“I Haven’t Found (The Humor In) It, Nor Do I Seek It”

by with 5 Comments CultureDiversity & InclusionFeatured

“You’ve found the humor of it, I haven’t found it, nor do I seek it.” – Jerry Seinfeld

A video from 2011 recently resurfaced of comedians Chris Rock, Louis CK, Jerry Seinfeld, and Ricky Gervais, discussing the controversial use of the N-word. Chris Rock surprisingly gave Louis CK a pass to say the word and Jerry Seinfeld appeared to be the only one not willing to jump in and say the word…

Chris Rock: “He’s the Blackest White guy I fucking know.”

Louis CK: “You’re saying I’m a nigger?”

Chris Rock: “Yes… you are the nigger-est fucking White man I have ever (met).”

Moments later, Seinfeld added some much-needed clarity by admitting he doesn’t get it, nor has he ever tried to get it regarding his comedy. They all kept laughing, but if there was ever a time to push back regarding the use of a racial slur that is inevitably tied to horror and dark times in American History, it was then. While many people would’ve expected Chris, the only African-American in the room, to bring that clarity, it was Jerry instead.

Is this clip nearly 8 years old, sure. Why is it resurfacing now, who knows? But what we do know is that this word is beyond controversial, and it immediately caused people to react, and it wasn’t in support of Chris, Louis, or Rick… all of whom had a great time using the term and hysterically laughing about it.

Some of those reactions were caught on Twitter…

 

 

 

 

How do you feel about the word? And does Chris, as the only African-American on the set, deserve more blame than the other 3 comedians? 

Black Skinhead

by with No Comment CultureFeaturedRace RelationsTrump Administration

“For over 15 years, Kanye West’s success is a testament to his undeniable musical talent. That success has also been coupled with his infamous opinions, thoughts and boisterous public acts. Ironically, his most recent opinions, thoughts, and public acts have pushed his career to the point of irreparable harm.”

Kanye West, my favorite rapper of all time, is a Black skinhead.

Kanye West’s 2013 Yeezus album contained a track entitled “Black Skinhead.” At the song’s release, Kanye West had just started dating Kim Kardishan. The song is a clap back against those who are anti-interracial relationships and against racism as a whole. Despite the strong message on “Black Skinhead” and other tracks on Yeezus, many casual Kanye fans were left confused and questioning not just his music, but his mental state. Fans couldn’t get past the loud rap metal sound, random stoppages of songs and direction, and the general unorthodox flow of the album.

My thoughts are twofold. I thought of the “Black Skinhead”  track, while concluding thoughts on Kanye’s recent trip to the oval office. A meeting he appeared wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, a hat as of late that seems to be permanently attached to his head, to show admiration and support for President Trump.

First, the term “skinhead”. Skinhead is a term most generally associated with a faction of White power. Young and angry white men from the rural South and Midwest. The term “Skinhead” actually originated in England in the late 1960s. It was used to describe those who were anti-establishment, anti-conservatism, anti-government. While using influences of both the music and culture of Jamaica in conjunction with strong political stances, they became the founders of the punk rock movement that would take place in the late 1970s. The term was soon hijacked by racial extremists who spun the anti-movement into one being anti all non-White Christian people.

My second examination is of the music of Kanye West. A music that had millions amazed by his samples, his catchy song lyrics, and rap music not infused with the typical telling of violence and drugs. Yet, Kanye’s music was the anti-drugs and violence rap, rather conscious rap with a designer made outfit with 800-dollar sunglasses. However, recent albums and songs have left people confused and wishing for the artist of former years to return to his glorious form.

Enter Trump meeting.

During the meeting with Trump last week, Kanye brought up some valid points. He talked about former crime boss and now community reformer Larry Hoover’s prison sentence, he warned Black voters to not have an unwavering allegiance to the Democrat party, and spoke on the prison pipeline effect on the Black community.

The problem with anything Kanye might say going forward is his message has been hijacked… by Kanye West himself. As with the White power skinheads using the term skinheads, the original meaning of the term being the anthesis of what White power skinheads stand for, Kanye’s love for all things MAGA creates an immediate dismissal of his stances. None of his stances with true value are in line with MAGA, in fact, MAGA is the enemy of Kanye’s message.

Kanye, my favorite rapper of all time, is a Black skinhead.

Like white power skinheads who spew nothing but the purest formula of baseless opinions there is, Kanye’s messages are void of actual substance and facts. They’re a collection of issues with strong feelings attached to them, yet his thought process of said issues are concluded using a process void of truth and experience. Much like a skinhead.

