"I Do See Color" weekly newsletter: Happy New Year!
Weekly newsletter 13: 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.
Writer’s note: It would’ve made sense for me to kick off this list with a New Year’s resolution post. I definitely talked about goals in the new year and stand by the ones I made for 2021. But I’m more interested in helping readers make money in 2023. So this time around, I’m kicking this list off with one of my “Homegrown Tales” posts, considering African-Americans are still more likely to be tenants than homeowners. I want that to flip and help us to get more residual income.
NEW! 1. Are Airbnb-friendly apartments the future for landlords? ~ Landlord bans Airbnb rentals? New option for tenants!
Long-term renters may be the ideal client for a landlord who doesn’t want to deal with a revolving door of tenants. But for aspiring landlords who have the patience for it, Airbnb’s apartment-friendly rentals may be the best way to let tenants know if they really have the heart to be a landlord.
2. When math class becomes a black history lesson ~ How to engage a distracted crowd of black students during the Black Lives Matter movement
Students who reported that mathematics, reading or science was their favorite subject or activity scored high on the 2015 NAEP assessment compared to students who reported less interest. More male than female students reported that mathematics and science were their favorite subjects and expressed more positive views of these subjects. More female students reported that reading was their favorite activity and expressed more positive views of reading.
And while it’s easy to come to the conclusion that boys like math more than girls, or that students who enjoyed any of these three topics may be “smarter” than others, there’s one school subject that doesn’t get explored enough. If it’s utilized more, it may be the bridge that helps both male and female students appreciate mathematics even more: social justice.
3. Yes, Millennials, the Holocaust actually happened ~ Almost 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, but we’re taking selfies
I took multiple selfies in front of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center. I made sure my hair was just right and my summer dress would flow in the wind, and I took gorgeous photos in front of what I viewed as a beautiful background, the Ferro Fountain of the Righteous. I saw nothing wrong with the idea. In retrospect, I wish Israeli artist Shahak Shapira caught wind of my selfies and blasted me the way he did these tourists. I should have known better in the first place, but I simply did not equate what I was doing as wrong.
4. Black book characters make black kids like me want to read more ~ Why Young, Black & Lit is onto something with its literature nonprofits
As a kid, I counted down the minutes until library book sales started in my elementary school. While I was definitely going to buy any Ramona books I could find and check out what was going on in Fear Street and Goosebumps books from R.L. Stine, I was really trying to dig up all the The Babysitter’s Club Super Specials. I had more than 100 The Babysitter’s Club books and at least 10 Super Specials, and I wanted to know what those babysitters were up to — specifically Jessica.
5. Yelp is calling out racist businesses ~ As an Elite member of Yelp, this is applaud-worthy
MAGA supporters are beside themselves in the comment section of Yelp’s latest tweets. Threats of lawsuits, pulling the race card, uninstalling the mobile app and deleting one’s account are just a few ways that they’re fighting back — against not letting businesses be racist. Sheesh! The audacity! Why can’t this review site that is fully intended to share customer reviews just let businesses be racist and racial profile all day long? It makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The damn politically correct crowds are out of hand, amiright?
6. The invisible visibility of black women and police ~ Roll the dice: Women and privilege, or black women and discrimination
There is a strange dynamic between black women and police officers. There are moments when we may as well be invisible, not seen as a threat, just a woman on-the-go. Then there are moments when we are seen as more black than we are women. Then there’s that third viewing, the complex dynamic when we are black women who are the family members, friends and bystanders around black men. Depending on the view, the treatment follows.
7. HBCU graduate: Trump assists with $85 million for HBCUs and I still despise him ~ Funding black colleges doesn’t change America’s history
In 2019, Trump did signed a bipartisan bill that would permanently provide $85 million per year of a $255 total to HBCUs, along with dozens of institutions teaching minority students. Per usual though, Trump cannot help himself and constantly compares whatever he did to what former President Barack H. Obama did. This time around, during that debate (and what I was hoping now-President Joe Biden would point out), he neglected to mention that in 2016, Obama proposed the creation of a $30 million Innovation for Completion Fund for HBCUs and Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIs) that would help students from low-income backgrounds.
8. Is it ‘not realistic’ or just not in your world? ~ Please stop saying positive black films and TV are unrealistic
“I don’t watch that show,” the 21-year-old brotha told me. “It’s not realistic.”
I raised an eyebrow at him, pondering on what exactly was so unrealistic about ABC’s “Black-ish.” Was it that the grandparents were living with one of their kids? That couldn’t be it. His first cousins had done that for many years. Was it that the kids were well-educated?
That couldn’t be it because the young, black man talking to me was noticeably well-spoken. Was it that the black couple were married? Nope, that wouldn’t work either because his own mother had just gotten married that same year. I’d worked in Public Relations and marketing for about two years and could say first-hand I’d had many experiences like Andre, boss included, so I know that wasn’t far off.
“Deuces” ~ “I Do See Color” newsletter’s bonus interviews:
1. "Comedian Damon Williams brings the 'funny' every first Saturday," Chicago Defender Online, June 17, 2009
(Note: If you’re in Virginia, Williams will be performing from Thursday to New Year’s Eve at the Richmond Funny Bone. Click here for details on 2022-23 tickets.)
Chicago comedian Damon Williams went from selling healthy meals at his Subway location to hearty comedy onstage.
"I sold my Subway already and closed it, so I had plenty of time on my hands and a couple of dollars," Williams told the Defender. "I went (to All Jokes Aside) for open mic. People dared me to try it, and I went in there. It went pretty well, so I kept going back."
2. "AfroFlow's Mike-E fights tobacco industry through music," Chicago Defender, May 19, 2009
(Note: Additional interviews with Mike-E and AfroFlow can be found here and here. Visit his Instagram page to hear his latest songs and activities.)
Afroflow artist Michael "Mike-E" Ellison got his heart broken about three minutes after I met him before the AfroFlow concert. At least that's what he told a DuSable Museum security guard when he saw her smoking. She looked at him apologetically as he talked about the tobacco industry being "financial fellatio" and "legalized genocide." His intensity (although polite) caught me a little off-guard from his otherwise charismatic personality.
I remembered seeing Mike-E first on HBO's "Def Poetry” during a humorous spoken word poem about being "Light Skin Did" about how light-skinned brothers had gone out of style. He was all smiles with the model poses you may have seen him use for a Pelle Pelle ad.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “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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