Guest Post by Joanna: A Girl Like Me (Video)

Last week, I discovered the blog My Name Is JuJuBe. I contacted the blogger (Joanna) and asked if she'd be interested in writing a guest post for Diversity Ink. She is in the process of working on ideas for an original post for DI. In the meantime, she gave me the OK to use any of her previously written blog posts.

The following, A Girl Like Me (Video), was posted by Joanna on her blog on June 18, 2010:

This is a video that was made in 2007 by a teenage girl named Kiri Davis. It discusses the standards of beauty than young Black women feel like they need to conform to in order to "fit in." It angers me to see that these young women are made to feel less attractive because of the color of their skin, or the texture of their hair. It shows the power of the white supremacist system upon the way Black children view themselves

Black children are constantly bombarded by images of Black people as being somehow inferior, of being less. They are told consciously AND subliminally that looking more white makes a person more beautiful physically, mentally and emotionally. This is such a disturbing message for children to receive. Every child deserves to feel beautiful. Every child needs to hear positive reinforcement, to be told that they are smart, and that they are good people. And, unfortunately, the message being given to Black children is the exact opposite.

Is it fair to a Black child that nearly all of the people they see on television are white? That the images they see of Black people in the media are overwhelmingly negative? Absolutely not!

I remember a few years back, I worked at the Pomonok neighborhood center in the after school program. Nearly all of the children who attended the program were Black children. Yet the books they were given to read featured overwhelmingly white characters, and the dolls they were given to play with with were usually blond haired and blue eyed.

(White) people seem to think that this does not have an effect on children, that is doesn't matter WHAT race a doll or a character in a book has. Yet, when new toys and books for the children were brought in featuring darker skin tones, the kids were overjoyed. They LOVED having characters to relate to who looked like them. They enjoyed playing with dolls that shared their skin tones. For the first time, the little girls and boys were engrossed in books about characters that they could relate to. They no longer looked at reading and learning as a chore. They looked forward to reading about historical Black figures. They enjoyed stories about Black children, and absorbed the messages the books were relating more readily. They began to express more pride in themselves.

It sickens me to think about the overwhelmingly negative messages we are transmitting to young children about Blackness as it relates to beauty, intelligence and morality. I believe that we have a responsibility as a society to promote positive images of Black people, not only to Black children, but to all children. Children learn VERY early on about racism and the society hierarchy that skin color places individuals on. We need to counter that programming. We need to show children that beauty comes in all shades, that morality is universal, and that intelligence has nothing to do with skin color.

A while back, a friend and I had a discussion about children's television programming. We thought it would be a great idea to start a network for children of color, a network that would show Black children in a positive light. He has a 3 year old Black daughter, and he wants her to grow up feeling beautiful and special. He does not want her to get the idea that she is somehow less because she is Black. He believes that children's programming that shows more Black children would really enhance the learning experience of Black children. We considered actually attempting to do something related to this idea, but we had no idea how to go about it. But, it is would definitely be a step in the right direction towards erasing the programming children receive early on regarding race.

TCM Remembers Lena Horne

As a tribute to the legendary Lena Horne (who passed away on May 14th at the age of 92), Turner Classic Movies will be airing a 3 film salute starting at 8 pm EST on Friday, May 21st.

Making her film debut in the 1938 musical The Duke Is Tops, Lena became the first black performer to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio when she joined MGM in the early 1940s. For the most part, Lena's film appearances during the 30s and 40s were in "specialty" roles in which she'd perform a song that wasn't essential to the film's plot. This allowed her appearances to be easily edited out when the movies aired in Southern states. This tactic is deftly illustrated during the outstanding 1998 documentary Melvin Van Peebles' Classified X, which explores the portrayal of blacks in American films throughout the 20th century. The two exceptions during this period where Lena had substantial film roles were Cabin In the Sky and Stormy Weather (which ironically was produced by one of MGM's rivals, 20th Century Fox).

Although Hollywood rarely made proper use of Lena Horne's talents, she was a trailblazer in the truest sense. Every black actress from Dorothy Dandridge to Gabourey Sidibe owes Ms. Horne a debt of gratitude.

Below is the lineup of Lena Horne films that TCM will air on Friday, May 21st:

8:00 PM ET The Duke is Tops

9:30 PM ET Cabin in the Sky

11:15 PM ET Panama Hattie



You can read TCM's article on the career of Lena Horne by visiting the following link:



TCM Remembers Lena Horne

Shortly after Lena's death, I was contacted by someone at Newsy.com who wanted to know if I'd be interested in sharing the following short video with my readers. The video is a tribute to Lena's career that showcases the media response to her death and her comments on racial identity. If you have problems watching the embedded video, please click here.

