Somethin' Old, Somethin' New

I just want to do a really quick post this week. Below is a link I found to a very interesting article posted in Slate magazine. The article focuses on the many faces of "racism" and it also provides pretty good examples of how race inconspicuously presents itself. Once you read it, you'll know what you're really looking at the next time you encounter "racism". Let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

Slate Article (Please click!)

The Real Side of Justice

While searching one of my favorite new sights I came across a story that touched me. A story so eeriely familiar and close to home that I sprung to action immediatley from my little cublice. The story is that of Heather Ellis of Kennett, Missouri. Allegedly, Ellis could serve up to 15 years in prison fro cutting the line in a lcoal Wal-Mart. Outrageous I know! Here is more (courtesy of thegrio.com)

Heather was shopping at a Wal-Mart in Kennett, MO with her cousin. The two were searching for the shortest line, so they split up. When Heather's cousin found the shorter line, she joined him. That's when things got strange.
Heather was accused by a Wal-Mart employee of cutting the line, and an argument ensued. This led to the manager and security guard being called, and ultimately police intervention. Somehow Heather, an honors student who has only gotten two traffic tickets her entire life, ended up being charged with disturbing the peace, trespassing and two counts of assaulting a police officer.
After Heather rejected his plea deal, prosecutor Stephen Sokoloff became set on pushing for a felony trial against her next month. The young college student faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted, in spite of the fact that she has a clean criminal record and a good reputation in the community.

There could be several responses to this read, one being “how dare they?” or “what did she really do, that she’s not telling?”, “What can I do to help?”.There are many other responses to reading an article like this, but when understanding the root of this event, one must understand the discrimination behind it.

Now many of us have cut the line once or twice and people get upset, no big deal. Most of the time if we cut and someone says something to us we might move, or quietly stand ground. Most people don’t argue back. However this young woman was joining her friend. Its like when your in the store with your mom and she like “Stand in line. I’m going to get some soap, ill be right back”. Simple, right? Well in this case probably not. Why? Because Heather Ellis is an African American woman. Simply. This conclusion cannot be presented complexly, because it is in plain-sight.

Ellis brought attention to herself by cutting the line, secondly when the argument ensued with the cashier more attention was drawn to her. It is obvious that the cashier or other customers felt threatened by her response because they called the manager and police. This situation quickly grew out of hand because this woman spoke up for herself. Now I do not know the exchange of words, but it is hard to imagine that Ellis immediately starting throwing food off the shelves because someone accused her of cutting the line. She probably said something to the affects like “I'm just joining my friend”. However the cashier probably said no you didn’t, you cut or in some way insinuated she was lying. It is from that point Ellis probably got upset and had the right to get upset, because the cashier is basically calling her a liar in front of the customers.
Now we all act off our emotions, right? Well what if 1. You were called out and humiliated and 2. Then called a liar. You wouldn’t be too happy. Now I don’t know if her reaction after that point did or did not warrant her arrest, but the problem points back to black stereotypes.

Yes stereotypes- black women are often type casted as the usual Jezebel, Mammy, Sapphire etc. But black women are also seen as defensive, aggressive, immoral and sinful. So too many people, by nature African American women are liars and potentially thieves among other things. So they must continually be questioned to get to the truth of the matter. (Don’t believe me, just google it.)

We must also put to question about why she is being sentenced 15 years, is the so called justice system out of balance? It seems so. People are quick to say that color doesn’t have anything to do with this situation. However, can you see without color? Can you function without a categorization system? Can the eggs go in the cookie jar? We are so supersaturated with aspects of race that sadly we cannot function outside of it. It is this categorization system that is always tied to stereotypes. It is these stereotypes that make many of us victims of prejudice. It is a system that needs to be fought. I ask you to start are saveheatherellis.com.

Let’s start by saving one!

Who woulda thought?

So for anyone that flicks on the TV or picks up the paper, there is so much going on-- especially this week. I mean to flying boys, to the war, to the flu its hard to keep up sometime. I want to address something that isn't always changing, something that flies under the radar and many people don't even recognize it. It is an arena which shows that progress is not being made. There are certain events that show us the progress has been very slow, however in this particular arena it is stagnant and progress cannot be made overall if everyone is not on board.
What am I talking about?
Simply put, I'm talking about hockey. Yea, Hockey.
This is probably not the primetime sport that is set on everyone's DVR, but if you look at the history of hockey in racial development, it shows one avenue that PoC are still way behind. Currently there are 29 minority players in the NHL and the numbers before this decade range from 1-5, at best. (http://www.aaregistry.com/) I know that there is some little African American, Latino,Asian boy out there that would love to play hockey, but there are not any rolemodels for him to look up to. The NHL is very shy about incorporating any people of color in its pool. The African American Registry recounts the historical trials of A.A in hockey stating,

Other sports such as basketball, football and baseball offered better infrastructure and more apparent opportunities. Without race as a factor, hockey's initial time of overall appeal began in the 1890s when what was an unsophisticated game rapidly got organized and got promotional support. At the same time, however, the number of blacks in Canada was plunging due to the return of many former slaves to the United States. A population that numbered over 60,000 (nearly two percent of the national total) prior to the American Civil War had tumbled to just over 16,000 by 1911, amounting to one-fifth of one percent of the country's total.

