Thursday, March 09, 2006

The Skin I'm In...

This week a new reality television show debuts on the FX Networks. It's called Black. White. The premise is that two families switch roles in terms of color. A white family , through the magic of technology and major makeup will go about life as black people and a black family will go through life as white people. This social experiment hopes to prove that race matters in America.. I would hope that they are doing it to seek solutions also....

I have been working with the project a little as they are advertising it on our radio station. It has evoked water cooler discussions, observations and political commentary. For me, being the deep thinker that I am, I have been analyzing this series and trying to come up with a sense of why the producers want to do this and what will it really prove... The foundation of the experiment is similar to a book my mom gave me when I was a young lad... Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. This book chronicles the experiment of Mr. Griffin as he underwent treatments to turn himself into a black man (or, negro as we were called in those days) His journey takes place in a entirely different time and culture. 1959 -1964 in the deep south was not the most friendly place for a brotha... Mr. Griffin reasoned that to really understand what the Negro was going through, one had to become a Negro. He further reasoned that a simple interview of the Negro would not reveal the truth because the Negro had learned that if he told a white man a truth that the white man did not like, it could be hazardous to his health.

Black Like Me is a poignant examination of race relations in the Deep South - the JIM CROW deep south. It was a shocking expose to my mind as we did not have Jim Crow here in California, but leave it up to my parents, they wanted me to understand what black folk were going through in other parts of the country. They wanted me to be a part of the future of hope, of success, of inspiration, succeeding in the wake of the Movement. That's why I got books given to me from Ebony, I had to read Native Son by Richard Wright....

Fast Forward to present time. I am kind of curious about this Black. White. series. Will it really show the racial idiosyncracies that exist even though our generation tries to ignore them? But then again, how can a television show really display what it's like to be in the skin I'm in?

Me, I walk with confidence. I speak well. That's sometimes a surprise to white folk as I get the ol' "Oh he speaks so well" and the ol' "he talks like a white boy" from my own people. I think I write well. I'm educated.... But, from time to time, I am reminded that I am still a black man in America. You know, like the time when you go into a Macy's to shop and suddenly you feel as though you are being followed, look around and yup, security is on you... Or when you go into the same Macy's and the sales associates pass you by to assist white customers. Or my all time black man in America adventure. I was in New York on a business trip. I stayed in the Omni in Manhattan. I had a day full of meetings and presentations with major advertising agencies. Got up, got my best suit on, went out the front door to hail a cab, and this lady who was checking into the hotel comes up to me and says, "boy, take my bags to the front desk".....

But, it's not just white folk who stumble on racist blunders, we do it to ourselves. Just the other day, I was shopping for a new shirt. I was at Bloomingdales in the Beverly Center. Had my suit on, you know, it was a work day... Sister comes up to me flustered because no one had come to help her.. "Don't you see me waiting here for assistance? I need...." I cut her off, "relax, lady, I don't work here".... Or even this past Saturday, when we were preparing for the Soul Train Awards, I was in Gelson's an upscale grocery store, buying flowers and the stuff to dress our booth with. This Gelson's was in the new Pasadena Mall, very chic, upscale... Black lady comes along in line behind me, looks at me from head to toe and instead of engaging me to ask what was going on, she asks the white clerk, "He's got a lot of fancy stuff there, what's he doing?"

I don't know what 'Black. White.' hopes to prove. All I know is that even when we would hope that we have moved away from biases, racism and prejudice, something happens that reminds us that Race Matters in America. But not just white on black. We do it to ourselves. We promote negative images that some folk are more than happy to help us get to the world stage.Our biggest cultural heroes are pimps, gangbangers, dope dealers. Cultural fashion and trends always seem to promote backwardness. We hate each other so much so that groups that are racist and hate us don't have to do anything to get rid of us, we are doing it to ourselves.
But how does Black. White. hope to solve problems? I mean my skin is my skin. God gave this to me. I can't hide it, I can't pass. Because I'm a child of God, and this is the skin he gave me, I walk proud. This is no makeup job by some hi-tech Hollywood studio, this is God's work. But when I walk in the door, or get on the elevator and the lady clutches her handbag, or bristles uncomfortably, that's real and has been apart of life all my life. Will the show demonstrate those types of life's elements or gloss it over....? I ask how can you really tell what it's like being black in a matter of weeks? It does not equate to a lifetime of moving about America as a black man. You can take that makeup off. It's an act, a game.. but being black is not a game. And then, how do we as viewers really get a sense of what the experience was like when the producers are picking and choosing what they want us to see? So the results of this social experiment are not objective conclusions, they are biased results based on what the producers think will make good television. This is not real life.

