The New ‘Ebony’ Magazine: A Love Relationship

I was introduced to Amy Dubois-Barnett back in high school after running across her book Get Yours on the shelves of the public library where I worked- I read and re-read her thoughts on love, reaching your goals, and maintaing friendships while simultaneously looking to her as a prototype of the career woman I hoped to be in the publishing world. Needless to say when I heard she was going to be the new editor of Ebony magazine I was happy- for her, but also for what I hoped to see her bring to Ebony magazine.

In her editor’s note in what is dubbed as the Fashion issue of Ebony for the month of September, Dubois-Barnett talks about her experience with women who keep high-end fashion designers in their wardrobe and snub those who don’t. True to the personality I saw in her book (don’t you love feeling like you know someone without knowing them?) Dubois-Barnett stayed true to herself and replayed a story in her column that anybody who’s ever been the “out” person in a group could relate to.

This past week I picked up Ebony, read the magazine from front cover to back pages, and followed up by texting everyone I knew to pick up the issue. The pieces on Hisotirically Black Colleges and Universities (one of which I currently attend) were full of information with one piece on casual sex on campus, another giving the statistics on HBCU’s (an argument that’s been had and is being had consistently), and the fight for Fisk University. I won’t give a play by play of each article- although the fashion, beauty, and business sections all had great information in them- but I will say that Ebony magazine has reinvinted itself; Cosmopolitan and Essence will make room on my coffee table.

How To Be an Expert On Everthing: A Case Study of Hill Harper

While reading Ebony magazine this month I noticed a new book from Hill Harper entitled The Wealth Cure: Money in its Place. The book, which talks about the “wealth virus” America suffers from, is the newest in a line of books writien by Harper that include The Conversation: How Men and Women Can Build Loving, Trusting Relationships, Letter to a Young Sister: DeFINE Your Beauty, and Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest your Destiny.

Okay, I can appreciate Hill Harper, I can appreciate the business he is trying to build and I’m certainly never one to knock a hustle but ever since I saw him on the Real Housewives of Atlanta, offering up relationship advice to visibly struggling couple Peter and Cynthia, I’ve had a hard time tying to understad exactly his brand. Not that Mr. Harper is waiting on my stamp of approval, however the saying “jack of all trades, master of none” is alive, real, and kickin’.

I’ve always been taught that being an expert on one thing, is always better than trying to be an expert on everything; know a lot, but have your expertise based in one thing- something you can master. 10,000 hours equates expertise so who has time to focus on more than one thing anway if that time period sets the standard? But does that rule limit us? Hill Harper is capitilizing in the business of giving advice (along with being an actor and founder of non-profit MANifest your Destiny), which is a lot on anyone’s plate but maybe has he tapped into the knowledge that each of our talents can stretch to include a lot of things? Or is this simply an example of sampling too much from one buffet,

Whichever the answer you have for any of the questions I asked, Hill Harper is building his empire- book by book- and is definitely a good example in the media in the midst of so many adverse ones. I guess I can’t be mad at that.

Why You Should See ‘The Help’

This past weekend I entered the movie theater to see The Help expecting a small crowd of mostly Black people and maybe one or two White women who had read the book already and felt compelled to watch the film version.

I was met with the complete opposite. The movie theater was filled with White men and women who had no doubt grown up in the era The Help was set in and were ready to share how good the book was- as did the woman who set beside me- and how good they hoped this movie would be.

I cried, I laughed, (cliche as it sounds) and I saw a different side of the Civil Rights movement than I think I’ve ever seen in a film. The kind of racism shown in this film was a kind that existed and was all to real during this time period. As relevant as the Ku Klux Klan was in the lives of Black people, latent racism, is a guise of ”Christianity” was present as well and was presented in this film in a way that not only acknowledged it for what it was, but made it unavoidable.

As I sat down in my seat I found myself watching the audience around me almost as much as I watched the movie- watching the facial expressions and reactions of those in the audience more than anything and watching the movie with a critical eye as well. Mainly in search of any signs of stereotype. As I watched, I saw some things that made me cringe but I more so I saw what the movie was trying to say and the story it was trying to tell. No, it didn’t address every single aspect of life during the Civil Rights movement but what it did do was tell a side of the story that was real for some women during that time.

Criticism over this movie was sure to come. I expected it the minute I heard the name and certainly when I heard the storyline, but what I understood the movie to do was to take one aspect of life and understanding during the Civil Rights movement and magnify it for us to talk about and to better understand. Growing up in the South I’ve known and heard many White people who honestly thought they were doing Blacks a favor and who felt like, as is stated in the movie, they weren’t “real racists.” They weren’t apart of any Klan so what was the problem? If anything, this movie should spark conversation on what that meant to the Black community; and it does for me.

