The Latest Technology... Is Racist!

LOL! How about a collective "Woo-Sah!" before we get ourselves worked up here? I'm going to share with you today a video that will hopefully make you laugh at least a little bit, as well as make you think. I find that I can actually be more logical and rational when I can see the humor in things so let's hope you operate in a similar fashion.

This video depicts the latest face-recognition software from HP. It is designed so that the built-in webcam on their newest media computers will follow the user's movements. We can all imagine the cool factor in this, right? Imagine all of the people filming themselves dancing to Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" and how magnificent their homages could have truly been if only their webcams could have followed their movements... Watch the video and then we'll chat.




Okay, so by now, hopefully you've had a bit of a chuckle and you are thinking about how or why this could be considered racist. According to HP:

We are working with our partners to learn more. The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe that the camera might have difficulty "seeing" contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting.

Alright, I can accept that it has to do with technology and algorithms and honestly, I either slept through the algorithm stuff in college or killed those brain cells at a party so I'll accept that it is a reasonable scientific explanation. For me, herein lies the problem... One must assume that the technology was tested rigorously and that those tests had to include actual test trials with people moving around to make sure that the lens followed them. Based upon this demonstration and the HP statement above, one must also assume that either HP had absolutely no black people testing these cameras (or only really, really, really light ones like myself), or they did have African American testers and one of the following scenarios took place:

• The black webcam testers had poor results but HP figured that most black people don't use computers anyway so it wasn't a concern
• The black testers had acceptable results because their glasses of red Kool Aid provided the necessary contrast
• HP decided to forgo testing since they assumed it would work with black people in much the same way that the security cameras follow their African American employees throughout the building
• The black people intimidated the cameras into not following them by wearing shirts that read, "No Snitchin'"

I'm thinking it was most likely a case of no or not enough black camera testers and that is yet another reminder that for many, black people are seen more as an afterthought than part of the customer base or even mainstream population. I can guarantee you that the directions for using the webcam are available in both English and Spanish, and probably a few other languages; but sadly—much like many people in our society—the cameras do not recognize black people as people at all. Hmm, I wonder if the webcam would follow Tiger Woods?

Gift Guide for the Racially Insensitive Everywhere

I definitely missed the memo that said that 2009 was the new 1959 racially. I can't find the words—The NY Times in 2009 publishes a gift-giving guide for people of color? So, is this like saying: "Here are some ideas for a holiday gift for your one minority friend" to white people? C'mon! I've never had to consult a special guide for giving gifts to non-black people—unless you count the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog.

This speaks to the old "us & them" theory. Why do people think that because their pigment is different then their tastes, hobbies and interests must be? Some of it is really funny to me, like the Somali-influenced designer apparel. Sure, I've rocked my share of kente cloth and animal print, but I always chuckle when I go to an African-themed show, play or event and I see more older, monied white women in African print than black women.

It's reminiscent to me of the "Ethnic Hair Products" aisle or section in most drug/beauty stores. I guess retail is still promoting segregation because it seems that products marketed toward kinky/coarse/ethnic hair (which are usually quite unhealthy for the hair type) are not permitted to sit happily on the shelf beside their marketed-for-white-people counterparts. Queen Helene and Dr. Miracle are relegated to the Negro section while Paul Mitchell and John Frieda are hitting on the Breck Girl and trying to ply her with smoothing serum and ice shine before bending her around a curling iron and then leaving her stiff and flaky after a good alcohol-based spritz!

The "Nursery Jamz" just about had me on the floor. So are we now saying that "traditional" nursery rhymes are for white children and "remixes" are for kids of color? Mmkay, yeah—makes sense to me (insert eye roll here).  Even funnier to me are the books on black and Asian make-up. I promise you, these books are more for non-black and non-Asian make-up artists than they are for women of color. We've been applying our make-up for years and we are actually familiar with our skin tones so it isn't really a great mystery to us.

I'm not trying to diss any of the products suggested, I merely want people to realize that we don't need to shop for the race of a person—we shop for the person. People of color are not one dimensional and until the government scientists perfect their implant chips and the mind control drugs in the fried chicken, we're not all going to like one thing or another because it is supposedly geared toward us.