Kanye’s antics have alienated his fanbase beyond disappointment, but utter sorrow and shame for him. He’s increasingly being shunned from everyone… from fans to fellow rappers, athletes, and celebrities in general.  Wishful thinking has led me to think like a fan of a sports team hoping their team makes the playoffs and holding out until being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, I still hold out hope that Kanye is merely trolling us. A hope I fear reality doesn’t want anything to do with.

Should We Feel Sorry For a Racist?

by with 9 Comments CultureFeatured

After getting punched in the face several times by a New Jersey Wildwood City Police Officer on Memorial Day Weekend, 20-year old Emily Weinman screamed, “I’m not one of these motherfu#&in ni$$a’s out here!”

55 seconds of disbelief as she’s mishandled by the police followed by her racist remark immediately makes you question how sorry you initially felt for her.

Link: Video of Emily Weinman being arrested 

Police brutality and explicit racism of those being brutalized is not something we hear about often. But the incident this past weekend was caught on video and it’s hard to ignore what Emily yells in anger right before the video ends.

Why would she think it’s appropriate to yell such a thing? If pushed, I’m sure she’ll release an apology suggesting she’s not a racist and that it was said in the heat of the moment. And like all similar apologies, it’ll blow over. It won’t be held against her for jobs or future opportunities because “she’s young and she really didn’t mean it.” Same script different person.

But if a 20-year non-Black woman in this country is conditioned to believe that only people of color are treated unjustly or brutalized by the police, and that the color of her skin grants her a pass unlike her fellow American’s who are of a different race, culture, or creed, then one things for sure – this country isn’t progressing, if anything it’s regressing.

Underage drinking was her supposed crime. According to Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr., “She refused to comply… Unfortunately, this is what happened.” They’ve launched an internal affairs investigation; but if after reviewing the video the city’s mayor can make such a statement, that should tell us all we need to know about who they believe is at fault. When you have back up, there’s gotta be a better / easier way to arrest someone… on the beach… who poses no physical threat.

Police brutality is real, and similar to mass incarceration, every now and then it snatches an unintended target. This time it was Emily Weinman.

If it’s possible to focus solely on the arrest and ignore her racist comment, which should be a lot to ask of any decent person, the police officer definitely took it too far and hopefully, justice will be served. She definitely didn’t deserve to be treated like this. And maybe, just maybe, her experience will help her realize that even people of color, or as she referred to them, these motherfu#&in ni$$a’s, don’t deserve to be treated like this either.

Let us know what you think. The intersectionality of police brutality and race is quite unusual in this incident.

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Don’t Question My Love, I Didn’t Have a Choice

by with No Comment Featured

The interracial dating debate is alive and well. Can you be pro-Black and in an interracial relationship? I’ve seen so many pieces on the matter and to be honest, they all make me cringe a little. Some less than others, but there isn’t one post I’ve seen that I could get 100% on board with.

Related: Can Someone Be Pro-Black and Date Someone Who is Not Black? 

You see, I’m a Black woman who is married to a European White guy (I distinguish the difference because he makes it a point to do so, but that’s an article for another day). I was raised by a strong Black mother and father who supplied me with the same “you have to be twice as good as your White counterpart to be considered equal” speech that just about all Pro-Black parents give their kids. For college, I only considered going to an HBCU because after seeing my sister’s experience at Spelman, I knew I needed something similar to really understand who I am as a Black woman in America. I say all of that to say that I’ve been conscious my whole life.

Eventually, I met my husband. We were co-workers and friends. I always thought he was such a cool guy and we had so much in common. But never once did I consider the possibility of dating him simply because he wasn’t wrapped in the same brown skin that I have. After two years of knowing each other and him occasionally asking me out and getting turned down, I finally agreed to a date. I figured I’d go watch this movie with him to prove that there could be nothing beyond friendship between us. Now, it’s 10 years later and we’ve been happily married almost 5 years.

After that date, there really wasn’t a choice for me. I knew then that I loved him. I mean, we had already grown a really strong friendship to this point. Getting the opportunity to spend quality time with him alone really showed me that I was cheating myself out of an opportunity. And for what? Because this amazingly caring, funny, handsome, charming man wasn’t born a Black man?

