"I Do See Color" weekly newsletter: October 6, 2022
Enjoy the first edition of the weekly "I Do See Color" newsletter, a combination of race- and culture-related posts from "We Need to Talk," "I Do See Color," "BlackTechLogy" and "Window Shopping."
Welcome to the first “I Do See Color” newsletter (with a bonus section of two first-person interviews called “Deuces”).
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One paid Substack exclusive “I Do See Color” post each week.
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Each week, eight carefully selected posts will be chosen from my Medium “I Do See Color,” “We Need to Talk,” “BlackTechLogy” and “Window Shopping” publications that focus on culture, politics, health and race from a black (wo)man’s perspective.
1. Facial Recognition Has a Blind Spot ~ Melanin-biased software leaves a lot of room for error
Online shopping provides something retail stores usually don’t: personalization. When you log into a store’s smartphone app or website, the algorithms remember who you are; suggest what you’re most likely to purchase; highlight past purchases; and keep track of your favorite brands, sports teams or foods. Imagine being able to use that same personalization inside of a retail store with facial recognition. Your face is scanned as soon as you walk by a kiosk or camera. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, for people of color, it could potentially be just as stressful as the retail clerk who might be following them around a store.
2. Hosting 101: Learn speakers’ names ~ Toastmasters, don’t let memorizing odd names kick your butt
I worked for a temp agency one summer in Aurora, Illinois. Out of the entire team of 30 or so, who I regularly engaged with via email and in person, only five people could say my name correctly. The rest chose to not say it at all or just waved awkwardly when I greeted each of them by name. What really blew my mind was another temp, a photo editor of Asian descent, who told me flat out, “Listen, I have to remember the normal names first. I’ll just use a nickname for you.”
3. Black people: Don't skip the suntan lotion, identify the skin damage risks ~ Are black people more at risk of eczema?
As of two weeks ago, summer has come to a close. But for brown-skinned people who live in hot-weather climates, summer is all year long. With that perk comes the need to decrease sun damage on our skin. While I can only speak for myself, purposely sitting in one spot to “tan” is unnecessary. I could just hang out at a nearby beach for an hour or two reading a book and come back a different shade. But I, along with entirely too many other people of color, have never used suntan lotion.
4. What do vegetarians eat? Visit vegan food festivals to find out ~ My 18-year transition from omnivore to “accidental vegetarian” to 15 straight years of vegetarianism
What people don’t tell you about going vegetarian (or vegan) is you can gain a lot of weight if you’re not careful. You don’t hear about the Vitamin D loss from not eating dairy or where to get B12. I had a fainting spell coming home from my first editing job and thought, “Forget it. I’m eating meat again. I can barely walk a few blocks.” And it wasn’t like there were a whole lot of African-American vegetarians around to tell me how to make vegan soul food. At that time, Beyonce wasn’t showing us how to make vegan meals, and I was just guessing my way through it all.
5. What Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty show should’ve taught Victoria’s Secret ~ This Victoria’s Secret customer is reevaluating her shopping choices
Uncomfortable, ill-fitting bras are right up there with unknown particles on my contact lenses; it will mess up my entire day. With a jeans size that has ranged from a 6 to 12 over the years, I can still wear everything from yoga pants to hoodies to undergarments from Victoria’s Secret franchise. So there was a sense of entitlement when I’d hear women complain that Victoria’s Secret didn’t carry their sizes. My response was always the same: “Why not just buy stuff from other companies that do sell your size?” But watching Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty show made me reevaluate that flippant “Just go somewhere else” mindset.
6. I Do See Color (Window Shopping EXCLUSIVE): For the ‘Love’ of Chicago: Restaurateur feeds homeless ~ Black-owned Chicago restaurant fights for social change, healthy meals
Strolling through the front door of Chicago restaurateur Quentin Love’s Turkey Chop has a little extra flavor. In addition to framed interviews with major newspapers, artwork and words of wisdom, one wall in particular confirms this isn’t your average restaurant. There’s a painting of Willie Lynch housing projects; Harriet Tubman; handcuffed arms holding the shape of the United States of America in red, white and blue; a green outline of Africa; a man hanging from a tree; an open book of the Emancipation Proclamation; a puff of black smoke coming out of a pipe placed next to a can and a bottle; and brown faces behind a prison cell. The food menu says “socially conscious” in big letters, and it’s clear that this restaurant stands by its words.
7. I wrap my hair, deal with it! ~ The odd responses to black women who wear head wraps and scarves
I stood in the bathroom mirror with my wide-toothed comb, and my hat lay close by on the sink. As I got ready to comb my hair into a swirl that perfectly wrapped around my head, a woman (white, maybe in her late 50s) came out of the bathroom and froze in place. While I’m sure she was initially headed to the sink to wash her hands, she just didn’t seem to understand what I was doing. I made eye contact with her in the mirror, initially to give a friendly “hello” with my eyes. But eye contact turned into gawking, and my eyes narrowed. The simple flick in my eyes made her remember her purpose, and my eyes followed her until she left the bathroom. I went back to wrapping my hair.
8. Know the end goal first before joining any activism group ~ When marching and protesting don’t add up to results
When I read the temporary results of a criminal trial, I bought a bus ticket shortly after. I knew I wanted to go to this particular city and vent my frustration regarding the judge’s decision. I knew I wanted to donate funds to get one particular gentleman out of prison. And I knew I wanted to go to the local courthouse to figure out what exactly was going on — because the news just wasn’t covering it enough for my taste. (It was the very first time I ever decided to cover a news story myself — long before I knew I had any interest in journalism.)
“Deuces” ~ “I Do See Color” newsletter’s bonus interviews:
1. Homegrown podcast: Meet Johnetta Paye, Esq., of J. Paye & Associates ~ Step 3 to homeownership: Find a real estate attorney who speaks your communication style
When you’re getting ready to sign off on a six-figure agreement, the last thing you should be OK with doing is not understanding what the legal documents say. First-time homeowners have a lot of unfamiliar documents coming at them all at once, and the mile-high stack of paper that is placed in front of them on Closing Day may feel like it’s never going to diminish. But working with a real estate attorney who will prepare you throughout the homebuying process significantly helps.
2. Barry Brewer: Chicago comedian keeps us laughing ~ Actor/comedian gives tips on humorous public speaking for Toastmasters
Where should public speakers, specifically funny public speakers, go to find inspiration to boost their moods? Chances are pretty high that if you’re into humor writing and public speaking, you gravitate toward other funny people. This includes professional comedians. In honor of Toastmasters creating their newest Pathways option “Engaging Humor,” this Q&A interview was completed with one of Chicago’s own: stand-up comedian Barry Brewer, who you may know from BET’s “Games People Play” or Tyler Perry’s “Bruh.”
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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