For all of the critical reviews, both good and bad, YOU should see this movie for yourself. Make your own judgement, but go open to seeing the story as well. It will make a difference.

Dark Girls: Movie Preview

Watch and comment.

Criticism and Cornel West: Are Black Folks Allowed Differences of Opinion?

The Professor Cornel West vs. President Obama smack down special has been an interesting story to watch unfold the past few days. Besides the fact that Cornel West who has criticized Obama in the past, clearly has both personal and political issues with the Obama administration, what was more interesting to me was to watch the commentary; particularly the conversation held on  The Ed Show where Ed asks Melissa Harris-Perry whether or not there is “trouble within the African-American community.”

In other words, is there dissension in the camps.

As important as it is to have voices that support our President, it is just as important to have voices that question and criticize. Is this story given attention by major media outlets not because of the actual criticism (however close-to or far-off you may believe West is) but because we are expected to be one-minded? And *gasp* does the fact that one of our most outspoken media pundits has gone against the grain- for whatever reasons- mean that there are others within the Black community who believe in and support his view?

One of the biases and stereotypes that Black people still fight is within the very definition of a stereotype; the idea that we all must be on the same page, going through the same things, and thinking on one accord.  We ALL must support Obama because he is Black and we are Black and therefore we ALL must agree with his opinions or, if we do criticize, do so silently and behind closed doors; something similar to not “airing out our dirty laundry.”

Thankfully, Perry corrects Ed Schultz in reminding him that there is heterogenuity in opinion in the Black community as with anywhere else, but perhaps we need to be reminded of that as well. Personal issues and possible benefit not withstanding, does West bring up some criticisms about the President’s policy choices that we need question and address?

I’m sure the twitter and radio debate will rage on but one thing is certain, whether or not he meant to, West may have stirred up just the type of conversation that will get some people thinking a little closer.

William Shakespeare, Emily Dickenson, and Common

When I first saw that Common’s appearance at the White House was being protested based on his raps, I started searching my mind for instances where his lyrics may have hinted at misogyny or sexism; as a fan a came up with a few examples. Interestingly the New Jersey Police are protesting Common’s appearance as well (Clutch), but not on what I was expecting. Common’s A Song for Assata is what got the police department to join the argument.

If you don’t know Assata Shakur’s story, she was a Black Panther from 1971 to 1973 who was thought to be involved in a shootout on the New Jersey turnpike that left a new jersey cop and Black Liberation Army supporter and friend dead. Shakur was convicted of the crime but escaped to Cuba where she has lived under political asylum. Common’s song tells her story.

The Huffington Post updated a story they posted yesterday on the controversy identifying Common’s A Letter to the Law as another problem and reason for Common not to read poetry at the White House according to Fox News. The Post does the best job of explaining his rap, noting Common’s lack of controversial music in the larger scheme of things:

Of course, Common is a pretty hard sell when it comes to striking the right divisive note, and while the Daily Caller could have mined his most recent album Universal Mind Control, for some dirty-ass songs that encourage some athletic sexual activity, it doesn’t really contain the short, sharp shock of those gangsta rap classics about running drugs and capping police officers. But they dug and dug, and found an example of what they’re looking for, in the form of a poem called “A Letter To The Law”

It shouldn’t take a genius to explain what’s going on in this poem: It is what the title suggests, a “letter” to the source of moral authority written from the perspective of inner city black youths who feel that the police don’t protect them, that the media loves to blow up and then tear down their community’s celebrities and that the government has been acting more gangsta — in terms of their invasion/occupation of Iraq — than they could ever hope. There’s an obvious sad note at the end, that the writers of this “letter” might perpetuate the cycle of decline themselves, but the hope is that, by seeking knowledge over violence, they might prevail. (The reference to “My Uzi Weighs A Ton” is key, here: Common is referencing an old Public Enemy song that posits that the mind is the greatest weapon.)

Let’s look at another point the Huffington Post brings out in it’s update:

Our own Corbin Hiar directs me to this tweet from Spencer Ackerman, who digs up another interesting intersection of rap music and politics, this one involving Eazy-E, from legendary gangsta-rap outfit N.W.A.:

    In March 1991, Eazy-E accepted an invitation to a lunch benefiting the Republican Senatorial Inner Circle, hosted by then-President George H. W.         Bush.  A spokesman for the rapper claimed that Eazy-E supported Bush for overseeing Operation Desert Storm.