So back to my issue with the think pieces on interracial dating. Of course, there are people who choose to date outside of their race because that’s just their preference. Or maybe they just don’t want to limit themselves to one race and prefer to keep their options open. But for most of us, just like same race couples, we didn’t have a choice about who we fell in love with and that’s what’s missing from so many of these articles I’ve seen. I’m glad so many people were able to contextualize the conversation so well; but honestly, it’s not that deep. The heart wants what the heart wants. When you meet someone and start falling in love with them, race doesn’t matter. I simply followed my heart to happiness and I highly recommend that everyone do the same!

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“Woke” Dating 101

by with No Comment Uncategorized

In response to Can Someone Be Pro-Black and Date Someone Who is Not Black? 

I pondered over the writer’s initial question, “Can someone be Pro-Black and date someone who is not Black?” In the long and short of it, yes, if you identify as Pro-Black you can date anyone you want. However, the second question, “SHOULD you?,” posed by the author at the end of the article really peaked my interest. In the age of “wokeness” this question of SHOULD a Pro-Black person date someone who is not Black has been raised many times and has led to numerous heated debates. When dating someone with the intent of finding a life partner, one would hope the person you pick is able to understand things about your culture and empathize with your struggles, both past and present. You would hope you can bring them to family and cultural events without them turning up their nose or not understanding the complexities behind why some things just are the way they are (i.e. Black people having a higher level of anxiety around law enforcement).

The majority of human beings are capable of expressing empathy. “Woke” Black people can empathize with descendants of the Holocaust; while, “woke” Jewish people can empathize with descendants of Japanese concentration camps. But in loving your Black heritage in all of your “wokeness,” wouldn’t it be an oxymoron if you preach all things Black but practice all things non-Black in your home? How can you preach about keeping the Black dollar within the Black community when you yourself are fattening non-Black pockets through familial relationships? How can you stress to others the importance of preserving the Black family, when your family is 1/2 Black through your choice of partner or spouse? How can you scream I’m Black and I’m proud but come home and teach your kids I’m mixed and I’m proud? These questions can go on forever. 

I will say the environment in which you are raised plays a major factor in how simple, or not so simple, it would be for a pro-Black person to find a suitable Black person to date. For example, I was born and raised in a predominately Black inner city (and by Black I mean Caribbean, African, and Southern transplants). Here it was easy to find someone to relate to and whom I didn’t have to explain why my friends and family did things certain ways, fought certain fights, or were angered/excited by certain events. However, when I was 15 my parents decided to “move on up” out the hood to a predominately White suburb where I was the only person of color in 95% of my classes. Relating to my new suburban White neighbors and classmates was hard – culture shock even. If I wanted to maintain my dating preferences, I would have to travel at minimum 30 minutes to find a town where the Black to non-Black ratio was more even.

Overall, I think the answer is complicated. Yes, you can be Pro-Black and date someone who is not Black, but you should not want to. With that being said, if a non-Black person is who you fall in love with, as long as they are able to empathize with the Black struggle and help you facilitate Black success then that’s fine; because at the end of the day, to be pro-something does not equate to being anti-something else. 

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The Best Part of Waking Up

by with 3 Comments Uncategorized

In response to Can Someone Be Pro-Black and Date Someone Who is Not Black? 

How can someone who is on the forefront of fighting racial injustices in America choose to date a white person?

Back in the day, the Folgers Coffee Company became popular due to a very catchy commercial jingle. The famous “the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup” jingle became synonymous with having a cup of morning joe. If younger readership is wondering what I’m talking about, Starbucks effectively took over the morning coffee fix with no jingle, but that’s another article entirely. 

I brought up the Folgers jingle to reference the newest racially oriented hot topic, which is “can someone who is woke date a white person.” Specifically, white, the emphasis on white because white people in this country have done the lion share of oppressive acts against nonwhite people – in other words, history. Knowing this factoid, some wonder if a black person can call themselves “woke” and still wake up to a white lover (by now you should get the Folgers reference). 

This all comes off the heels of Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino’s This is America video which in an artistic and cerebral way displays the many racial problems throughout American history that still persist today. Many people gave huge nods to the video’s representation of racial issues; however, some walked away questioning the authenticity of Glover’s passion for the cause considering he dates a white woman.

On the onset – the notion that a “woke” black person, meaning someone who is not only aware but also actively engages in the fight against racial disparities, chooses to date a white person can be dismissive. I understand it; however, I just don’t agree. It’s easy for us in America to view everything through a racial lens, and rightfully so, given our history of racism and discrimination. And for that reason, I understand those questioning Glover’s authenticity; but I don’t agree, because in my opinion there’s simply no way with true validity to judge another persons passion to fight racial disparities based on who they decide to love. Impossible.

