America in a cycle...of racism?

In my American Studies class today in school, we talked about the use of black slaves on the labeling of tobacco products, perhaps as a means to sell it to the English market. But the use of black images to reinforce white privilege was not just a product of the 1600s.

During Michael Jordan’s reign as king of the NBA in the 1990s, Nike and other sponsors used visual representations of his black muscle to make millions. The way Jordan has his defined arms stretched out resembles the Vesuvian Man drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. The symmetry shown by Jordan connects to da Vinci’s perfectly proportioned human specimen. Although there is no denying that Jordan is the ideal athlete, is there a subtext to this ad that is unsettling?

Historically, the black slaves who were in peak physical shape were valued highest at slave auctions. Jordan’s image, at least at some level, suggests that America might not have progressed as much as we think it has. Just as blacks were objectified on tobacco packaging by showing that slaves were the fuel that kept the settlers in business, corporations such as Nike were using black muscle like Jordan’s to fuel their profits as well. Think about it: how often do you see black men portrayed as intellectuals in modern advertising?

Over the past few weeks, a couple of appallingly racist ads were released and quickly dropped. A Mountain Dew commercial featured a badly injured white woman and a police lineup featuring five black men and a goat. When I saw the article, I did a double take, unwillingly to believe that a major company like PepsiCo would release an ad like this:

As if that weren’t bad enough, a Uni-Ball ad showed an extremely muscular black man in a jail cell reading a letter from one of his “homies.” Here is a snippet of the letter:

What up, homie. It’s wack that 5-0 bust you shifting bricks of da funky buddha. . . .  But word up, me and my homie T-Bone, we got a hood snitch up in the pen. We gon’ cut you loose like a noose, my dukes. And you be chillin’ in the crib knocking boots with some hoodrats. Gotta bounce, dawg.

In addition to exploiting the mass incarceration of black men in America, this ad and letter portrays a stereotype about blacks that they are lawbreakers and cannot speak. You don’t usually hear folks in Winnetka calling someone a “hood snitch” or even uttering the words “da funky buddha.” However, the management of Uni-Ball felt it fitting in the context of their commercial, degrading blacks and making them seem inferior to articulate white America.

Why do you think black muscle sells in America?

Latinos fill the role of blacks?

Yesterday night, I caught a 10:10 showing of The Great Gatsby movie. I thought it was a solid film, not excellent. One component of the movie that stuck out to me was the contrast between the rich white class and the poor blacks. It definitely sought out to explicitly show the disparity between whites and blacks in the 1920s America.

Tonight, on Mother's Day, I had dinner at my country club, the Glen View Club. I could not help but notice the overwhelming amount of employees who were Latinos. It made me think about the increasing amount of Mexicans and hispanics immigrating (legally or illegally) to America.

Just as blacks came to America during the ages of Slavery, granted unwillingly, this generation of working class Americans seems to be composed largely of Latinos. An article from the Center for American Progress shows how "only about one in six employed Latinos above the age of 25 holds a college degree, which is less than half the portion of employed whites."  Latinos seem to be stuck in a position inferior to whites as shown by the lack of higher education. This is similar to blacks in the 1920s, many of whom served for the rich white like in The Great Gatsby.

This ties back to implicit racism that might still exist in America. I think a slave owner-slave dynamic between whites and blacks exists in professional sports such as the NBA, which I wrote a large paper on in my American Studies class in high school. There could also be this dynamic with whites and latinos in country clubs and other situations where white America enjoys the service of working class America.

Why does "White America" stay exclusive and continue to suppress minorities? What does it say about America?

An evolution in sports, but not in religion

As most have heard, earlier this week Jason Collins, NBA player for the Washington Wizards, openly came out as gay. He is the first player to come out in the "Big 4" sports in America (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL), making it a monumental step forward for gay rights and acceptance.  Sports are generally considered masculine, and a stereotype of gay people is that they are fluffy and not tough. So, with Jason Collins coming out as gay, this can hopefully help change that stereotype.

However, gay rights are not accepted in many churches, making the issue more complex. An article from USA Today talks about how LeRoy Butler of the Green Bay Packers gave support to Collins through a tweet, and in turn a Wisconsin church revoked Butler's event he was set to speak at.

The tweet from Butler was "Congrats to Jason Collins," a nice nod to a player who took a risk for a greater cause. The Wisconsin church, which remains unnamed, immediately told Butler if he did not apologize to God and take back his congratulation, he would have to pay a $8500 fine and his event would be cancelled. Butler said no.