On that note, I hope you'll open your mind and go beyond the aforementioned gift guide to find gifts suited to your friends and acquaintances based on their personal tastes, rather than their ethnic backgrounds. Think about what you have in common and what drew you together as friends and go from there. On a parting note, since I can't tell you what they will definitely like, let me at least give you a few tips on what NOT to give:

1. Watermelon
2. Afro/Ultra sheen
3. KFC gift cards (Popeye's cards are the preferred gift of chicken in the black community)
4. Vaseline/Chapstick
5. Grape soda/Kool Aid with extra sugar
6. Woody Allen movies or the "Friends" DVD set
7. Anything involving Michael Steele
8. Asher Roth CD's
9. Doo rags/head scarves
10. Jheri juice/relaxer/pomade

Merry Christmas and happy giving!

Two Black Actors Missing in U.K.

Okay, so we don't need to issue an AMBER Alert or anything... But Faizon Love and Kali Hawk are missing from the U.K. version of posters for their recent movie, Couples Retreat. The film is a comedy about four couples who go on a group vacation in an island paradise where (naturally) hilarity ensues. Three of the four couples are comprised of white actors, with the fourth couple being Love and Hawk, who are African American. There's always one token black character in these buddy films, or maybe not? They didn't just remove their pictures from the poster, but their names as well. But then again, yeah—one kind of expects someone named "Faizon" to be black (although some might have thought he was perhaps the sibling of Jennifer Love Hewitt, right?).

Universal Pictures has apologized for any offense caused by the actors' removal, claiming that they just wanted  "to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognizable in international markets." Mmkay, so did they "simplify" the film and remove the black actors altogether? Of course not! The black characters are integral to the plot as without a black man and his storied package, the nudity joke wouldn't be as funny. I wonder how many tickets were purchased by women hoping to get a look at Love's penis...Oh, and Hawk's role was pivotal too—as without her, there would have been no stereotypically loud and obnoxious attitude-having, neck-wiggling, eye-rolling black woman.

Personally, I find it curious that the characters were removed on the premise that the black actors were less recognizable than their white counterparts. I mean, Kristen Bell and Malin Ackerman are household names, after all. Right?

Universal has assured us that they will not use the altered posters in any other markets—great! But what does it say that in 2009, marketing executives feel that not only are black actors on an ensemble film poster distracting or less "simple" than a poster with only white actors—but that we are too stupid or clueless to notice it. And maybe, just maybe, it speaks to the fact that some people don't see the token black friend character as necessary or realistic.

Granted, this movie is not of one of my preferred genres, but honestly, if the black actors made the sophomoric and sub-par movie, don't they deserve to be credited with having done it?

Making It about Race

The long-overdue dialogue is finally taking place. Americans seem more willing than ever before to talk about race, racism, prejudice and stereotypes. Not all of the conversations and comments are good ones. I read too many derogatory comments on websites like The Grio and The Root. Senseless comments likening all African Americans to apes or syphilitic animals and referencing crack-addicted babies and absent fathers more than pepper the discussion boards that are otherwise discussing politics, entertainment and general news from a black point of view.

Even ‘Dear Abby’ threw her hat into the ring recently with two days of columns devoted to the meaning of “African American” and a white reader who was wondering why President Obama is called and considered the first black/African American president rather than the first biracial president or half-white president. Abby deferred to her readers to allow them to explain it, and on day two, one letter did touch upon the historical context of ‘blackness’ and who was labeled as black and why. There was also the ever present “Why do black people make everything about race in America?” question. I decided that I’d like to answer that one.
The short answer is: Because white Americans remind us of it constantly. Yes, really. It happens all of the time and I honestly don’t believe that many white people even realize that they are doing it. I’ll give you some of the more subtle and less noxious examples from my own personal experiences:

• At a business dinner a few years ago, a relatively-new VP we’ll call “Bob” leaned over my shoulder to view some pictures that a co-worker (who also happened to be black and had worked there for more than ten years, as had I) was sharing with me. The photo was of the co-worker’s little boy, who had big green eyes, curly hair the color of wheat and olive skin. Bob looked at the photo, then my co-worker and myself then back at the photograph. He then exclaimed, “Oh! Your wife is white! That explains it! Do you know Chris (a white long-time co-worker who was seated across the table)? His wife is black! If he had kids, your kids could play together!”

