"I Do See Color" weekly newsletter: March 29, 2023
Weekly newsletter 26: Combination of race- and culture-related posts from "We Need to Talk," "I Do See Color," "BlackTechLogy" and "Window Shopping"
Welcome to the “I Do See Color” newsletter (with a bonus section of two first-person interviews called “Deuces”).
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Each week, eight carefully selected posts will be chosen from Substack’s “I Do See Color,” “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “Homegrown Tales” and “Window Shopping,” along with “We Need to Talk,” which focus on culture, politics, health and race from a black (wo)man’s perspective.
NEW! 1. Do white women think black women are lying about racism? ~ The question on 'Beyond the Scenes' that left me speechless
Have you ever seen an episode of “Jeopardy” with a question about predominantly black people and none of the contestants know the answer? I’m falling all over my seat yelling out the answer, and it’s crickets on the set of the show. That’s how I feel every single time Comedy Central wonders who should be their next host after comedian/author Trevor Noah left the show after seven years.
Roy Wood Jr. is the obvious answer to me (followed by a few others). Why? I love “Beyond the Scenes.” I’ve watched every single episode of the spinoff of “The Daily Show.” It’s not just that he’s as witty and intelligent as he is funny—depending on the day, he may lean in harder on one of these other three. It’s that he knows how to perfectly ask and answer questions without losing his shit.
NEW! 2. If the job requires a non-compete clause, proceed with caution ~ Why California, Oregon and Nevada got it right to make non-compete clauses illegal
The auto dealer showed me one of the nicest cars in the lot, took me out for a test drive and broke down the entire way EVs run. I was drowning in information that needed to be put on paper. I raced out of the dealership and told him I’d send him a copy of the news clip as soon as it was published.
I wrote the story, included photographs of the car dealer, and a flood of stats on black people as car buyers and environmentalism. Voila! I was proud to turn in my story. Womp womp. The editor still turned it down. He told me he didn’t want to “hear another word” about EVs and he would never publish anything about them. Although a little startled by the snippiness, I shrugged and said, “OK.” The next day, I found out a freelancing company I worked for before I got this job was interested in my auto story. I submitted it. It was accepted. Readers instantly started clicking and reading it.
3. The weird hierarchy game of HR and race ~ The chicken costume that made me give up on contacting HR
Human Resources has always been a peculiar space in Corporate America — for me. Sometimes it is a safe ground where employees can air their grievances, and the HR rep will play the mediator between subordinate and supervisor. Then there’s the time my workplace report was greeted by an HR rep, who pulled out his smartphone to show me his friend wearing a chicken costume and told me I needed to learn to “play the game.”
4. I have no love for R. Kelly, but I’m blasting Marvin Gaye forever … and Kendrick Lamar ‘Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers’ — while ignoring Kodak Black
There are two artists who you’ll never get a pass for insulting around me: author/poet Langston Hughes and singer Marvin Gaye. In my first apartment fresh out of college, I had a massive poster of Hughes greeting visitors as soon as they walked by my front door. The same energy happens in my current home with Marvin Gaye — but in a photograph one-fourth of that size.
So when I read this tweet, I was in fight mode immediately. The tweet says, “Y’all listen to Marvin Gaye!? He had a whole baby by a 15 year old” in response to anti-R. Kelly listeners.
5. Black Lives Matter tattoos: Would you hire an applicant with this tat? ~ Is hiding your tattoo hiding your political stance?
Imagine walking into a job interview knowing that 49.39% won’t take you seriously if they see your tattoo. Reading that poll result from Workopolis caught me a little off guard. It’s not that I’m unaware some people don’t like tattoos. It’s more that the average person I meet these days has at least one tattoo, so I’ve grown pretty desensitized to seeing them. I also don’t care if someone has a tattoo. In 2020, I hired 10 people after interviewing at least 20, and I can guarantee you that body art didn’t phase me.