I am a Christian myself, but the response of this church is ridiculous in my opinion. I like to think of myself, as well as other Christians, as being open and loving people. I have been taught that everyone is loved by God, and the response of this church is out of line in my humbled opinion.

Gay rights is the next big social movement in America, and hiccups like this show that not everyone is in favor of the movement. Jason Collins is a brave man, coming out in the testosterone heavy world of sports, and LeRoy Butler did the right thing too by not taking back his comment. Religion needs to evolve, and discriminating against gays is not a step in the right direction.
 

The Right Means for Social Mobility?

Differences can be noted when discussing the desires and motives of black and white families in America. In my American Studies class last week, my teacher Mr. Bolos brought up provocative statistics from an NPR story by Frank Deford titled, "The Pitch for More No. 42s". He goes on to explain how while 56 percent of college football players and 64 percent of college basketball players who are from the "Big 6" power conferences (Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Pac-12, and Big East) are black, only 2.8 percent of college student bodies are composed of male African-Americans. 2.8 Percent.

Deford also talks about how only 7 percent of coaches and athletic directors at Division I schools are black. This point ties into the research paper I am writing at school about racial disparity in the NBA, but also relates to the idea of social mobility for blacks in America.

Deford sees blacks coming from "poorer neighborhoods" relative to whites living in the suburbs playing college athletics as a means of social mobility. Not just Deford share this view, however. Joseph Graves, author of The Race Myth: Why We Pretend Race Exists in America, corroborates Deford's ideas of black athletes and social mobility in his book: "Sports had already become an acceptable avenue for the advancement of African-American individuals, in part due to the racist ideology that portrayed blacks as innately superior in some forms of athletic performance, such as running and jumping” (Graves Jr., 151). Graves idea of blacks "portrayed...as innately superior in some forms of athletic performance" is especially interesting to me. Could this racial stereotype be why whites feel out of place playing these black-dominated sports? Could it be why blacks strive for athletic success over academic success?

The research Deford presented in his story seems to think these questions have been answered in the numbers already, and I seem to agree.

Slave Owner - Slave Dynamics on Today's Basketball Court?

A recent development with Mike Rice, now former head coach of the Rutgers men’s basketball team, shows footage of Rice beating his players at practices. Here is a clip:

I was shocked when I heard news of a Division I basketball coach (a school moving to the Big Ten next year) beating his players, but knew immediately how relatable it is to my studies in school at this time. I am researching around the question: Why are there more black players and fewer black executives, or positions of importance, in the NBA?

My studies have been anchored behind the book "Forty Million Dollar Slaves" by Bill Rhoden, a black sports columnist for the New York Times (Click here to read further about Rhoden's book). The book talks about blacks struggles in sports throughout history and their failure to collectively cash in on positions of authority.

Rhoden talks about Muhammad Ali and his refusal to join the U.S. Army, risking everything: "When Ali was stripped of his title, it was as if he were being whipped by the overseer" (Rhoden 18). While Ali being stripped of his heavyweight does not relate directly to the players of the Rutgers basketball team, it has relevance. On a basketball court dominated by blacks, these players were being stripped of their dignity by Coach Rice with his actions. Mike Rice is representing the "overseer," physically throwing basketballs and abusing his players.

Rice's actions against his players were completely out of line, and the university did well by firing him. This reflects negatively on white coaches, but especially on the progression of integration in the sports world. If Mike Rice, a white coach, is beating his (predominantly black) players like this in 2013, how far have we really come regarding racial issues and sports in America? An interesting question to consider. Feel free to respond in the comment section below.

March Madness: Who's going to win it all? Oh wait, no one knows.

Mid-March marks one of the most exciting sporting events in the year: the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament, consisting of a field of college basketball's 68 best teams. Actually, it might not be the sport's 68 best teams, as smaller conferences get one automatic bid which is awarded to the conference tournament champion. However, that just adds to the appeal of the event, with upsets galore.

With the games beginning this Thursday, it made me think just why March Madness is so compelling to America, as well as myself. After reading an article about the tournament by Eddie Pells of the Associated Press, it made me think about the tournament on a larger level of importance. Professor Michael Magazine of the University of Cincinnati sheds some light on why the tournament is so much fun: "'The life lesson is that we make a lot of decisions that are the right decisions, but the outcomes don't always come out the way we planned.'"