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

TCM Presents Native American Images On Film During May

As part of its popular "Race & Hollywood" series, Turner Classic Movies presents Native American Images On Film every Tuesday and Thursday nights in May starting at 8 PM EST. Hosted by TCM's own Robert Osborne and Professor Hanay Geiogamah, director of the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA, the 30 film retrospective traces the evolution of how Native Americans have been portrayed (both positively and negatively) on the big screen.

Below are the topics that will be covered each night (along with a sampling of the movies being featured):

The evolution of Native American depictions by director John Ford (May 4)-

• Stagecoach (1939) starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor and John Carradine

• Cheyenne Autumn (1964) with Richard Widmark, Carrol Baker, and Karl Malden

Non-Indians in Indian roles (May 6)-

• The Outsider (1961) starring Tony Curtis as the ill-fated WW II hero Ira Hayes

• Walk the Proud Land (1956) featuring Anne Bancroft as an Apache widow gifted to an Indian agent (Audie Murphy) by a grateful Apache chieftain

Indians as enemies (May 11)-

• Northwest Passage (1940) with Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, and Walter Brennan

• The Last of the Mohicans (1992) starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeline Stowe, and Wes Studi

White men living among Indians (May 13)-

• John Huston's 1960 western The Unforgiven starring Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn

• The 1990 Best Picture Oscar winner Dances With Wolves starring Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, and Graham Greene

Indians as “noble savages” (May 18)-

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) featuring Will Sampson as Chief Bromden

• 1970's A Man Called Horse starring Richard Harris in the title role and featuring Dame Judith Anderson as Buffalo Cow Head!

Native Americans facing racism (May 20)-

• Devil's Doorway (1950) starring Robert Taylor, Louis Calhern, and future All My Children star James Mitchell

• The 1992 mystery Thunderheart which stars Val Kilmer as a half-Sioux FBI agent

Native American actors and filmmakers (May 25)-

• The 1994 made-for-cable movie Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee starring Irene Bedard (who in addition to providing the voice of Pocahontas in the 1995 Disney animated film of the same name, was the physical model for the character as well)

• Smoke Signals, the 1998 road movie starring Adam Beach, Evan Adams, and Irene Bedard

Images from outside Hollywood (May 27)-

• The 1922 silent documentary Nanook of the North

• Broken Rainbow, the 1985 Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature which tells the story of the mistreatment of Native Americans at the hands of the U.S. government.

For a complete list of movies that TCM will feature in the Native American Images On Film festival, as well as other information on the retrospective, please click here.

Guest Post By Teresa: My Thoughts on Liberals Using the Race Card, & The Incendiary Language that Black Conservatives Endure

As you may know, one of the goals of Diversity Ink is to allow people with differing viewpoints on race-related issues to share them here. Last week, I came across the following post (My Thoughts on Liberals Using the Race Card, & The Incendiary Language that Black Conservatives Endure) on the blog Teresamerica. Since the blogger (Teresa) had done a guest post earlier this year, I asked if she'd be interested in doing another one. Even if the debate ends in a draw, I think it's important to try and understand why someone with an opposing view thinks the way they do.

This was posted by Teresa on her blog on April 8, 2010:

After reading THIS and THIS, I pondered a bit. Here are my thoughts:

The liberals that are making false accusations about Tea Partiers must stop!! This is dirty, outrageous, and wrong!! The Democrats and liberals in the media have consistently entered into a smear campaign of tactics consisting of false accusations, hateful rhetoric, and incendiary comments. One particular brand of false accusations that comes to my mind is how the liberals recently have been making charges that Tea Partiers are racists without having one iota of proof to back up their claims. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Tea Partiers are not racists!! We have political disagreements but they are not based on racial differences. Liberals are the ones using blacks for their own benefit in advancing their agenda. The Democrats are the ones who claim to represent the black community while keeping many African Americans and others dependent on government programs. Why doesn’t the black community prioritize their outlook about themselves, refer to themselves as American citizens first and foremost, instead of focusing every little detail or policy on the fact that they are African Americans? Or a different ethnic group? The representatives of the black community are being racially divisive by putting so much focus on a person’s skin color. The Tea Party movement is primarily concerned with fiscal responsibility, rising debt in our country being caused by our government, and individual freedom and liberty for all Americans.

