Anti-abortion group puts up racial billboards

An anti-abortion group has erected billboards around the metro Atlanta area claiming Black children are an endangered species. The billboards were meant to spark an ongoing debate over whether or not abortion and social eugenics are still linked in today's world.

You might be a Negro

Controversy has erupted because the United States Census Bureau continues to include "Negro" as a racial designation on its census forms.  The Census Bureau is gearing up to mail out the forms for its once-a-decade nationwide count.  The forms traditionally include questions about household income, ages of occupants, and race.  Under this year's question, "what is this person's race?", choices include "Black, African Am., or negro".   The inclusion of a word that is now practically only found in the names of one our oldest civic organizations, The United Negro College Fund, has drawn the ire of some civil rights organizations.  Personally, I usually respond with curiosity whenever someone uses the term "negro" to describe someone's race; utterance of the term "colored" elicits the same reaction as would the appearance of the now-extinct Do Do bird.  The Census Bureau is toying with deleting the term along with deleting or rearranging several other questions about race and ethnicity.

source

Should Sen. Reid resign because of his racial remarks?

U.S. Senator Harry Reid is taking considerable heat in the fallout of revelations of racial remarks he ade about then Presidential candidate, Barak Obama in 2008.  Reid, in a private conversation during the presidential race, said "I can still remember the meeting that took place in my office with Sen. Barack Obama, telling him that I think he can be elected president"

A new book quotes Reid, D-Nevada, as saying privately in 2008 that Obama could be successful as a black candidate in part because of his "light-skinned" appearance and speaking patterns "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

A number of prominent African Americans have come to Sen. Reid's defense including Attorney General Eric Holder and NAACP President Julian Bond.  President Obama has come out in defense of Reid saying he has always been on the right side of history, has supported him (Obama) from the beginning, and that he is a good man.




.

What's wrong with this picture?

The census form for 2010 features a word more often heard in 1966: Negro.

For most African Americans, the word conjures visions of Jim Crow and segregation - even if the Census Bureau says it's included to ensure an accurate count of the nation's minority residents.

Question No. 9 on this year's census form asks about race, with one of the answers listed as "Black, African-Am., or Negro."

Census Bureau spokesman Jack Martin said the use of "Negro" was intended as a term of inclusion.

"Many older African-Americans or dark skinned Mexicans who can't speak english identified themselves that way, and many still do," he said. "Those who identify themselves as Negroes need to be included."

The form was also approved by Congress more than a year ago, and the word has appeared on past forms.

Nobody reads Publisher's Weekly

But it's latest cover has given the blogoshere a coronary. Its latest issue features a cover story on African-American books and illustrates the article with a photograph of a black woman whose hair is full of Afro picks, left, all of them molded to look like closed fists giving a black-power salute. Before you could say 'right click', the magazine heard from readers and industry insiders who called the image offensive.

In a post on PublishersWeekly.com, Calvin Reid, the magazine’s senior news editor, wrote that the photograph, titled “Pickin’ ” and taken by Lauren Kelley, came from the new book “Posing Beauty: African American Images From the 1890s to the Present” by Deborah Willis. Mr. Reid wrote, “To me it is a sweet, tongue-in-cheek funny and striking image of quirky black hair power.” He added, “I certainly regret offending anyone and while I still love that image, I intend to think long and hard about whatever image is chosen for next year’s cover.”

What Were They Thinking Award? goes to....The New York Times

Of Color/Stylish Gifts section: you can check it out here if you need the assistance:

A new addition to the NY Times Holiday Gift Guide has caused a minor uproar after some blogs have described it as 'racist'. A section of this year's guide published in November, includes an 'Of Color/Stylish Gifts' page. The first time feature is described by the Times as "gifts created for and by people of color". Critics and media watchdogs have pounced on the paper for publication of a gift recommendation list for non-whites.

The section includes: The Mocha Guide to Military Life, Wise Latina t-shirts, a 'good hair' section and 'Baby Jamz' created by Beyonce and her father described as an 'interactive hip-hop and rhythm-based toy line'.

Now they need to add to that list a place where I can get me a case of orange Nehi, a bucket of cleaned chitlin's, some bean pies, a rum cake, a Tiger Woods holiday dispute shatterproof helmet, some good pastelas and a mail order place so I can send my dad a new Kangol...if you have anything else to add feel free...

Lawmaker says "RedNeck Rap" wasn't racist

Kansas Rep. Bill Otto apologized for offending anyone by criticizing President Barack Obama while wearing a cap that calls opossum "the other dark meat." Otto said during a meeting with the NAACP on Saturday that he had "absolutely no thought of anything racial" in his online video, "RedNeck Rap." Otto still stands by his criticism of the Obama administrations decision to bring Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the U.S. and the economic bailouts. Rep. Otto says his cap refers to his roots and "The Beverly Hillbillies" television family that dined on opossum. His intended message is that anyone can see Congress' failings. The NAACP demanded an apology after the video was posted in September. In a sequel, Otto offers some praise to Obama.

source

"The Black in him bought the Cadillac and the Asian in him crashed it..."

Wanda Sykes' take on the "Tiger Incident"

Fate of racially-tinged WalMart line-cut scuffle may be determined today

Nearly three years ago Heather Ellis left her place in a WalMart checkout line to join another inthe small town of Kennet Missouri. What happened next has touched off a firestorm of debate around the country and embroiled the world's largest retailer in a public relations nightmare. Store clerks and witnesses say Ellis cut the line, shoved other patrons' articles aside on the conveyor belt, and was confrontational. Ellis maintains she simply joined the line with her cousin and was mistreated by a cashier who asked her for identification even though she was paying in cash, refused to return her change from her transaction, and spoke to her rudely. Management and ultimately the police were called to quell the uprising. Police allege Ellis was combative and hurling curses and insults; they say she kicked one officer in the shin and another in the face, splitting his lip. Ellis counters she was called a racial epithet and told to "go back to the ghetto". She also says police roughed her up in the process of arresting her.

