Kanye Foundation

KWF S.H.O.W. 2010... Are you Ready?! from Kanye West Foundation on Vimeo.

Commercials

Have you ever noticed if there is a "black related" show or event on television the majority of commericals seems to be desginated to a black audience? Why does that happen? The recent McDonald commercials have really have done this too. They seem to make the whole commerical "black" by even changing the McDondald's jingle to a more hip hop vibe. They also feature all black damilies and have a focus on strereoptypical black trends like fried chicken, cajun spices and sweet tea. If commericals AND the televison shows are both negative how do we expect anyone to not assume these portrayls are true? There is no end the strereotypes.

An example demonstrated by KFC of extreme overt stereotyping.

African American Archetypes- The "Crazy Black Family"

We see this archetype in NUMEROUS films and television shows. Black families are portrayed as being large, close-knit, loud, dramatic, and church-going. In most movies the younger black family members are lazy, rebellious, irresponsible while the older family members seem to be the "rock" of the family, trying to keep everyone accountable and in line. Sometimes the grandmother is taking care of the grandchildren because the mother has been put in drug rehab and the father has been put in prison. But how many movies do you see that have a traditional black family- a happily married mother and father with well-behaved children? Despite what we see in so many movies, these families DO exist in America. Movie producers portray African American families as being loud, obnoxious, and crazy because that's what Americans think of as being "funny". However, it's a slap in the face to a traditional black family when they are put into a category in which they do not belong. Perhaps Americans need to take a step back and ask themselves why they think a hard-working African American grandmother taking care of numerous grandchildren is so funny? I'm sure the grandmother wouldn't find it very humorous.

Racist Ads Still Being Used

All three of the Ads pictured above have been used to sell products in the United States. Each one uses racism in a different way to either play into a stereotype, place African-Americans in their place, or to make them look more white or ideal.

In the first print ad pictured above Dell claims to be "maximizing the power of your employees". The first problem in this ad is that all the "employees" pictured are black and dressed in a very stereotypical manner of Track and Field runners. They clearly used all black runners so as to play into the stereotype that blacks are runners and athletic. The other problem is why is the employer a white male and the employees all black males? Can an African-American not be a boss or run a successful business? Also can white men not be good at Track and Field?

The second ad is actually a still from a Feria haircare product commercial. In it Beyonce is shown as being pale, blonde, and blue eyed. Clearly judging by the original ad on the left her appearance was changed to make her appear more "white". The fact that they had to take a beautiful and confident black women and change her to make her more appealing is appalling. Also the fact that Feria felt that they wold not be able to reach a buying audience without "whitening" an African-American women shows that the thought of using black women in ads is still considered scary.

In the final ad used by Playstation a white women is shown as grabbing a black women in a very forceful way. The ad itself claims that "white is coming", but what is Playstation trying to say that white is coming to do? Is the white women suppose to be coming back to place the black women back into place. Or are they trying to portray the tensions between whites and blacks and the fact that white people want to make sure black people stay in their place. This ad was originally used in the US before being banned yet it is still used in other parts of the world to sell Playstation products.

The Media Showing Black Successful Women?: No It's Showing Their Failure in Finding A Spouse

ABC News had a special on Black Successful Women, but it couldn't just be about these Black women's success instead it was about their inability to find a Black male. The special made it clear that 42% of Black successful women are single. Instead of talking about the women success, this broadcast was showing everything that was wrong with the Black male population. The most shocking was how much statistics they went through to show that "only half of Black men are eligible to pop the question" the reason this is shocking is because this news cast made it seem as though the criteria they find fitting for "an eligible man to pop the question" is the standard everyone should follow.

It also seems as though because these women are successful they are in a sense dangerous, because some fear the idea of Black people being successful. In the ABC broadcast their success was put down by showing that these women may be successful in their work but they are not successful in finding a mate.

Notice that instead of changing the way African Americans are viewed in the media and talking about the success of Black people, watch how it flips into talking about the men who are lacking and the successful women who are missing out on a relationship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCoI-B9AYjs

TV's Portrayl of Middle Class Black Families

Television is main source of our media and also a main source of the perpetuation of stereotypes. Starting as far back "The Cosby Show," the majority of black portrayal on cable series seems to be false and also contributes to the desensitization of our society to racial issues.