I believe that making false accusations of racism without any proof might make that person who made those false charges a bigot or even a racist if they purposefully make a false claim to score points with a particular community in our society. Why is it that democrats are so infatuated with race and race-based politics?

I would hope that there are some decent liberals out there that would denounce the derogatory language being spewed by liberals in Congress, our Left Stream Media, and by other liberals across America. Do liberals that call black conservatives such derogatory terms as “Oreo” or “Uncle Tom” and “Traitors” know that these are derogatory terms? These terms are extremely inflammatory, incendiary, and must be denounced. Maybe, its just that black liberals couldn’t care less? I don’t know. Have African-Americans and other liberals been misled or are they just ignorant to this fact? Or have they been desensitized by the black community’s acceptance of those terms even though these are in fact bigoted, incendiary, and hurtful rhetoric? Black conservatives are not sell outs to the black community. They care for all people and not just blacks. How do you know the Democrats really care about and speak for African Americans? Is it because they give government handouts? IMO, it is kind of arrogant of the democrats to think that they own a particular set of peoples’ in our society, or speak for them. I found it quite odd, interesting, and good to find out HERE, that there are no derogatory terms specifically targeting black liberals in our society. Is there a reason for this? Are liberals in general more hateful with their rhetoric than conservatives? It sure seems like it to me. But, part of the reason for this is that democrats or liberals play identity and group politics to try to pin certain groups against one another. Liberals like to play favorites towards one particular sect of society against others. Conservatives do not do this. Conservatives look at each individual as an American and we treat everyone the same instead of treating a certain group differently because of their skin color. We do not play economic warfare just because a person’s more successful than another person, and that person may happen to be of a particular ethnic group. Liberals play racial warfare and are causing a great divide in our country while conservatives want everyone to succeed, and don’t blame another ethnic or racial groups for their problems. Every individual in this country has the chance to succeed in life. I hope every person does their very best and succeeds in all their endeavors.

Bill From NC: C-Span Has Too Many Black Callers!

Although this took place last week, the level of ignorance by a C-Span viewer was such that I couldn't let it pass. During the March 29 edition of the C-Span program Washington Journal, a Republican viewer (Bill) called in to voice his complaint about the number of blacks who called into the Republican and Independent lines. The program usually has four call-in phone numbers available for viewers who wish to comment, one each for Republicans, Democrats, Independents and one for those calling outside of the U.S. The You Tube clip below contains the segment where Bill voiced his complaint (it took place at approx. the 29 minute mark). You can click the following link to listen to the entire program.

Bill must have been referring to previous editions of The Washington Journal, because none of the callers preceding him identified their race (nor should they have to). It also wasn't definite that any of the callers he thought were Black falsely identified themselves as Republican or Independent. It sounds like Bill has a problem with the number of Blacks calling into the show. He is also making a false assumption about Independents. Apparently Bill feels that you can't be an Independent and support President Obama.

After listening to all of the callers who preceded Bill, I couldn't without a doubt identify the race of any of them. Maybe Bill took an advanced course on identifying the race of individuals based solely on their voice. He might be shocked to learn the race of either Henry Cho or Ron Christie if he saw them after first hearing them speak. My favorite line was when Bill suggested that if C-Span continues with its preference for callers of the Ebony variety, they should change their name to Black Span. The "C" in C-Span apparently stands for "Caucasian"... who knew?!

As for the way the host (Bill Scanlan) handled the call by Bill from NC, I'm going to give him a partial pass. It's not easy to know how to react when confronted live on-the-air with a caller like Bill. However, I wish that Scanlan had asked some follow-up questions:

1. How do you know for sure the race of the callers?

2. What do you mean by "every one of them"? Are you saying that all Blacks view Obama as Jesus Christ?

3. In regards to the people who directed criticism at George W. Bush, who do you mean by "they"?

I will give credit to Scanlan for letting Bill speak. As ignorant as Bill was, it's good to hear those types of opinions. Because it appeared to some that Scanlan was condoning the views of the caller, Susan Swain (Co-Chief Operating Officer of C-SPAN and a host of The Washington Journal) did some damage control a few days later:



As for Bill's question about what can be done to cut down on the number of Black callers, I hear that C-Span is working on intensifying their screening techniques...

C-Span screener to caller: Say the word "brother"

Caller: "Brotha"

C-Span screener to caller: I'm sorry, but we've received our quota of Black callers today. Please try again at a later date.