In all fairness, there are a couple of reasons for that. The first, and probably most important, reason is that I have a tattoo — technically I have five tattoos. They’re just all in the same spot. I got so many cover-ups in the same spot that my grandfather used to call me “Etch A Sketch” and a former co-worker called me “ComEd” (electricity company in Chicago) for getting laser surgery so much. I didn’t want a bunch of tattoos all over the place, so I’d just redo the same tattoo over and over again when I didn’t like it.
6. My job: The comedy pilot that never got picked up ~ Fact: ‘Abbott Elementary’ is as delightful as ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’
Ifyou haven’t watched Quinta Brunson in ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” you’re missing out. As much as I pouted about her leaving the equally funny “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” I knew Quinta was onto something as soon as I saw the duo sketch between her and Tyler James Williams on “ABLSS.” I didn’t know the star of “Everybody Hates Chris” could pull off a starring role, but he’s killing it, too.
And as much as I’m laughing through “ABLSS,” I’m having “I feel attacked” moments because I’ve lived this life — even though I’m not an elementary school teacher. Here are the top five moments I have had in real life that rival what’s happening on the show.
7. Ellen Pompeo said ‘people of color are magical’ — but Denzel is a ‘motherfucker’ ~ Why I side-eye people gushing over black people way too hard
“People of color are magical,” Ellen Pompeo said on an episode of “Red Table Talk” at the 12:44 mark. She went on to describe POCs as “mystical and powerful and beautiful and spiritual and strong and excellent at what they do.”
I’m guessing her views of being a “fan” of the “black experience” were supposed to be complimentary, but I could feel smoke blowing through my ears and nose. The more she talked, the more annoyed I became. At one point, my eyes rolled so far into the back of my head that I had to pull them off my shoestrings. That “Red Table Talk” interview just never sat right with me. Something in the nonstop gushing felt condescending, like she was playing to the hosts — Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne “Gammy” Banfield-Norris. I’d stopped regularly watching “Grey’s Anatomy” several years ago.
8. Payday loan companies deserve karma repayments ~ When overcharging a predatory lender brought me great joy
I asked do they target low-income communities. To no one’s surprise, I got a song and dance about how people should pay their interest and initial borrowing amount on time if they agree to the loans. Once again, I don’t think payday loan companies realize — or maybe they do? — just how desperate someone has to be to borrow from them.
So I gave the company my rate, and it was double the amount I usually charge for the same word count at my minimum hourly rate. The client told me that they couldn’t afford my rate, it was out of their budget and they wanted to pay less. My response? “So do the people who borrow loans from your company.”
“Deuces” ~ “I Do See Color” newsletter’s bonus interviews:
1. M&M Products Director Will Williams on razor bumps and Bump Patrol cream ~ Tips for men and grooming, proper shaving techniques
Finding a shaving cream or a razor that gets rid of unwanted hair but doesn’t leave your chin and neck looking like San Francisco hills can be a challenge. Some shaving creams are so powerful that they can make your skin break out. Men (and women) find it easier and cheaper to just use soap and water instead of all the fancy products.
Will Williams, a 30-year master barber and master colorist, is the Director of Education and New Product Development for M&M Products. He also agreed to share his grooming expertise with Shamontiel, the Chicago Black Hair & Health Examiner, about why Bump Patrol (an M&M Product) eliminates both issues.
2. “IT Entrepreneur Adamant That Chicagoans Learn To Start Their Own Businesses,” CBS Chicago, February 2, 2015
According to The New York Times, double majors rose to 70 percent between 2001 and 2011. But what happens to students who only take one major and find themselves very successful at something they never imagined they'd be doing? That was the case for Mike McGee. His interest in technology is what made him do a 180 with his degree in political science and become the co-founder of The Starter League.
"When I was at Northwestern I was involved with a lot of extracurricular activities, and I worked on issues to try to improve the quality of life for students," said McGee. "I learned that I was really passionate about solving problems for other people. The more I moved on into my undergraduate career I met more people. That's how I got started with a start-up on the entrepreneurial side."
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote,” “Tickled,” “We Need To Talk” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday.
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