Ellis was charged with assaulting police officers, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace. Officials with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference said the case is indicative of racial bias in the town, where 13 percent of the population is African-American. Ellis' supporters have held several peaceful rallies in the town which, unfortunately have drawn the attention of the racial hate group the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan is threatening racial violence if the rallies continue.

The court heard testimony yesterday and a verdict could be rendered as early as this afternoon. The schoolteacher could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the felony charges.

source: CNN

Couples Retreat: no Blacks allowed

Universal Studios is catching heat for a movie poster for the flop recent release Couples Retreat. The U.S. poster for the movie features the four couples showcased in the film standing thigh-deep in a lagoon. The UK version of the movie poster omits the African American couple played by Faizon Love and Kali Hawk and shifts over one of the white couples for a tighter shot. Critics of the advertising change call the omission racist, akin to Microsoft's partial race change for a man in one of its Polish ads. For its part, Universal says it intended no offense and was simply adjusting the poster to showcase better-known stars for its international market.

It is intersting to note Faizon Love has fourth billing in this large ensemble cast above Kristin Davis of Sex and the City and Melrose Place (the old one); Kali Hawk is second to last above Jean Reno who survived the cut in the list of cast names. I could (perhaps) begin to consider Universal's explanation if both Love and Hawk were bottom billing, but they are not. The only widely recognized name--in the U.S. or elsewhere--is Vince Vaughn's anyway. Additionally, one of Love's scenes steals the whole show in and otherwise ho-hum movie. For goodness sakes, Love and Hawk are so far behind everyone else in the U.S. poster it looks like they wandered into the shot from another retreat next door.

Granted the tight shot is a better one, but it would have been better advised to simply feature Vaughn and his mate on a modified poster. Removing only one couple just seems so...obvious. For those crying "Oh, but the second shot is a different shot!" please look closely. The UK poster features some pretty amateur photoshopping. Some character's poses are exactly the same as the U.S. poster whereas others are only slightly different. I believe it to be a composite of other promotional shots. The bottom line is: if they had room to add a huge red suitcase, they had room to keep Love and Hawk.

Universal issued an apology and has scrapped plans to use the modified poster in their marketing materials, but the damage is done.

Source: Daily Mail UK

Now you too can grow Obama's hair

"Chia Obama makes the statement, 'I'm proud to be an American.' "

The creator of this gem is 77-year-old Chia Pet mogul Joseph Pedott. Pedott's product has been accused of racism because of the bushiness of Chia Obama's hair when fully grown. Pedott, for his part, never voted for a Democrat in his life before Obama and meant for the chia to be an honest tribute.

"All I tried to do was something positive," he says. "I never even thought about the hair."

President Obama seemed unfazed about possible racial connotations when Pedott presented him with his terra cotta likeness. "I've got green hair!" Obama chuckled. "

He's as warm as he can be," says Pedott. "I was so damn impressed."

The Rev. Jesse Jackson has endorsed the product; now if he could just get Rev. Al...

Things that make you go hmmmm....

Did you know that the House Ethics Committee is currently investigating seven African American lawmakers for possible ethics violations--15% of the total amount of African American lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives--and not a single European American lawmaker? The Congressional Black Caucus is skittish about pulling the race card just yet, but the probes are the talk of the town behind closed doors.

source

ANTM Finalists 'Blackfaced' for Photoshoot

Continuing the resurgence of a makeup practice long considered taboo, "America's Next Top Model" featured a number of models painted with dark makeup to resemble bi-racial women on Wednesday's telecast. Out of "ANTM's" six remaining contestants, one is black, one is Asian and four are Caucasian.

This is the second time models have been shown in dark makeup in recent weeks.French Vogue photographed model Lara Stone in blackface for its October issue, which was particularly disturbing because the offending pictures were part of an issue celebrating models, but had nary a black model in the magazine. Must be considered 'art' and eligible for a NAACP Image Award only when Miss Tyra does it.

Source: Huffington Post

In time for Christmas...the new Black Barbies

The new black Barbies released by Mattel have fuller lips, curlier hair and other features that the company says more accurately represent African-American women.

Some have cheered the new dolls. Others jeered them, saying they're not black enough. Are the mini dolls sisters or daughters?

Pop the collar for the full CNN review...is the booties anatomically correct?

Black Patrons Sue Nightclub for $1 Billion

August 6th was supposed to be a big night for top urban fiction author Teri Woods, who had invited 175 people to party at a trendy SoHo nightclub to celebrate her new book 'Alibi'.

But the NY Times best selling writer of 'True to the Game' ended up in tears when she found almost her entire guestlist being kept outside Greenhouse's notorious velvet rope.

Club owner Barry Mullineaux declined to discuss what had happened to Woods' party beyond calling charges of racism "all pretty much bogus." Except that all of Woods' African-American guests were denied entry to the club, while her white guests including her lawyers were. A $1 billion class action suit has been filed on behalf of the guests that were left out in the cold. Pop the collar for the details...

See? This is why you can't let things slide

French Vogue is at the center of an international firestorm after publishing pictures of a white model in blackface. There are some who say the shoot was not racist in its intent. What do you think?

Here We Go Again...

Racist? Watermelon Soda Sold In Target from All Things Harlem on Vimeo.

This must be a Target "Express" it is the smallest Target I've ever seen.
Also, whenever I have a watermelon soda, this is not my brand...