Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 15 replies, 16 voices, and was last updated 21 years, 7 months ago by
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- Why are all-black groups, contests, publications, etc. (like BET, Jet Magazine and Miss Black America) considered OK when all-white equivalents (White Entertainment Television, Snow magazine or Miss White America) would be unacceptably racist? Don't all-black groups and media foster racism?
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Name : Shannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : York, State : PA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I'm glad you asked that question, Shannon, because my students ask it all the time, and I'm not sure how to answer it. One issue is that even though media outlets technically are open to people of all groups, in reality most TV is 'White TV.' How many people of color do you see nominated for Academy Awards? How many sitcoms, comic strips, movies do you see about people of color? They are the exceptions, by far. BET, entertainment awards for people of color, ethnic beauty contests, etc., are an attempt to give people of color recognition in a world where mostly only whites get recognition. I know the concept of BET seems as racist to you as 'WET' would be, but in order for this to be true, we would have to have a culture where all groups genuinely were treated equal. The fact is, white people in this culture have way more power than black people, and black people are not regarded very highly in or culture in many ways. Try to have some empathy for what it must be like to turn on the TV and constantly see people who are not like you, and you'll understand why there is a need to 'make up the difference' with things like BET.User Detail :
Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class,You don't even need to put the word 'white' into anything to sell it to whites, everything is already centered around whites! Go turn on your TV during primetime and all you'll see is white actors. Look in any magazine and all you'll see is white models, white celebrities. If you ever do see an ethnic person in a white show, it's usually an ethnic stereotype (Middle Eastern terrorist, Indian gas station attendant, Asian nerd/martial artist, black criminal, Native American shaman). Ethnic media is there to show people in a fair light.User Detail :
Name : Michelle20582, Gender : F, Race : Mixed - Chinese and White, Age : 17, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma,If there were a white entertainment television or snow magazine, I personally would not consider that to be racist. Racism is an action projected onto another person because they are a different race. To have a magazine or music station is not an action made against another because of the color of their skin. Furthermore, how many black artists do you see played on Country Music TV? Very few--if any. There are magazines which dont have any black people or writers in them. Again, I must stress, racism is an action projected on someone of another race simply because of the color of their skin. Magazines or televison channels which concentrate on a certain group are not displaying racism. They are simply catering to a certain group or culture. For example counry music tv caters to country music fans, BET caters to Hip-Hop and R&B fans. Essence magazine caters to working-class black women. This is not racist. So to answer your question, no, all black groups and media do not foster racism.User Detail :
Name : J.W., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Methodist, Age : 25, City : Springfield, State : OH Country : United States, Occupation : Customer Support Administrator, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Please do not confuse being pro-black with being anti-white. All-black groups and media do not foster hate for other ethnic groups, they instill pride among African Americans; pride in our culture, pride in our heritage, pride in what makes us unique. Many all-black entities were born out of frustration with the majority society's exclusion of our culture. Let's turn things around--If white females were barred from attending all colleges and universities, wouldn't it make sense that those females attempt to establish one of their own? Even if females are eventually admitted to any school, an all-female college would have its foundation in nurturing and instilling pride in being female. Thus females who choose to attend all-female colleges today may consider themselves pro-female, but not anti-male. The University of Virginia would not admit blacks after slavery ended, so Hampton University (a historically black college in Virginia-founded by a white General to educate freed slaves) was founded. MTV (White Entertainment Television) initially would not run black videos, so BET was born. The Saturday Evening Post (Snow Magazine) wouldn't cover black society, so Jet was born. And from 1921 to 1984 (when Vanessa Williams won) the Miss America Pageant was indeed the Miss White America Pageant, thus the Miss Black America pageant was created. By the way, we still have White Entertainment Television networks; they're called ABC, CBS, & NBC,.User Detail :
Name : Ted24677, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 43, City : Norfolk, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : Business owner, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Shannon, the first beauty contests weren't named 'Miss White America', they didn't have to be. Everybody understood that was all-white. African-Americans and other people of colour were not even allowed to enter through the front doors of the places where these contests were held! They couldn't even enter the contests, let alone win! In order for blacks were to win beauty contests and appear on the covers of magazines (and be featured positively in them), they had to come up with their own. Asian and Hispanic groups are now doing the same, coming up with their own. Black tv and black radio is often the only positive media exposure for African-Americans who are not celebrities like Colin Powell, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan or Whitney Houston. But that does not mean black media fosters racism, look at Oprah Winfrey, she's got people of all races on her show and that's a major reason why hers is one of the biggest names in ALL media today!User Detail :
Name : Endee25183, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Afro-Caribbean, Religion : Christian, Age : 28, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : writer, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Lower middle class,Black people make up 13% of the US population. Yet not even 13% of the contestants in the Miss America pageant are women of color. Therefore, Miss Black America was started initially because of blatant discriminiation, yet continues today because complete desegregation is still a long ways away. Also, how many black faces will you see on NBC? Most white people do not notice the sea of white skin on Prime Time TV, because their own lives tend to be seas of white skin. We do notice. That's why we complain, because mass entertainment by and large does not relate to our culture or speak to us, and does not reflect the diversity of this Nation. Asians are virtually invisible in popular entertainment, and Latinos still have to scratch and claw to get token positions. If it were not for the popularity and lengthy history of black music and culture among all peoples, black people would not be doing slightly better than other minorities in the entertainment world. That's why there is BET and Univision. Not only are we an untouched market, but we are ignored by our own television sets.User Detail :
Name : Dan27311, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 21, City : L.A. area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,Blacks hate racism when it's focused toward THEIR race, but it's funny, cool and accepted to be racist toward white people. I know from experience, and yes, I'm white, but I live near a large city in which I am surrounded by a lot of blacks.User Detail :