I won’t even get into the correlation here on several levels, but based on the need to find any and everything wrong with the President it doesn’t fully surprise me that they would pick Common’s appearance at the White House as a point of major contention. What is interesting is our acceptance of those who are considered “classic” or more or less socially acceptable poets in comparison to Common. William Shakespeare and Emily Dickenson are talked about in The Post’s article noting the fact that both of these poets wrote poems that were considered controversial in their day, and in between the thee’s and thou’s are just as controversial today. You can find the full Post article here and read it; if nothing else you’ll have another way of viewing the argument by way of a (very intersting) British literature history lesson in the process.

Success v. Black Americans

Recently The Freshxpress posted an article that struck a chord with me and went hand-in-hand with CNN’s article that looked at Obama as the hero in Osama’s capture and killing and what that meant to the black male stereotype. You can read an excerpt of that article here. Urban Politico’s piece titled “The Impossibility of Black Achievement”  (found here), looked even closer at stereotypes that say that Black people cannot reach high levels of academic or professional success.

A few years after my graduation I came across another Black female attorney who had stellar credentials.  Every type of honor you can think of, she had it.  She was senior in experience to most of the associates at her law firm and the firm used her quite frequently to do legal research for some of its largest and most prestigious clients. Yet, when it came time to give credit where credit was due, the firm consistently credited any legal victories to the other White males on her team.  In some cases, even giving credit to White males who were several years her junior who barely had a grasp of what the case was about.  To the partners at her firm, it was simply incomprehensible that the winning argument that they had relied upon in court to their benefit was actually developed by one of their Black attorneys.  In other words, no Black person is capable of such a feat.

Of course nobody wants to say that directly.  To do so would clearly be racist and if there’s one thing we know that mainstream America hates it is being labeled with the “R”-word.  But much like the ostrich sticking its head in the sand, hiding from the problem in your own little world does very little to address the problem in reality.  Indeed, it is America’s collective failure to address its race problem that continues to color our actions, decisions, and beliefs everyday.

-The Impossibility of Black Achievement

As far as we have come and as much as we do the President is fighting an uphill battle against the type of covert racism that analysts tend to like to ignore but that President Obama’s tenure as commander-in-chief has seemed to pull out in people. In other words, he’s fighting the same fight that black professionals and those in academia deal with all of the time but for the most part learn to deal with as simply being “a part of the game.”

The Urban Politco pulls out the correlation between some of the overt disrespect that Obama has dealt with and that fact that as a Black man, there is simply no possible way that he could achieve Presidency on merit alone.

While 71% of Americans think President Obama should receive credit for killing bin Laden, that still leaves 29% of Americans (almost a third) who feel that this great accomplishment cannot possibly be attributable to Barack Obama.  Likewise, 52% of Americans believe that the credit for an event this historic must surely lie with a White male President, even if said President has been out of office for nearly 3 years.  The fact that people can literally believe that Obama does not deserve credit for an act that he did almost defies belief…that is until you consider the perspective of where those people are coming from. In other words, no Black person is capable of such a feat.

Indeed, there still remains a significant swath of Americans who continue to act out of their disbelief over the fact that we actually have a Black man sitting in the highest office of the land.  They’ll concede that there are some jobs that Blacks can actually earn on their own, but the Presidency of the United States is not one of them.  The Presidency, by their view, is a position that no Black person could possibly attain and until it returns to its rightful owner they are fully justified in asking for his birth records, asking for his college transcripts, calling him a liar on the House floor, mitigating his role in the assassination of the most notorious terrorist the world has ever seen, questioning his motives to visit Ground Zero, denying his authority, and depriving him of any other right or privilege that would be (and has been) afforded to any other similarly situated White male President throughout our nation’s history. In short, as far as this crowd is concerned, Barack Obama is not the President of the United States.  We’re simply going through a transitional phase right now until the real President comes along.

-The Impossibility of Black Achievement

The choice to attend a Historically Black College for me was in part due to the type of prejudices that I though I may have experienced in a different environment. Having attended a primarily White high school I saw what a little friendly competition from a Black, and not just Black but female counterpart could bring. The good thing about President Obama’s tenure as President is, as has been stated many times before, that it opens up a whole new conversation on race for an America that had closed the book on any racal disparities in the 21st century. To be honest, I think I’ve heard more overt racism more now than ever before but that, like with anything else, is a part of change.