Glenn Beck Plays the Name Game With President Obama

Proving yet again that a certain famous phrase isn't necessarily true, Glenn Beck let his buffoonery shine as only he can. On his 2/4/10 radio program, Beck gave his theory (which you can hear in the clip below) as to why President Obama decided to start going by Barack instead of Barry during his collegiate years.




First, the suggestion that one can't have a name such as Barack and still identify themselves as American completely misses a key aspect which makes this country great: the U.S. is inclusive and one doesn't need to have an Anglicized name to be an American. I wonder what fellow Fox employees Bill O'Reilly, Greta Van Susteren, and Alisyn Camerota think of Beck's assessment. I guess Beck would be happier if President Obama was named Jack Armstrong.

Beck also foolishly plays a portion of the audio version of Obama's bestselling memoir Dreams From My Father to suggest that when Obama started going by the name Barack, he began to seek out fellow college students who were radicals. Although Obama doesn't really address the reasons why he chose to go by Barack instead of Barry in Dreams From My Father, he did offer the following explanation in a 2008 Newsweek story:

"It was not some assertion of my African roots … not a racial assertion. It was much more of an assertion that I was coming of age. An assertion of being comfortable with the fact that I was different and that I didn't need to try to fit in in a certain way."

A real bright 3rd grader could have looked this explanation up, but not Glenn Beck.

Note: Although Barack is his birth name, I'm going to let Beck's "he changed his name from Barry to Barack" business slide because that could just be a question of semantics.

When referring to Glenn Beck, Keith Olbermann often uses the name Lonesome Rhodes. I wonder if there is a Marcia Jeffries in Beck's life with the ability to expose him for all the world to see. Sadly, even if it's proven that Beck is the maniacal fraud that many think he is, there would probably still be people in his audience who will refuse to believe it.

The 1949 Movie Pinky Airs On TCM!

Jeanne Crain and Ethel Waters

On Wednesday February 3rd at 8 pm EST, Turner Classic Movies airs the 1949 classic Pinky. Starring Jeanne Crain in the title role, Pinky tells the story of a light-skinned black woman who returns to the Southern home of her grandmother after passing for white while living in the North as a nursing student. In addition to facing the everyday problems that came with being black in the South, Pinky also has to deal with such complications as the return of the man she loves (a white doctor she met while studying up North) and a nasty courtroom battle.

Although I would have liked it if Lena Horne (who campaigned for the role) was given the chance to play the lead, I understand why 20th Century Fox went with Jeanne Crain instead. Money talks and Crain was one of the studio's biggest stars at the time. Also, it was 1949 and a majority of moviegoers weren't ready for a film that featured love scenes between a black actress and a white actor. Having said that, Crain does a fine job as Pinky (earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress). Along with being believable, Crain also demonstrates fearlessness and dignity in the title role. Also earning Oscar noms were two Ethels (Waters as Pinky's wise grandmother and Barrymore as a sickly rich woman who is cared for by Pinky). In addition to these three, the cast is solid throughout. Some of the standouts include Frederick O'Neal as a shady character who lives near Pinky and her grandmother, Evelyn Varden as a racist relative of Barrymore's character, and Dan Riss as an attorney.

Although I've seen Pinky numerous times, I am really looking forward to checking it out again because it's been several years. If you've already seen Pinky or plan to watch it Wednesday night, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.

Below is the opening scene of Pinky.

George Lopez Show Cast Reunion On Lopez Tonight

On the December 15th episode of his new TBS late night talk show, George Lopez was reunited with the cast of his self-titled sitcom. It was cool to see them all together because The George Lopez Show is one of my favorite sitcoms. Not only did I watch it regularly when it aired on ABC, I still catch it on Nick At Nite.

In addition to The George Lopez Show being hilarious, I liked that it showed how the situations Hispanic families face are no different from anyone else. During the course of the series, episodes dealt with such storylines as George's complex relationship with his mother Benny (Belita Moreno), George struggling to accept that Angie (Constance Marie) was the breadwinner after he was laid off, the academic problems faced by youngest child Max (Luis Armand Garcia), and oldest child Carmen (Masiela Lusha) feeling that George favored Max over her.

During the reunion, a comment made by Constance Marie (who played George's wife Angie) stood out. Constance said she wished there was a program like The George Lopez Show when she was a kid, adding that there were no brown people on TV. She has a point. Outside of such performers as Rita Moreno, Gregory Sierra, and Liz Torres, the consistent presence of Hispanic faces was sorely lacking on American TV back in the day. Even with the three I previously mentioned, there was no show on American TV back then where a Hispanic family was the main focus. Hopefully, the continued success of The George Lopez Show (it's gained a whole new audience in reruns) will cause network execs to put on more series that reflect the Hispanic experience. Like Constance said, "brown people are cool too!"