Name : John29306, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Detroit, State : MI Country : United States,While I don't condone any kind of racism, it's only natural for an oppressed people to backlash against their oppressors. It doesn't make it right, but it's human nature. Eventually I think that this will all even out and we'll all live 'happily ever after' but you still have white people who won't offer opportunities to blacks and that's why blacks need their own organizations. White men don't need their own organizations because the WORLD is their organization. When the world becomes a fair place for everyone... when women don't make $.87 for every $1 that a man makes for the same job... when black people realize that the best way to promote themselves in life is not to listen to blabbering rabblerousers, but rather to keep their families together and be strong enough to move up and onward no matter what the people of the world put in their path... then we can all have one big TV network... one big scholarship program... until then there is nothing wrong with giving a little bit of help to people who need it. If the black people in Detroit who were bothering you were college educated professionals, rest assured they'd be too busy working and raising cohesive families then to be bothering you. I don't get angry at that kind of behavior, I just think it's sad that people lead lives that force them to be so full of hate... black or white.User Detail :
Name : Danielle27249, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : Forked River, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Systems Analyst, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,I was asked this same question by a white student at my college. She asked me why is it that we have a Black Student Union, and isn't that racist? So I asked her the following questions. 1.) Do we excluded people of other ethnicities from our organization? The answer was no. In fact we have whites, asians and latinos who come to our meetings but it is understood that 'black issues' will be discussed during these meetings. 2.) Do we promote hate at our functions? The answer is no. We are not a hate based organization. Black organizations, and magazines, and television networks are needed because the mainstream media feels like they don't have to include people of other ethnicities. Therefore, what you call 'Black Media' is out there so that we can be recognized and our voice will be heard. White America is not willing to do that. And by the way, White Entertainment Television does exist (ABC,NBC,CBS). Basically, when someone saids that the only difference between black and white is skin color, I totally disagree. We deal with different issues and we need some sort of outlet to express that. Mainstream media will never understand or be able to explain the plight of 'Black America' , even if they attempted to. So we create our own media. Deal with it.User Detail :
Name : Melodie, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 21, City : Bronx, State : NY Country : United States,Were white people brought to this country against their will? Were the diverse and rich heritages and cultures they came from when brought here forcibly removed from their consciousness? Was there a concerted effort to teach these human beings to view themselves as inferior, and to accept that view from others? A view of self that persists today? Do white people live in a culture where they have had to fight to see themselves recognized, represented and treated equally? Do white people live in a culture where until recently, 'nude' stockings and 'flesh tone' crayons were a uniform shade completely different from most people they knew? Where their tastes, needs and opinions subjugated to those of blacks? I don't think so.I am sick of this convenient forgetfulness by white people who ask questions of this sort. It smacks of the viewpoint of a person who sees the world changing for the better, doesn't like it, so whines about sharing power for a change, in the hopes this will make things the way they were in the 'good ole' days.' Well, no friggin' chance!
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Name : Jennifer R., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Humanist, Age : 29, City : Saint Paul, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Writer/Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,No one is saying that it would be racist but you must admit that there is a lack of representation for the black community. These type of shows are here because everybody feels the need to be around, to communicate, and to see people who look like them. There is not this kind of problem for the majority. If it was Native American Entertainment Television instead of Black Entertainment Television, would you feel the same? I don't honestly think so. Help to change the system and you would see what really goes on.User Detail :
Name : Netta F., Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : Jacksonville, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : cosmetologist,There are media outlets specialized for black people because African/African-American culture is not fully recognized in mainstream media. There is a BET channel for the very reason that there are Spanish channels. Would you say that Spanish television is bad because it excludes English? No, because most of the other available TV channels are targeted to English-speaking audiences. The same type of argument can be applied to media targeted to black audiences. Black people are not just white people with darker skins. We have a unique culture that deserves attention just as much as the dominant culture presently bombarding us 24-7 via all forms of mass media. Enlighted people know that White Entertainment Television already exists. Among others, it owns NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX.User Detail :
Name : T.R., Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, City : Newark, State : NJ Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,When I was in the 5th grade I asked my teacher how come there's a Mother's Day and a Father's Day, but there's no Kid's Day? My teacher pointed out to me that every day is kid's day. I think that the answer to your question is along the same lines. There are no explicitly mentioned 'white' publications, stations, etc. because these groups are already all-white. Time, Newsweek, Miss America, NBC, among others cater primarily to white audiences. Prior to the civil-rights movement there was little or no mention of anything non-white in any form of media. (How soon we forget) If African-Americans did not create our own equivalents we would not be represented at all. This is why the NAACP recently spoke out against the television industry for underpresentation in theatrical programming. If there were a 'White Entertainment Television' would it differ at all from NBC, ABC, or CBS?User Detail :
Name : RH30365, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 27, City : Syracuse, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Law student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,As a black American, I think pro-black media (or whatever you want to call it) is dangerous. I find most of it offensive and some quite boring and tiring. But I never find it racist. The difference between the Miss Black America or Miss Latin American pageants and a White American Pageant is that whites don't have to fight for recognition as a group or culture. So why would they start doing it? Pro - 'anything' can become racist when you start putting down other races and exalting yours above others. There is nothing wrong with celebrating your heritage. Celebration happens for remembrance. There is nothing to remember in 'White America' because it's always there. We are always being reminded. How can anybody forget? And most minority groups celebrate just because of that: they are in the minority, endangered of easily being forgotten.User Detail :
Name : Erin, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 20, City : Fort Lauderdale, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Middle class,
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