In case anyone was mistaken prejudice against blacks still exists in the new millennium. During the 2001 U.S. Open, #1 seeded Martina Hingis made racist comments against the Williams sisters, stating: “Being black only helps [the Williams sisters].
Many times they get sponsors because they are black. And they have had a lot of advantages because they can always say, ‘It’s racism.’ They can always come back and say, ‘Because we are this color, things happen.’ “
Last October, fraternity brothers at Auburn University donned Omega Psi Phi shirts and blackface in what was supposed to be a joke.
On Tuesday, January 15 a school shooting was automatically dubbed as ‘gang-related’ because the school was in a black neighborhood in New York.
Just recently, white supremacists, led by Matthew Hale, leader of the white supremacist group World Church of the Creator, marched in York, Pennsylvania. Hale’s message, according to the Associated Press, is to“…seek the advancement of white people, our people, without any apologies, any compromise, any groveling before anybody,”
It’s hard to believe that racism still exists in 2002. After all, most strands of ignorant thinking can be easily dispelled by scientific proof or just common sense.
However, seeing that the exposure to the black culture by a lot of whites in America is limited to BET and Vibe magazine, it’s safe to say blacks can shoulder some of the blame for being seen as little more than gold-tooth wearing thugs spending more money on their watches than their houses, cars and children’s educations combined.
Somehow, it became acceptable to be a buffoon – any episode of Comicview proves that. And where would a black woman be in the music video genre without push-up bras, hair dye and booty shorts?
“Black folk have had their brains turned into intellectual mush that can only relate to swift images/sounds of violence, sex and goofiness,” veteran author and activist Sam E. Anderson once said.
While it’s true that racists see what they want to see, it doesn’t help matters when we give these people with tunnel vision exactly what they want. Jay-Z may think he’s uplifting the black community when it comes to rapping about selling drugs, but it’s actually quite counter-revolutionary.
While Lil’ Kim thinks she’s striking a blow for women’s rights when she says that she handles a man’s penis “like a real bi–,” she’s feeding into the hype that black women are little more than weave-wearing whores.
But we, as blacks, feed into it. According to Billboard.com, “The Blueprint” sold over a million copies. We cut our jeans up just like in the “No Matter What They Say” video. We laugh at Bruce Bruce and Renaldo Rey every night. And white people are laughing at us. But as long as blacks continue to feed into the disintegration of our culture, we shouldn’t be surprised if some whites look at blacks as if we’re ignorant. They don’t have to look very far.
J. Danielle Daniels for the Editorial Board.