In case you missed it, here is the clip from the cast reunion of The George Lopez Show where Constance Marie talks about the lack of Hispanic images on TV when she was growing up. If you click here, you can watch segments of the entire episode.

Controversial Photo Shoot On America's Next Top Model

On the October 28th episode of the CW reality series America's Next Top Model, host Tyra Banks conducted a photo shoot in which the six surviving runway wannabes (4 Caucasian, an Asian, and an African-American) were made up to represent women of mixed heritage. The breakdown is as follows:

Contestant	Ethnicities
Brittany	East Indian & Native American
Erin	Tibetan & Egyptian
Jennifer	Batswana & Polynesian
Laura	Mexican & Greek
Nicole	Japanese & Malagasy
Sundai	Russian & Moroccan

The ANTM photo shoot has stirred up controversy, with many deeming it racially offensive. Various posts have stated that the models appeared in blackface, which I think is very misleading. I don't know about you, but when I hear the term "blackface" I have visions of Al Jolson down on one knee belting out "Mammy". I saw the photo shoot as a celebration of multi-culturalism. It wasn't as if the models were transformed into offensive caricatures like the aforementioned Jolson or Mickey Rooney's embarrassing portrayal of an Asian in the 1961 film Breakfast At Tiffany's.

Due to my schedule, I didn't get a chance to post about the ANTM controversy when I read about it late last month. Although the episode has already aired, I think the topic is still worthy of discussion.

Below is a clip from the ANTM episode:




Do you think the photo shoot was offensive?

Mattel Introduces the "So In Style" Line of Black Barbies

'Barbie So In Style' designer Stacey McBride-Irby. Photo courtesty of AP

In an effort to inspire young black girls and promote their self-images, Mattel launched its "So In Style" line of black Barbies last month. The dolls come in varying skin tones, have fuller lips, a wider nose and more pronounced cheek bones and two of them (Trichelle and Kianna) have curlier hair. This is a vast improvement over Mattel's previous attempts at creating a black Barbie (Francie and Christie were basically white Barbies painted brown). The designer of the dolls, Stacey McBride-Irby, said her goal was to address the needs of the African-American community.

While many black women have praised Mattel for the "So In Style" line, the dolls aren't without their detractors. There are some who have expressed concern over the fact that none of the dolls have shorter, natural hair. The thin frames of the dolls have also raised eyebrows (the unrealistic body image issue has been an ongoing criticism of Barbie, regardless of skin color).

Although the criticisms leveled at the "So In Style" line are valid, Ms. McBride-Irby did get many things right. In addition to the varying skin tones and facial characteristics, the line also stresses the importance of education/career aspirations and promotes mentoring among females.

The dolls are experiencing success already and there are plans to expand the line. Hopefully, the concerns raised will be addressed and we'll see "So In Style" dolls that look like this:

and this:

For more on the "So In Style Line", please click here to read the story by Megan K. Scott.

If you'd like to hear Barbie designer Stacey McBride-Irby discuss the "So In Style" line, you can do so by watching the following videos:

So In Style 1

So In Style 2

Multiracial People Are the Fastest Growing Group In the U.S.

According to a recent AP story, multiracial Americans have become the fastest growing group in the country. The story attributed the growth to the following:

* Increase in social acceptance

* Slowing immigration

* High profiles of public figures such as President Barack Obama and Tiger Woods who are having a positive effect on those who might identify themselves as multiracial

If you would like to read the complete article, click here.

The part of the article that I found most educational was learning about the non-profit organization called Project RACE. Founded by Susan Graham and Chris Ashe in 1991, the organization's main goal is for a multiracial classification on all school, employment, state, federal, local, census and medical forms requiring racial data. Although some may consider this goal superficial, I beg to differ. For one thing, if I were multiracial, I wouldn't want to fill out a job application and have the "Other" classification be my only option for identifying my ethnicity. Most importantly, the lack of accurate racial designations increases the chance of health risks for multiracial people. In addition to running the risk of improper medical screening for diseases that affect certain racial groups, their is also the matter of bone marrow transplantation. As many of you know, when it comes to blood-related diseases, a patient's best chance of a bone marrow match is within the same genetic pool of potential donors.

I hope you can find the time to visit Project RACE. In addition to containing a wealth of news and information, there is also a Racial Experiences Study put together by a fourth year doctoral student of clinical-community psychology at the University of La Verne in California.