No two people would be together if they allowed the outside world to give their two cents on their relationship.  I also understand “this is America,” pun intended, and everything can be construed as a racial issue. But there are different levels of debate when discussing issues that involve race, and there’s nothing with more in-depth layers and elements than romance. For that reason, I side with love.

Lastly, there are many people checking off black on their census card and don’t have a clue or interest about racial disparities in this nation. That is a more of a concern or problem than someone who has dedicated parts of their life for the cause and decides to date outside their race. 

Do you agree?

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Mayweather, Race, and The Great White Hope

by with One Comment FeaturedSports

Let’s face it; race relations in our country are declining and showing no sign of improvement. People have been forced to pick sides and compromising seems like the last resort. Many people on the right find themselves defending Trump and his agenda, and many on the left find themselves sarcastically asking, “What about her emails?”. The Charlottesville incident and the unfortunate murder of Heather Heyer hasn’t helped, and Trump’s tone deaf response and his inability to immediately denounce white supremacy seemed to add insult to injury, which made many Republican’s publicly criticize his “both sides” comment.

Our politics usually carry over to the professional arena or field of play, and boxing provides many examples, both good and bad. African Americans have dominated the sport for more than a century, and they’ve inevitably become political figures due to the social and political status of our country. In 1908, Jack Johnson became the first African American boxer to win the World Heavyweight Title. Johnson fought during a highly contentious and racist era, and his public relationships with white women only added fuel to the fire. Congress made it illegal to transport prizefighting films across state lines because they were so concerned that Johnson’s dominance of white fighters would cause race riots. In fact, many white people hoped to find a white fighter who could finally defeat him, hence the term “The Great White Hope.” Joe Louis was no different. Before his historic second fight with the German Max Schmeling, he met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House. Despite gross inequalities and racism in America (and fascism in Europe), there was no doubt that both whites and blacks were pulling for Louis to win. Shortly thereafter, Muhammed Ali followed in his footsteps as the next political figure in boxing.

Boxing is truly a unique sport, which makes it impossible for prizefighters to avoid politics whether they want to or not. Unlike most sports, boxing is a one-on-one battle – there are no teammates to lean on or backups to replace you. So it’s the true epitome of strength and perseverance. Unlike the American Olympic teams we field every 4 years, it lacks team diversity because the team is just one person, the actual boxer. Diversity is one of the main benefits of team sports; however, the lack of diversity in boxing makes the issue of race unavoidable. So whenever a big fight like Mayweather – McGregor arrives, which matches up a black fighter vs. a white fighter, race is an issue and people inevitably pick sides.

Despite Floyd Mayweather’s previous claims and convictions of domestic violence, his flashy attitude, his “all lives matter” statement, and his support of Donald Trump, many African Americans still found a reason to support and root for him. That support might be tied to rooting for black men regardless of their past shortcomings or rooting for the American athlete when his or her opponent represents another nation. On the other hand, that support might be due to their lack of knowledge regarding all of the above issues, or it might be McGregor’s flashiness and loose lips referring to a gym of black men training as “dancing monkeys” or telling Mayweather to “dance for me boy” during one of their promotional tours. Maybe it’s a combination of things, either way, I think it’s safe to say that very few African Americans were pulling for McGregor.

On the other hand, many white people were rooting against Mayweather. Maybe it was years of his arrogant attitude that they could no longer stomach, his domestic violence past, his undefeated record and wanting to root for the underdog, or maybe it was the fact that McGregor was an Irishman. Whatever their reasons were, I think it’s safe to say that McGregor’s racist comments about monkeys and dancing probably weren’t one of them, or at least didn’t impact their decision of who to root for like it did for African Americans.

Is it a naïve assumption to suggest that all African Americans were rooting for Mayweather just because he was African American, or that all white people were rooting for McGregor just because he was white? Of course, it is. But as many issues fall on racial lines, boxing, especially when the men or women fighting represent different nations, is usually no different. President Trump, on the campaign trail and during his early presidency, made patriotism a hot button issue. Despite Floyd’s support of Trump, ironically, there wasn’t much patriotism or support on display for the American fighter as he vied to remain undefeated and go 50 – 0. His victory would’ve further ingrained his place in history as arguably the best boxer of all time, and many American’s clearly wanted to see him fail.

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