When will we understand that blackface is *not* acceptable??

Remember that Post-racial America series I did here, here, and here? Well, here's another to add to it.

Deadspin.com reports that a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader dressed up in blackface as Lil' Wayne for Halloween. Though I believe Deadspin was reporting it for the sheer idiocy of the act, the question they pose at the beginning of their article speaks to their own ignorance:

"When are people going to learn that you cannot upload photos to your Facebook page if you don't want them to get out?"

Geesh! How do people miss the point so blatantly??

Maybe I'm over-estimating people, but I think we all know that the World Wide Web is the WORLD WIDE Web! We may not think about it as much as we should, but people know that their words, pictures, etc. are accessible. Otherwise, we wouldn't put them on our pages. Whitney Isleib knew other people would see her photos. There would have been no need to post them if others couldn't see them.

The problem here is not that she uploaded the photo (though the picture is nauseating to look at). The problem is that she thought it was ok to go in blackface in the first place!

I'm sure she shared her costume idea with others before going out for the evening. So, my other problem with this whole incident is that no one around her talked her out of the idea!

Whitney obviously doesn't have the social consciousness to know or understand her actions...on the other hand, maybe she does. I mean, really, who doesn't know by now that blackface is not acceptable?? But, it sounds like she also doesn't have friends who are willing to call her on her own ignorance.

I'm sure someone will point out that there were Black people at the same party. I saw that, too. The only thing I can think is that if I were Black, would I point out the racism of your costume or just shake my head and wonder why White people still don't get it. I lean toward the latter.

I'm trying to keep myself from lumping Whitney in with all White people. But when will we learn?? When will we begin taking historical context into account and realizing that no matter what year it is or what crowd of people we are around, some things just aren't acceptable!

Gates, Crowley, and President Obama's comment

I am not going to commit to a position on the Henry Louis Gates incident this week. My feelings on it are complicated and complex.

When I first heard about the incident, I knew it would be a big issue...at least in the [predominantly Black and Hispanic] communities and circles I'm in. As it started getting more press, I knew it would arouse irritations from the [predominantly White] communities and circles I connect with as well.

I nodded in agreement as I listened to Black friends talk about the issue. Though not to the extent they do, I have gained an understanding of the frustrations and skepticism of the police and White people who assert power.

Though I realize to many of my African-American friends (and possibly some of my White friends as well), it is absolutely ludicrous to say that a White person does not realize they are asserting their power and domineering over someone because of race. It seems ignorant that a White officer who has been commended for training people about racial profiling would then engage in a word battle and arrest someone who had obviously been racial profiled.

The issues are complex. Should the blame be placed on the neighbor who called? The police officer who arrested a man for being upset that he was being suspected of being a thief in his own home? The Black officers who stood by and watched? Should the blame be placed on Professor Gates for asserting his highly acclaimed socioeconomic status over the police officer?

But what about all of those episodes on Jay Leno where they take cameras around to show the absurdity of people standing by doing nothing while houses are robbed, people "kidnap" children, boyfriends are abusive, etc. So what is one to do?? Quite honestly, all of the lawn mowers that have been stolen from my house (about 3) have all been done in broad daylight while I was at work or on vacation. I wish someone would've seen them and done something!

So although it may not be a popular stance, I am in the middle on this.

However, I don't have a problem with what President Obama said. Nor do I have a problem with the frustrated conversations that are taking place...and here's why...

As I talked to a bi-racial friend of mine, she recounted an incident that impacts the way she sees this issue.

When she was 5 years old, a white police officer pulled her dad over. Her dad has very dark skin. She has very light skin and, as a child, had blonde, curly hair. After pulling her dad over, the officer immediately walked over to her side of the car and began talking to her (not her dad) and asking her, "Who is this man?" and challenging the assumption that it would be his daughter. She recalled the look of pain, shame, and hurt on her dad's face as he sat silent and she looked to him for answers. She recalled the anger and tension she felt from her dad as they drove off. She was five. She is forty now, yet she still remembers the incident very vividly.

My friend is usually much more conciliatory than I am. I can't imagine anyone ever saying she is an angry Black woman or a woman with a chip on her shoulder. However, the Gates/Crowley incident brought up very vivid memories for her. What she experienced as a five-year old child shaped her. I cannot expect that to go away. And when it happens, even though we (White people) may think it was an innocent mistake, it doesn't feel so innocent when on the receiving end.

I think the conversations need to continue. We need to talk about and listen to each other. I hope Profeesor Gates, Officer Crowley, and President Obama follow through and actually have that beer together in the White House. President Obama could potentially facilitate and encourage open race relations dialogue that would help us move forward.

Having those conversations...listening to each other...putting ourselves in someone else's shoes...thinking about perspectives from a several different viewpoints... I believe, could begin to change the way we view and make decisions about our nation and our world.

*Not* Post-racial America

Unfortunately, my "Post-Racial America" series seems to be taking over my blog.

This image was spotted in a Barnes and Noble in Coral Gables, Florida.

After researching the incident...