The Real Mad, Black Women of Television

Over the course of the Real Housewives of Atlanta franchise my favorite-turned-least housewife Nene went from being the one person we could count on to read a situation and be real about it, to the person who it seemed like stirred up drama for no particular reason. The last couple of episodes of Celebrity Apprentice have seen the same sort of thing and although there’s a lot of speculation surrounding the background story, Nene ended up looking like the bully.

Diary of a mad, black woman.

The stereotype is continued with her not unlike Omarosa who chose to be the angry, black woman during her time with Donald Trump as well. There is definitely air-time taken up by black women who defy the formula, but does Nene perpetuate the angry, black, loud, and abrasive stereotype?

Or a better question would be does the media (and us the viewer) prefer that stereotype? Let’s be honest, how many of us had a love/hate relationship with Tami of Basketball Wives who was a guaranteed scene-stealer after a few glasses of achohol- loud, mad, and ready to lay hands on anyone who happened to be around and talking, she created drama for the show that I’m sure raised what were already high ratings.

So here’s the question again: Does the viewer or the media prefer the angry, black woman stereotype?

Discuss!

A Picture’s Worth A Thousand Words

Now that it’s been a few days since Osama Bin Laden was pronounced dead, and with no pictures of him deceased circulating, the image most focused on is the one that show’s President Obama, Hilary Clinton, and Joe Biden among other top White House officials watching the video of Bin Laden’s capture and murder. Jackandjillpolitics.com posted a news story found on CNN that looks at the way Black men, women, and “presidential swagger” can be interpreted from the picture. You can read the full article (and see the picture)  at CNN.com but here are a few excerpts to think about:

The photo crosses one threshold of race in its unusual framing of an African-American man threatening violence, one black commentator says.

For much of U.S. history, the black man has often been portrayed as the threat to America’s safety — the angry man, the thug, the one you cross the street to avoid, says Cheryl Contee, co-founder of Jack & Jill Politics, a blog focused on current affairs from a black perspective.

But in the Situation Room photo, Contee says, the black man is America’s protector.

…

The photo also resolves a tricky image problem for Obama, says Jerald Podair, a history professor at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Podair says Obama has always been careful to avoid the angry black male stereotype in his public persona, but has acquired another image — that of detachment, even weakness.

The photo of Obama hunkered down with his national security team watching the stalking and killing of bin Laden solves both problems, Podair says.

“He can now appear strong without being threatening. After all, he’s on our side. Obama can now take up his white predecessors’ mantle of ‘protector in chief,’ ” Podair says.

There is no denying that this was a big win for President Obama’s political campaign, but is it going to far to say this was a win for Black men as well? I would agree with jackandjillpolitics.com co-founder Cheryl Countee and say that it was. Winning the presidency was only the beginning of convincing both non-supporters and supporters that he was meant to be in office. President Obama who has handled more disrespect as a President than anyone else; he was going to have to prove himself and in this situation, he got the job done. He literally countered the idea of the Black man as “scary” by being the hero.

What do you think? Was finding and killing Osama Bin Laden not only a win for President Obama, but for Black men as well?

The Shift on Nicki Minaj

It’s funny, I can remember only a few months ago seeing blog pieces that were far from praising Nicki Minaj. Lil’ Kim-esque personality aside, the blogosphere was buzzing with the idea that Nicki Minaj was making Black women look bad; the hair, body, wierd noises.. who was this woman that had Black girls calling themselves Barbie and getting a very full frontal bang to match?

As a matter of fact, where was Lauryn Hill to combat all of this mess?

Fast foward to now and boy, have things changed. An album, a documentary, and the beginnings of crossover appeal later (Elle magazine cover shoot) Nicki Minaj has turned some side-eye’s around.

My first opinions on Nicki Minaj weren’t too far from “WTF.“

The questions of whether she was bi-sexual or not, if her butt was real, what exactly was going on with the wierd faces/voices etc seemed to add up. Then I had to wonder was she just a pawn in the “whatever is sexiest sales” hip-hop game. After watching her documentary though one thing I can say about Nicki Minaj is that she knows what sales; she built her brand, and is crossing over with it to mass audiences. She’s making money with the “big boys” in the music industry, and doing it as a female who has been hyper-sexualized since she first came out.

In one scene of her documentary on MTV she talks about how she’s treated as a woman in the industry versus a man. Any woman watching that who has ever been in the workforce could relate to what she was saying; the details may not have been the same but the theory behind wasn’t far from it.

For all of the superficial that Nicki Minaj may have first came across as, and for what her Barbie’s might have taken her to be at face value, her story may be more than just the wierd faces and body. We’ll see, in the mean time, Pink Friday has yet to leave rotation in my car. Don’t judge me