"The Cosby Show" was a historical change for how black families were represented in the media, especially on cable television. It has been noted as the first attempt to portray middle class blacks in society, but there was a slight issue to this? Although The Huxtable family will always remain a household favorite the reality of their situation was not realistic of black families in our society. The Cosby Show presented this loving family in lifestyle that was not actually tangible, it was almost even unrealistic of white middle class families. An article by Lesile B.Inniss and Joe R. Feagin states, that the show's "view of Black assimilation fails to take into account the context of the world outside of the four walls of the Huxtable household and because it allows Whites to excuse institutional discrimination and to become desensitized to racial inequality."

A more recent version of black middle class portrayal is "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." In this cable series the black middle class family is presented in a more comedic manner, making it easier for white viewers to laugh "with" racial issues as opposed to take in the reality of its seriousness.

Cartoon shows such as Nickelodeon's "Hey Arnold" also use the common entertainment approach of the having the "token" black character, to avoid any claims of being racially unequal. It is strange that even though Jerald, Arnold's black best friend, plays a dominant role in the show we never learn about his family or much of anything personal to his life. It goes to prove that his black character was added to be just that-a black character.

In more recent television shows such as Disney "That's So Raven," it takes a different approach in representing black middle class families by portraying them as still very unrealistic to society. Raven can not just be a regular high student, instead to make sure the family is not just a "normal" family, Raven has to be enchanted with the magical ability to see into the future.

It seems that cable television will do anything possible to make sure that black families and characters are not realistically represented. It can be seen as an effort to continue to "brush off" discrimination while desensitizing our society.

Click here for YouTube clip that shows racism in children cartoons.

Charity and Community Efforts: Why haven't we heard?

Rapper Big Boi and Nike paired up to create a 50k diamond embedded Nike shoe with all donations going to Big Boi's Big Kidz Foundation

Rappers Bow and Nelly recently held and participated in charity basketball game with the losing team donating $100,000 to charity.

Atlanta natives, T.I and Young Jeezy, have taken the holiday of Thanksgiving to give back to their local community by donating and running a soup kitchen/food bank that feeds the community.

At the beginning of this month, music artist Common teamed up with a charity event that helped cancer patients in Montreal, Canada.

Rapper Akon has his own charity that gives back to many communities in his home country of Africa. The charity foundations makes many efforts in helping kids across Africa.

With the recent disaster in Haiti, native Wyclef Jean took on damage control by creating numerous events and opportunities for the Wyclef Jean Foundation, Inc. to help in Haiti.


Mike Jones and Paul Wall have also held charity basketball game.

Bow Wow has created a community skate rink with money he raised and donated. The idea was to give community a safe place to get away from the street life.

Snoop Dogg has many sports related charity efforts. He has a whole youth football league that he financially supports with donations and personal money. Also he continuously holds sports events with all donations going to his youth foundation.

Atlanta Radio Host Ryan Cameron partnered with rappers T.I and Ludacris to donate $166,000 to the aid of the Hosea Williams Feed The Hungry and Homeless Foundation. They did it all in less than three hours!

Finally Being Called On- Black Reporters in the White House

The Obama Administration has definitely had its fair share of first and when it comes to the Press Conference Newsroom there is no difference. For the first time a prominent African-American magazine, Ebony, was asked to join the ranks of other media outlets such as Vanity Fair and the NY Times. At the premiere appearance of reporters for the magazine editor Kevin Chappell was called upon to question President Obama. Chappell's question marked the first time an African-American reporter was called upon by a President during a live Press Conference telecast. The fact that a media outlet that is so widely read by the black community has never been invited to the White House seems odd. Especially since tabloid favorites like People and Us Weekly have each had reporters invited to take part in Press Conferences. And it seems almost more unfair when you take into account that minority reporters is at an all time high of 13.5%. By limiting the availability of African-American reporters to be allowed to participate in the White House news room you are shutting down the lines of communication. It also makes you question if black reporters are not at such a high profile place as the White House are they in the newsroom at all? Could this represent a bigger trend of lack of black coverage in the media and their stories not being heard. Could it also contribute to why you see such stereotypical images of African-Americans in the news. If black reporters are not invited into the newsroom them their is no one to say that what is being shown is wrong. And until this is changed then these images will keep being shown and a vast majority of the viewing public will continue to believe the stereotypes they see on the news.