Despite this, blacks that remained played the game, an early indicator that they felt themselves to be a part of this emerging identity of their country and sport. In 1899, Hipple "Hippo" Galloway, of Alder Street in Dunuville, Ontario, played for the Woodstock team in the Central Ontario Hockey Association. Galloway was not alone. Charley Lightfoot of the Stratford team was a second Black player in the league and one of the better players in the Central Ontario Hockey Association. Still this was during the darkest era of Jim Crow legislation, the imposed segregation in the America. Despite Canada's more liberal heritage, the appalling repeat of American model led to Galloway’s banishment that summer from an Ontario baseball league because an American import objected to his presence.

Galloway left Canada to barnstorm with a black baseball team. At the same time a Colored Hockey League was formed in Atlantic Canada, similar to the Negro Baseball Leagues in the United States. It is unclear whether players were forced to develop a separate organization because of racial exclusion or if they felt, the need for their own association to retain a community identity. The Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes formed in 1900 included teams from Afrieville (the Seasides), Dartmouth (the Jubilees), Halifax (the Eurekas), Truro (the Victorias) and Amherst (the Royals). It was a Nova Scotia-based league and Prince Edward Island where black talent flourished. It had an all-black team featuring five members of the Mills family and two others that played all-white teams on the island and black teams in Nova Scotia. Exhibitions by black hockey teams in Nova Scotia ran well into the 1920s and their playing innovations included a rule allowing the goalie to fall to the ice to block a shot before such a rule entered the NHL rulebook.

So what happened to these leagues? what happened to the many players that were interested? Did they just decide to do other sports. I think it is important that in progress, we fight to have all doors open and to make sure that none are slyly closed. It is just odd to me that hockey still remains an all white sport.

(For the record, the statistics about the 29 minorities playing in the NHL was last recorded in 2003)

Good Hair

So I am excited to say that I will most definitetly be seeing Chris Rock's Good Hair film. I heard that it has gotten wonderful reviews and a couple of awards. Anyway as I was reading reviews I came across and interesting statement about the history of why black women want to have "good hair".  In a article by Lori L Tharps, published on thegrio.com she states

The term "good hair" harks back to antebellum America, when slaves knew that the less African they appeared, the better treatment they would receive from slave owners. Hair was the number one marker of negritude. It was also the most malleable ethnic trait. Using a combination of homemade concoctions and ingenious straightening methods, the slaves worked tirelessly at making their hair seem less foreign to their white masters. In return, they hoped that their straightened locks would aid them in being chosen for the coveted house jobs instead of working in the fields. Not that being a house slave was a glamorous position, but it did offer access to better food, living conditions and a chance at an otherwise illegal education. Even more importantly, working in the house brought with it the possibility of a closer relationship with the master, which could translate into freedom upon his death.

So yes, if your hair was long and loosely curled it was "good hair," because it literally meant it was good enough to get you out of the fields. It wasn't about beauty - good hair was about survival. And make no mistake; men wanted that good hair too.

I would have to say that this sheds light on a different perspective on why black women do everything in their means to have "good hair". Even if having good hair during the antebellum period was a tool for survival. I believe today, having good hair is a combination of survival as well as a need to want to be closer to whiteness. Today looking at any media outlet, most African American women are portrayed as exotic, of lighter complexion, curly hair, or green eyes. Most black women on TV have one of the above features. So this sends a message that in order to get a job, be successful, put food one the table you must have at least one of several attributes. In most cases to even be considered "attractive" women believe they must have lighter skin, a thinner nose, green eyes( even if its contacts), wigs, weaves. We are so saturated with this idea of white beauty that we cannot perceive ourselves as attractive without some aspect of whiteness.

Even when we look at Martin Lawrence's Big Momma or Jamie Foxx's Wanda, these "women" have blonde wigs. Why do these "women" wear blonde wigs? I mean it does contribute to the ridiculousness of the scenario, which adds to the humor. But why not wear braids like Shanaynay (Martin Lawrence character on "Martin") or why not have natural hair, or simply a black wig?

How will we ever get beyond this point? Its looking very bleak...maybe we won't change.
Check out this video:my nappy roots trailer