"I Do See Color" weekly newsletter: March 1, 2023
Weekly newsletter 22: 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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Now let’s get into the weekly newsletter!
Each week, eight* carefully selected posts will be chosen, which focus on culture, politics, health and race from a black (wo)man’s perspective.
NEW! 1. 'Dilbert' creator goes on stupid rant about equally stupid survey ~ Is it OK to be white? Or, is this the world's most unproductive survey question?
More than two decades later, I’m constantly reading research papers, doing background checks and reading surveys on a regular basis, voluntarily and by profession. And I can always spot counterproductive facts and survey results when I see them.
In recent news, that would be Rasmussen Reports. The national survey of 1,000 adults is at the top of the list of one of the most unproductive, gaslighting surveys there is.
First question: “Do you agree or disagree with this statement: ‘It’s OK to be white.’"
Second question: “Do you agree or disagree with this statement: ‘Black people can be racist, too.’”
And while Scott Adams, the cartoonist behind “Dilbert,” went on a rampage about the survey results, declared black people are a hate group, white people should “get the hell away from them” and hundreds of newspapers dropped his strip, I’m left thinking a more important question: “Who was ridiculous enough to take this survey in the first place?”
2. NEW! Men versus women: Why do men hate single-women songs so much? ~ Silence in marriage, celebration of singles
There’s a common belief that single women are anti-man and anti-marriage. Not the case. And the only people who keep insisting this is the case are either married people who are obsessed with everyone else being married (and having kids three seconds later) or single men who have a gripe against single women.
Interestingly, this gripe often comes up in the form of music, most recently Ciara’s new song “For Da Girls.” The songstress rhymes, “This is for the girls getting money. This is for the girls that don’t need no man. This is for the girls that’s in love with they [sic] self. This is for all the girls that done did it by they [sic] self.”
I have no qualms with the song, but I was not surprised when a man immediately spoke about the song. Meanwhile, can you name (and sing) three songs on Usher Raymond’s “Here I Stand” — a dedication to his then-wife? Now how about his single-as-fawk songs on “8701” and “Confessions”?
3. Needles, thread and a lesson in racism ~ African Heritage Day in fashion design class taught me yet another lesson I didn’t want to learn
I was excited for African Heritage Day at my high school. When our high school was supposed to show up in African attire, I picked the obvious fashionista to help me create an outfit. I knew I’d be impressed by all the color ensembles from my peers, but it was my fashion design class that I was really looking forward to — for obvious reasons. We didn’t even have to buy anything if we didn’t want to. I made shirts, pants, jackets, and sewed so many buttons and pockets on things that I lost count.
But there was one girl who came into our class and put us all to shame. She had on a beautiful form-fitting dress in damn near every color in a Crayon box, print heels, and a head wrap covering her forehead and “kitchen” area.
4. If you’re not from the ghetto, stop talking about ghetto lifestyles ~ Every all-black neighborhood is not the hood
I was sitting in a newsroom brainstorm meeting when a Features Editor made that comment. Up until that moment, I’d been pretty neutral on her. She would’ve been classified as the “white woke” type, who loved Common and was from the LGBTQ+ community. I expected her to know better before the words came flying out of her mouth, especially at work. However, someone made a suggestion about a feature article (on either home decor or fashion), and she snickered and said, “That’s kinda ghetto.”
5. “Missing black girl” stories underreported: Are reporters to blame? ~ The newsroom incident that made me want to quit working in media
When people blame “the media” for everything wrong with the world, my initial impulse is to defend. Why? I worked in traditional newsrooms for several years before joining the online journalism world as both a full-time writer and editor. Blaming “the media” can be too broad of a stroke; there are members of the media who care about what the same complaining readers do. Don’t blame all of us for some of us. But there have been some moments in a newsroom that have made it hard to defend the industry, one of which describes the phrase that has started trending again: missing white woman syndrome, coined by Gwen Ifill.
6. Can racism take a break from Netflix travel shows? ~ What you really don’t like about “The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals” is the hosts are not white
I was pleasantly surprised to see the cast of “The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals.” They didn’t look like the type of travel writers I saw while working in the Features Department. For a short time, I wrote travel blogs for one newspaper, but it focused on budget tips instead of a travel experience. I was bored and quickly moved on to editing travel feature stories instead. The in-house writers? All white, all male.
But this cast of “The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals” was made up of a Brazilian woman, a Filipino woman and a Puerto Rican man, full of personality, funny, charming, gorgeous and everyday people I’d love to travel with — minus Luis D. Ortiz’s obsession with meditating in ice cold water. He will never not ever convince me that this is a fun thing to do, although co-host Jo Franco and Megan Batoon seemed to tolerate it.
7. Black family taunted with monkey noises by neighbors ~ Racist neighbor keeps cameras, lights, monkey noises playing as revenge tactic
While my downstairs racist neighbor ended up snotty nosed and apologizing after a face-to-face conversation, and then moving out, I pondered on whether I would have had that same feet-firmly-in-place stance had I owned that condo instead of it being a condo rental. Hearing the story of Jannique Martinez is making me wonder what I’d do in her shoes.
Whenever this black family leaves their homes, lights and cameras are on them and then monkey noises play. They’ve been harassed like this for a full year, and her son is scared of the neighbor. A small part of me cheers them on for refusing to allow this neighbor to run them out of the neighborhood. Unlike me, she and her husband are military veterans who have kids. Prior to buying my current home, I could move at the drop of a hat and shrug off the security deposit. This story is a little different.
8. NEW! If you enjoy firing people, please don’t work in HR ~ “Roy’s Job Fair” brought up two types of HR people —only one of which we need more of
I’ve lost count of the number of people who I’ve hired as interns, contractors and/or employees. I’ve worked in middle management. I’ve been on a condo board. I’ve been the lead editor of a few publications. In all of the above, I’ve been in charge of hiring people or companies. And every time I find (who I think is) a winner, I’m the equivalent of these two women above. I’m ecstatic. I want this company or person to work out. I’m hoping I can bring the hiring process to a close and have a solid team.
Unfortunately, I’ve been off the mark a few times and then ended up being this lady (below), realizing I have to cut ties and be a hiring manager all over again in hopes of getting the next one right.
“Deuces” ~ “I Do See Color” newsletter’s bonus interviews:
1. “Being A Rebel Leads A Chicago Psychiatrist To His Career,” April 13, 2015, CBS Chicago
Pointing out flaws from a trainer or mentor doesn't always bode well for students, but in a life-or-death situation, sometimes rules must be broken.
"This guy had gotten shot, and we needed to figure out whether his intestines perforated," said Dr. Carl Bell. "I had seen one of our teachers making a mistake and I called him on it. I was respectful, but [he gave me] a dirty look because you're not supposed to question your teacher in medical school."
After that incident, one of his peers told Dr. Bell, who was a medical student at the time, that he was "crazy" for doing so. Being accused of terms like "crazy," "arrogant" and "bold" were nothing new to a young Dr. Bell, and he believed these traits would come in handy in the medical field.
2. “Chicago Lawyer Helps Fashion Meet Law,” April 13, 2015, CBS Chicago
Fashion designers are always on their guard for the fashion police. Sometimes they take on both roles. Although what's fashionable may be a matter of opinion, it's fashion lawyers that manage the apparel facts: customs, domestic and international business law, intellectual property, labor laws, licensing and trademarks.
For lawyers interested in apparel and branding, the combination creates a unique opportunity.
"When I was in undergrad, I started out as a fashion major," said Shara Kamal, Esq. "I was quickly told, 'No, that's a hobby. Don't focus on that. Do something that's going to make money.'"
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