African American Archetypes- The "Black Mandingo"

Sometimes the media gives us the idea that black men are animalistic, controlled by their sexual desires, and that they prey on white women. These characteristics are certainly false, but when we watch movies like White Chicks, To Kill a Mockingbird, Madea's Family Reunion, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Gone With the Wind, we are told differently. These are all great movies, but they portray some of their black male characters as being "Black Mandingos". Is the media feeding into this idea that all black men can't control their behavior and are potentially dangerous? Is it fair that all black men are being placed in this category? People need to be aware of how easily their thoughts and assumptions can be influenced by movies and television.

African American Archetypes- The "Magical Black Friend" Archetype

A common archetype that we see in numerous movies portrays African Americans as the "Magical Black Friend". This is usually a supporting character that uses some kind of magic power to help the white protagonist get out of trouble. The "Magical Black Friend" is always at some sort of disadvantage- sometimes he/she is a victim of racial discrimination or has some sort of social constraint (prisoner, janitor, slave). Even though they have magical powers, this magic is always geared towards helping out a white, usually male, character. The black character is still inferior to the white character(s), and this is what I find most disturbing. Some examples of movies that contain this archetype are and many many others. In Stephen King's, The Green Mile, John Coffey is a prisoner that was falsely accused of the rape and murder of two girls (because the color of his skin). Instead of complaining about his mistreatment, John Coffey uses his healing powers to help other prisoners and even the prison guards and warden that got him into his situation. While he was portrayed as a very wise, patient, caring man, he was also portrayed as being inferior to every white character. In the end, he is executed. This is an example of how our media tries to confirm white superiority.

Magazine Cover Discrimination

Have you ever walked down the magazine aisle at your local Grocery Store and wondered were all the African-American women are? I know that I have definitely noticed a lack of fashion magazines in general not placing women of color on their covers. In the past year the Elle magazine cover archive showed that they have only had two African-American women on their cover Beyonce and Rihanna. Yet celebrities like Jennifer Anisten and Sarah Jessica Parker have appeared a combined total of five times. I feel that this lake of representation to the black community helps to perpetuate the idea that African-American women are somehow less desirable than white women. It in tern gives the impression that to be black is to not be fashionable or appealing.

And even when African-Americans are placed on the covers they sometimes create quit a controversy. Like with the Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen Vogue cover pictured above. In one ABC news article it claimed that the cover showed them almost like, "a black beast clutching a white damsel in distress". This brings up a very stereotypical idea of African-American men being over sexed and dangerous to white women. It also in some ways portrays the idea that he is almost animalistic and she is wanting to flee from his grip. In the same article Robin Givhan an African-American and former associate editor at Vogue brings up a different point about the cover. She says, "It's so exhausting that every time people see an image of a black person they work themselves into a tizzy that somehow it doesn't adhere to the way they think a black person should be presented". I feel that her point is very true. Are people uncomfortable with the cover just because he is a black man and she is a white women or is it because it somehow does not fit what they feel is an acceptable way to portray African-Americans in the media.

When it comes to fashion in many ways African-Americans have always been excluded. Yet when we chose to not give them the same equal opportunities to be seen as white women we are once again segregating ourselves. By not showing African-American women on the covers of fashion magazines we are letting it be okay to not allow them to walk in fashion runways, appear on fashion centered television shows such as Style, and even to go so far as to exclude them from the larger media outlet of all magazines in general. This lack of fashion media coverage does not just hurt those who read fashion magazines but also anyone who is walking down that same Grocery aisle. They see only white faces staring up at them and the idea that white is better is exemplified in their mind. If we do not change this then the media stereotypes that we so often see will only keep being spread.

Will Guam Capsize?

Rep. Hank Johnson made some questionable comments during a House Armed Services Committee meeting. He was addressing the issue of extra troops being added to Guam later this year. He asked if the Committee was worried about the island "capsizing". The media of course took these comments out of context and made it appear as if Rep. Johnson was asking if the island itself would literally capsize. Rep. Johnson had instead been trying to make the metaphor that an influx of troops added to the island could "capsize" or over whelm the infrastructure and ecosystem of Guam. I feel that if these comments had been made by a white Representative they would not have been played over and over again on the news. They would also not have been the butt of so many jokes. I feel it was another way to unfairly treat African Americans in the media. He was trying to talk about his environmental concerns and also express his opinions about added troops to an already over crowded island and he was looked down on for it. Yes it might not have been the best metaphor to use but his intentions were nothing to make fun of.

To view video of Committee Hearing Click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs23CjIWMgA&feature=related