I kid you not—I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. Now, does anyone not see the racist nature of that remark? Bob looked at the photo and saw race, rather than a cute kid. He also felt that there was some sort of novelty in interracial marriage and having biracial children—enough so that he needed to point out the other person’s interracial marriage. And let us not forget the “…your kids could play together” comment. As though biracial children are some sort of lepers who can only play with their own kind.


• A white gentleman with whom I work for about week each month and had known for at least a year at the time, made the following comment to me about a month before last November’s historic presidential election: “Obama is like you and you’re not really black—you don’t have an afro or braids and a big butt and you went to college and don’t speak jive…”

Just wow. Where do I start on this one? So, ‘blackness’ is defined by hair texture, gluteus size and command of the urban lexicon? Well alrighty then! So then Jewish women with kinky hair are black? White women with badonkadonks are black and anyone who uses phrases like “I’m out,” “Word,” “booty call” or “baby mama” is black? People who lack a college education are black? Well, I guess we are no longer a minority and lots of folks must be ‘passing’ and just got called out; and whole bunch of college graduates who thought they were black just found out—they’re not.


• A white twenty-something acquaintance of a friend joined a group of us for a “painting party” to paint the friend’s house in one fell swoop. After a while, I turned on the radio for some background music and a Will Smith song began to play and was met with the following remark: “What station is this—Nigga Jams?”

It was actually a “pop” station, but the fact that a pseudo rap song (I mean, Will Smith is no Method Man or 50 Cent) was playing was enough to merit such an exclamation. So later, when I got out of jail for battery… No, I’m kidding, I didn’t do anything like that! What happened next was rather sad. As everyone else’s mouth dragged the floor I simply asked him, “What do have against black people and black musicians?” He replied, “Nothing.” I inquired further, “So what’s with throwing the ‘N word’ out there?” He said, “That’s just how my dad always referred to them; is there some better way to say it?” I explained that the ‘n word’ was a hateful word, offered him some acceptable terms, and he and I are now friends. But it could’ve gone very differently… What I found so sad was that his father’s prejudices and streotypes had been passed on to him so effortlessly.


• I was attending a business luncheon for about 80-100 people, so I sat down at a table where I recognized the face of an older white man we’ll call “Charlie.” There were several other people at the table, most of them white and one Hispanic woman. Charlie and I hadn’t seen one another for a while as I had been on vacation, so he asked where I had been and what I had done. I explained that my brother had gotten married and that I was out of town for the nuptials. He remarked that I was gone a week, so I described the five-day affair, the hotel, the activities, etc.
A white woman who had been glancing at me from time to time interjected and asked me, “Are you Italian?” I replied, “No” and continued my conversation. I was interrupted several more times with “Are you Greek?” “Are you Middle Eastern?” “Are you Portuguese?” “Polynesian?” And my favorite—“Are you French-Canadian?” I answered “No” to all of them.
Next, she asked me outright: “What are you?” To which I replied, “I am a human being.” She then questioned where I was from and where each of my parents was from, but for some reason, “New Jersey” just didn’t seem to be enough for her. Finally, I asked her, “Are you questioning my ethnicity?” and she replied with an exasperated “Yesssss!” I told her, “I am black.” She replied, “No you’re not,” to my surprise. I reiterated that I was well aware of my heritage, much more so than she. She looked me up and down for a moment and then said: “Your skin is as white as mine. You have green eyes and freckles and curly red hair (yeah, it was a good dye job). If I were you, I wouldn’t tell people I am black because if you didn’t tell them, they wouldn’t know.” I affixed my most saccharine smile and replied, “Well, if I were you—and thank God that I’m not— I wouldn’t open my mouth at all because then people wouldn’t know that you are an ignorant bigot.” Miraculously, there was nary a peep out of her for the duration of the luncheon.


