkers and family members, but, ultimately, it's worth it.

What do you think? Whose duty is it to fight racism?

Harry Connick Jr. Tackles Blackface in Australia originally appeared on About.com Race Relations on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 03:02:11.

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Albert�s Death Raises Concerns About Black-on-Black Violence

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:50:30 +0000

Mourners at the funeral of Derrion Albert Oct. 3 included the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. How was it that a 16-year-old drew such figures to his memorial service? Albert, an honor roll student, was beaten to death by his peers Sept. 24 as he walked home from Fenger High School on Chicago's South Side. The motive for the killing is unclear, but the murder's raising questions about how to stop teen violence, particularly of the black-on-black persuasion.

"Fathers need to go home and mothers need to be home," recommended Albert's pastor, the Rev. E.G. Ledbetter Jr. of Greater Mount Hebron Missionary Baptist Church.

The pastor also remarked that there "is no simple fix for what is wrong in our nation" and "the healing is not going to take place in one fell swoop," the Chicago Tribune reported.

But if not now, when will the healing begin? In 1989, the National Urban League organized the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence to curb black-on-black crime. To raise funds for the coalition, a group of hip-hop luminaries, including Public Enemy, released a rap single about ending violence called "Self Destruction." That was twenty years ago. Today, black men still have the dubious distinction of being the group in America most likely to be murdered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Reactions to this issue seem well-intentioned but static. In addition to urging parents to stay home, other suggestions to end black youth violence raised in light of Albert's death include making after-school routes safer for students and telling young people headed in the wrong direction that their lives are salvageable. The Rev. Jackson, for example, argues that students such as Albert shouldn't have to take three city buses to get to school. He made this point because Albert was beaten during a brawl between students from two different neighborhoods.

"Why send these children into harm's way every day?" Jackson asked. "These are war zones. This wasn't an incident, it's a pattern."

Yes, it is a pattern, but one I doubt sending students to closer schools will stop. Homicide is the fifth leading cause of death for black men. This is clearly a problem that's beyond the arc of neighborhood schooling. A case in point is that the same day Albert's funeral took place, Tyrone Williams and Percy Day were laid to rest as well. Williams and Day were fatally shot the day after Albert's brutal beating. They were college students from Chicago's West Side.

During Albert's funeral, the Rev. Jackson focused on students rather than black-on-black violence in general, according to newspaper reports. He told funeral attendees that the National Guard escorted black students to an all-white Arkansas school in 1957 to ensure that they could walk to and from school safely. He declared that similar intervention is needed in present day Chicago.

The irony here is that in 1957, the Little Rock Nine needed protection from violent white segregationists. Today, black youth need protection from one another. Whites historically devalued black life with race-related terror, but somewhere down the line blacks have also learned to devalue black life. Given this, I'm not sure that a stronger police presence will end the violence. What's needed is a psychological intervention of sorts. Black youth not only need to know that their lives are salvageable but that their lives and their peers' lives are worth living. In short, killing other black youth really does amount to self-destruction. The question now is how do you address the psychic wounds created by the legacy of racism and the resulting social ills that have taught blacks their lives are worthless?

The Rev. Jackson wants youth to attend the nearest public schools possible. President Obama is sending U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Chicago to address the ongoing violence there. But this isn't a schooling problem or a Chicago problem, it's a race problem.

Albert�s Death Raises Concerns About Black-on-Black Violence originally appeared on About.com Race Relations on Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 12:50:30.

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