The good thing is the Barnes and Noble store nor it's employees were responsible for the switching of the window display.

The bad thing is someone was. Someone wanted to make their statement.

Here is more information on the incident, found in The Defenders Online.

Need I say again...we are NOT in post-racial America????

*Not* Post-racial America

One after another, I keep seeing or hearing about things that make my jaw drop in complete disbelief. As we talk about this new era of post-racial America, I think we should be aware of the things that are happening that suggest we are not yet in an era of post-racial America. Whether we accept it or deny it, we need to examine it.

It is with that thought that I plan to offer periodic "segments" talking about just what our "post-racial America" is all about. Please pass along anything you might see or hear about that you think people need to be more aware of.

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Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose plans to resign after forwarding "an e-mail showing a watermelon patch on the White House lawn under the title: 'No Easter egg hunt this year.' Grose has apologized and said he wasn't aware of the racial stereotype that blacks like watermelon."

Here is a blog with what I thought was a pretty good assessment of the details: Group News Blog. Below is the letter I wrote to Mr. Grose and sent to his city email at dgrose@ci.los-alamitos.ca.us.

Dear Mr. Grose,

I beg of you to help me understand why in the world, if you were unaware of the racial stereotype associated with Blacks and watermelon, did you think the postcard was so funny that you forwarded it?? Please help me to understand what you thought the watermelons represented.

From your photo, I would guess you are *at least* in your late 40s or early 50s. That tells me that you were probably a young child during the Civil Rights movement when the violence toward Black people, including name calling and derogatory stereotyping, was probably at it's peak. I don't expect that you would have escaped hearing it.

As a 36-year old woman who also grew up in a small town, I didn't realize I had been enculturated with racist stereotypes until much later in life. I didn't grow up during the Civil Rights movement...and it took me until adulthood to really examine myself and realize I had heard the "n-word" several times as a child and began to recall racist jokes that stuck in my mind. But I *did* examine myself and those around me. And I recognized how hurtful words and symbols that were filled with derogation, hate, and violence still impact people.

I am disappointed. I am disappointed in us as White people who grew up in the same country as African-Americans and still refuse to acknowledge what was less than a generation ago for some of us. I am disappointed that we refuse to learn about the history that so affects our present day. And I am disappointed that when these insensitive acts are pointed out to us we refuse to acknowledge our mistakes.

I'm glad we have come to a day where your action has caused such an upheaval that you felt the need to resign--though I don't think staying in the city council is appropriate. Perhaps I should thank you, though. Maybe I should thank you for being so bold as to send out something so overtly stereotypical so that other people can see that we are not in post-racial America.

I respect the letter you wrote to Keyanus Price and truly hope you meant everything you said. I have many friends and family still in my home town who I think, like you, would be embarrassed if something like this got out. However, I also know in those small towns that humor like the postcard you sent is accepted and they see nothing wrong with it. I would implore you to understand that that kind of humor is NOT accepted...whether around White people, Black people, your home town, visible to the world....or anywhere. It's offensive, hurtful, and has no place in our society.

I have hope that the publicity of your actions will cause you as well as other people to learn more about our history and think about how what we say and do affects others.

Sincerely,

Janet Morrison

*Not* Post-racial America

November 5, 2008 was such an amazing day. It was on that day we became "Post-racial America."

I'm so proud of our country and so proud to know that we are no longer a country burdened by race issues. We have truly had a rocky past 200 years. Slavery in the 1800s...race riots in the '20s...black homes burned in the '40s...civil rights movement in the '60s...the last lynching in the '80s...Jasper, Texas in the '90s. The American public has been accused (primarily by Black people) of racism for so long.

But now we live in the '00s...2000s...or whatever you want to call it. And we have gotten past all of that tainted history.

...or have we??



Though the incident referred to in the video happened in October 2008, I felt it was important to let the company know that this action is *still* creating waves and should not be tolerated in any way, form, or fashion. So I followed Tonya TKO's instructions and went to their website at http://www.journeys.com/ to "contact us."

As a result of my inquiry, the company emailed me back and explained that "one of the store's employees created an unauthorized and fictitious customer record, using the racial slur as the customer name and associating it with a generic phone number. While processing a customer return, another employee input the generic number in an effort to shortcut the company's normal return procedure of entering the customer's actual contact information."

Both employees have been fired.

I appreciate the company's action. However, before we get too smug (as one blog I read did) talking about how we've come so far, I think we should remind ourselves that the incident took place. It actually happened. Not 10 years ago. It happened 4 months ago!

Until these types of incidents are NO LONGER taking place, we cannot pat ourselves on the back and say we are in Post-Racial America. Until they are no longer taking place, we don't have the right to tell people they should "just get over it." ...and even if the incidents were to stop tomorrow (which, unfortunately, I don't anticipate will happen), we need to think about the impact that these incidents have had over time...and honestly examine our "just get over it" comments.

I think it's important that we know our history and that we are aware of what's going on today. Too often, incidents like these are blips on the radar screen for White America. We need to be more aware so that when we start to make a "just get over it" comment, we are more aware of why people aren't "just getting over it."