I guess we should give the producers some credit for trying to shed light on an old problem. I hope there are some redeeming solutions in thier presentation. But in the end, we are going to have to get over it and embrace ourselves as human beings, God's children. We need to love the rainbow of colors that we come in. For me, Haile Selassie said it best - "That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained...

ahhhh, the skin I'm in......

And the Oscar Goes to....

"It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp!!!"

Wow. I can appreciate the Academy's need to display the diversity that is filmmaking. I really saw it this year, in thier images, in thier marketing, even in the way they ran the awards show.... but I cannot for the life of me wrap my brain around the hub bub of Hustle and Flow. The film's lead Terrence Howard got a nomination for best actor and the film's central song received the Oscar for Best Song...

Yup, It's hard out here for a pimp... so maybe someone can tell me how did the "sportin'' life" gain so much popularity? How does the mack game gain prominent standing in mainstream America? Does this mean the primary representation of the Urban African American Lifestyle is the Pimp? I mean all the popular songs that crossover to mass audiences are talking about pimpin', gangbanging, drug slanging, booty slappin'.... Ludicrous, (who, by the way, gets my vote for the sharpest dressed in his Armani tuxedo,) was part of Hustle and Flow. He was also in Crash... the Academy recognized both of those films with nominations and even wins (Crash won for Best Picture). Last year, Luda's top single was "Pimpin' all over the World"... a number one smash...

I was actually shocked when the Three Six Mafia took the stage with Taraji Henson to perform "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp"..It was performed in typical Academy Award style with dancers theatrically trying to emulate street walkers and pimps.. Taraji Henson was really feeling it and she was belting out that song like she had caught the holyghost. At the end of the song, she took center stage and screamed the chorus in a finish that was supposed to be grand and explosive.... Ok, so here's a graduate of one of the most prestigious African American Universities (Howard), who's struggled and achieved at tremendous levels to get to where she is today, and finally gets to the stage on her craft's biggest night and her defining moment is screaming at the top of her lungs "It's Hard Out Here for a PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMP!"

Yes, George Clooney, this is the same Academy you so eloquently described in your acceptance speech that presented Hattie McDaniel with an Oscar at a time when blacks still had to sit in the back of the theater (I wonder did Hattie have to enter through the rear on the night of her Oscar or did she walk the Red Carpet), but this is also the same Academy that has taken the lowest common denominator of black life and issues and rewarded those portrayals with it's highest honor. A couple of years ago, I was so proud that Denzel won the Oscar, but I had to agree with the pundits who questioned why for his role in Training Day as opposed to Malcolm X, Hurricane Carter, Antwoine Fisher, among others.... I agree with the questions of Halle Berry's win.. just because the imagery in her film was so strong and struck a deep nerve in the black community that the general market will never understand....

I was actually extremely surprised at Terrence Howard's nomination. Oddly enough, I liked the film, but it took me a while to tear away the layer that judged the character and embrace the core story... Pimpin ain't easy and Terrence Howard's character needed to get out of the game so that he could become a whole person.... The story was good, the plot developed well in the technical sense of cinema storytelling, but how did it make it to the nominations of the Academy Awards?

...and in a weird sense, I am kind of proud of Three Six Mafia. They probably had no idea, no expectation that they would win the Oscar. That's why thier jubilation was off the chain... And you wanna know something else? they were the ONLY ones who said Thank God, Thank You Jesus! I mean that has gotta matter somewhere,eh?

But Pimpin' ain't easy, and it seems to me that the Academy just pimped us by reinforcing and celebrating negative stereotypes of the black male as a hedonistic, woman abusing, criminal. Just as long as y'all play those types of roles, you know, keep it urban. Crime, violence, cussing, ghetto lifestyle.. that's what will get you the accolades. That's what will get you success. In the meantime, we'll just keep your schools inadequate because you really don't need to know how to speak English or write well, just get out there and pimp and deal drugs to your community and we'll reward you with millions of dollars, lavish lifestyles and even an Academy Award! We don't want the stories about the brotha who's working hard to keep his family together, that's boring... Let's promote the film about someone who's irresponsible lifestyle is choking the life out of your communities. We'll throw significant budget behind the making of this film and if it's even halfway good, we'll give you a nomination.

It's the image of the black male criminal that is placed in mass media the world over. If you travel to foreign countries, the folk look at you strange when they see you're not what they see on videos and in movies. You are not a pimp, thug, gang banger..... Blacks are gaining more and more ground in the promotion of our images, but why is the criminal taking prominence?

At the same time, are we really the keepers of our own images? Are we the central motor for pushing the pimp image on the mass market? Are we responsible for shining a light on a low form of the community and glorifying it?

It's hard out here for a pimp........ Would Hattie McDaniel be proud?