You see, in each of these situations, no black person mentioned race or “played the race card.” We were each just going about our days, living our lives and doing what we do. A white person felt the need to bring race into the various situations, whether the intention was malicious or not. Trust me, we know we’re black—you don’t have to remind us. We know it and we recognize that our blackness is not defined solely by our appearances, but by our shared culture and our experiences. Listening to Soul, Rap or Hip-Hop music doesn’t make us black, nor does our skin tone, our hair texture, speaking slang/Ebonics or eating soul food. It is the history and the stories we share while doing our hair or enjoying that meal. It is the ease and familiarity with which we can address one another as “Gurl,” “Sista,” “Brotha” or “Dogg” compounded by our common experiences, obstacles and triumphs.

We’ll cover what determines who is black and why Obama is the first black president next time. I promise.

Mud People and Ghetto Loans

Yes, really. No, I did not make up the title, it was actually taken from affidavits in a Maryland lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank. A former employee, Mr. Paschal blew the whistle in the affidavit, which states:

“They referred to sub-prime loans made in minority communities as ghetto loans and minority customers as ‘mud people.’” He also said a Wells Fargo Bank office in Silver Spring, Maryland had an “affinity group marketing” department, whose purpose was to hire African Americans to call on African-American churches.”

See, this is the kind of stuff I like to point out to all of the people who say that racism no longer exists and that black folk just like to "play the race card." What is just as bad, if not worse—is that we helped them do it, by marketing these loans to our very own community. Now granted, I have to assume that the African American employees were not working with the knowledge that they were being referred to as "mud people"— the affidavit didn't mention any beat downs, to my knowledge. But what happened to reading things before signing them and "it takes a village?" I may not be an expert on mortgages, but you can bet your Jet subscription that I know someone who is or would find one fast if I were contemplating a real estate purchase.

“The company put ‘bounties’ on minority borrowers,” Mr. Paschal said. “By this I mean that loan officers received cash incentives to aggressively market sub-prime loans in minority communities.”

This is par for the course. African Americans are the largest consumer group in the country by far, and sadly, we ask for little to nothing in terms of return on our investments. So if a person or company wants to make a fast dollar, all they need to do is sell it in the black community. We see this regularly with low-end items like bootlegged CDs and DVDs, fake handbags and and clothing—even rent-to-own stores & check cashing places... But mortgages? C'mon!

And that they sought out our churches to do this too! I spoke to one gentleman who was telling me that his pastor was praying that everyone in the congregation who needed transportation would be blessed with a new car, and within a month they were. Praise Jesus! They later found out that the pastor had entered into a deal with the dealership to get them all approved for financing, but most of them were paying ridiculously high interest rates. The Devil is a liar!

The NAACP filed suits against Wells Fargo and HSBC for forcing black customers into subprime loans, while giving white customers with identical finances and credit scores lower rates.
I see this as just another part of the systemic racism that keeps poor black people poor. If you only give folks high-interest loans, then more than likely they will end up with bad credit from struggling to pay that loan. So then what happens? They cannot qualify for refinancing due to the poor credit rating, and they lose their investment. The bank/financing company then gets to repossess the car or foreclose on the property and has effectively made money on the deal and humbled the black person (who forgot his/herself and thought they were worthy of the American dream) all in one fell swoop.

However, we need to take some proactive steps to educate our community on how to handle finances. If you never saw your parents pay bills on time or put money in a savings account, then more than likely, you won't do it either. We need to start early, with simple things like giving our children an allowance and then coaching them to save a portion and then make smart choices on how they spend the rest. We need to instill in them the importance of a good credit rating, rather than having them tell creditors we're not home or they've reached a wrong number when they call. We need to lead by example and stop this cycle of financial abuse in which too many black people find themselves.

We also need to patronize black-owned businesses and utilize black-owned banks—but we'll talk about that one at length in the near future.

An Open Letter to My Brothas & Sistas, Inspired by President Obama's Speech @ The NAACP

Remember back in the day when black was beautiful? I remember my dad wearing a dashiki and having various picks to groom his afro. I think my favorite was the folding pick that had a handle which on one side was red, the other was green and the two unfolded and came together. He also had "the rake" and the ever popular black pick with the peace sign in the middle and a fist on the end of the handle.

Being a child of the seventies, I have photos of my older brothers wearing shirts with collars as wide as their shoulders and plaid pants with belts four inches wide. Thankfully, by the time I came along, the train wreck which was the fashion of the 70's had been cleared from the tracks to make way for lace gloves, day glow colors, gummy bracelets and the like, but that is a different blog altogether.

By the time the nineties rolled around, the dashikis were replaced with kente cloth in vibrant, bright colors. Braids and locs were very popular among African-Americans and artists like Arrested Development, De La Soul, Meshell Ndegeocello, Public Enemy and A Tribe Called Quest were raising our awareness and celebrating our culture, our lives and our selves.

I remember turning on the TV and seeing images which were like us. The Cosby Show was the first show with which I truly identified. The professional parents, the family values, the children going to college, the appreciation for jazz and art - all of these things reflected my upbringing. It was followed by others like Amen, A Different World and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. So why is it that in 2009, there are no black family dramas or sitcoms in primetime on any of the major networks? Sure, there is the "CW," the result of a merger between the UPN and the WB networks and TBS has a couple of Tyler Perry shows. But why is it that the major networks are still devoid of any black sitcoms or dramas? Cosby was “must see TV” in the 80s and this is where we are more than 20 years later?

Even BET or Black Entertainment Television fails to provide us with any intelligent or socially redeeming series (think Tiny & Toya – enough said). But then again, BET is no longer black owned, just as many of the radio stations these days (a fact in which I find myself taking pride as of late). Are black people less interested in our culture now? No. Do black people watch less television or listen to less radio today? No.

It seems we have reverted to the 70s, when the only black people we saw on TV were pimps, hookers, felons and clowns. “Jive Turkey!” has been replaced as a catchphrase and the over-sexualized black woman is again in fashion. Today’s youth hear profanity and nonsense on the radio at all hours of the day and night. Undercover Brother must have been right and we must have eaten "The General’s fried chicken" because the new part of the problem is that WE are condoning it, emulating it and aggrandizing it by celebrating songs, movies and videos that glamorize it.

Surely I missed the memo that said it was time for us as a race to begin behaving like the stereotypes and abandon the ingenuity, pride, dignity and resolve that characterized the civil rights movement and our history in general. I would neither appreciate nor accept a man calling me a “hoe, trick or biatch” in real time so why would I accept it in a song, movie or video? I WOULDN’T, but according to what we see in the media, I am obviously in the minority here - a side effect of too much scantily-clad booty shaking, no doubt (insert eye roll and sarcastic tone). It must be a directly related to the fact that my black man is not rough and tough enough to beat me into my right mind. He must need to sag his pants a little lower, don a fresh doo-rag and wifebeater and complete another 5-10 year bid in the state pen to set me right .

Our president spoke at the centennial anniversary of the NAACP and implored us to do better and demand better for ourselves, our children, our ancestors and our communities. My mother didn’t march in the 60s to be disrespected by young black men who choose not to benefit from her sacrifice and her commitment to the fact that her children would not know the same hardships and inequalities she did. No, she worked to eradicate barriers and although they still exist, we as a people are creating new obstacles as we shuck and jive ourselves back into the days of Jim Crow and second-class citizenry.

Wake up, people! Demand that Hollywood and the media put some clothes on black women and allow them to say more than "Uh huh!" "No you di'nt" and "You go Girl!" Analyze the lyrics you and your children hear and repeat, and determine whether or not they are in line with your morals and values! Instill in your children a strong work ethic and the desire to educate themselves and succeed in life - rather than "get rich or die trying.!" Look up the words “class” and “dignity” in the nearest dictionary or Google them if you don’t own a dictionary (then hang your head in shame for not owning one) and begin to emulate them, rather than this ridiculousness we currently accept as African-American culture. WE ONCE WERE KINGS. If we must turn back time, let’s turn it back far enough to teach our children to be royalty rather than wannabe thugs and comic relief.

Sadly, this message will be ignored. Why? Because the people who are reading this are already doing what needs to be done. The challenge is reaching the ones who are not.