What I take from this is that America loves to "make a lot of decisions," and the unpredictability of those decisions adds suspense and entertainment to the games that follow. Magazine's ideas also made me think about how American's like to have the control of making their own decisions, even if the outcomes "don't always come out the way we planned."

The tournament is just a microcosm of the many choices we have to make every day, some decisions more important (who you pick as your champion), and some more obsolete (picking a #1 seed to beat a #16 seed, where a #16 seed has never won a game in tournament history). One can look at the many decisions in this existentialist way, but for the average fan it is just a time of the year to fill out brackets, making you personally invested in every game played. Because as my classmate Jeremy says in his blog post, Americans love to win. We even claim to have never lost a war, when this is probably a false statement. But it is fine that Americans have the drive to win, because no one complains about someone motivated to be the best, even if on the global scale.

America and Hockey

Living in Chicago, the city's hockey team the Blackhawks are the hot topic in town nowadays. They have gotten at least one point in 23 straight games to start their season. A win earns a team two points, and a loss after regulation ends (overtime/shootout) is one point. It is a truly amazing run by the Hawks, but in viewing ESPN the past couple of days, they have not gotten as much airtime as I would expect of another sport.

To clarify, a more American sport. Hockey begun in Iceland and other countries in Europe, along with Canada. When I think of American sports, football, baseball, and basketball come to mind. Not ironically, these are the three sports showed the most on sports news shows such as Sportscenter on ESPN (the world's largest sports network). It could be that because ESPN does not air the NHL that they show less hockey highlights, but if hockey was that popular in America why would they ignore those viewers. And of course viewers would bring in advertisers, which is how networks make their bank.

In my American Studies high school course, we have examined how humans love physical and gruesome entertainment, which hockey definitely possesses. So what is it? Why don't Americans feel the same passion for hockey as football or another major sport played in the States? I think the answer is simple.

Americans are independent and full of pride for their country. Hockey, along with a sport like soccer, were not developed in the US. The typical American might think, "Why should I support these foreign sports when the best sports in the world were created and played in America?" This is an honest opinion, because personally I do like viewing football and baseball over hockey, but maybe not baseball. Baseball is too slow paced for me, but that is for a different discussion.

The Blackhawks run is incredible, but it still will never be as important to the majority of sports fanatics in America as a similar streak held by a football, basketball, or baseball team.

Why do you think hockey is not as big as a sport in America as the other "Big 3" sports (football, basketball, baseball)? What does it tell you about American's and nationalistic mindsets?

America and Discrimination Against Blacks

In my American Studies class in highschool, we were asked to read and complete the 1965 Alabama Literacy Test. The test was required for legal voters whose grandparents were not citizens. This may seem fair in theory, but in practice it targeted blacks living in the South. We also learned how difficult the test was. I scored a 33/68 on the test, a score that is way below the minimum requirement to be allowed to vote.

One might think America has learned from unfair disenfranchisement of blacks and minorities, but the theme of legal loopholes to convict these same groups of people is still present today.

In fact, I am living just outside of the central hub of this discrimination. Nationwide, blacks are incarcerated at 8.2 times the rate of whites. The book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness gave me the following information about blacks in Chicago: “The total population of black males in Chicago with a felony record (including both current and ex-felons) is equivalent to 55 percent of the black adult male population and an astonishing 80 percent of the adult black male workforce in the Chicago area” (Alexander 188). The police efforts in cities such as Chicago fall disproportionately on blacks.

Chicago police also often wrongfully convict young blacks. According to Steve Mills of the Chicago Tribune, Daniel Taylor, 17 when convicted of double murder, was actually in the Chicago police lockup when the crime was committed, yet he is still trying to seek justice twenty years after he was arrested.

One main problem is that young black people are vulnerable to the phenomenon of false confessions. While false confessions might not seem prevalent to my community and I, living in a particularly affluent suburb of Chicago, the inner city is, as co-founder of the Innocence Project Peter Neufold says, “what Cooperstown is to baseball, Chicago is to false confessions. It is the Hall of Fame. There are more juvenile confessions in Chicago than any place else in the United States.”

I see the issue of false confessions and wrongful convictions of blacks today as unfair discrimination that needs to be addressed. As the title of Michelle Alexander's book suggests, we are supposedly living in the "Age of Colorblindness," but if we cannot protect these American's rights, not as much progress as possible is being made in my opinion.

I hope this post makes you think about how history is always repeating itself; Or, is it less that history is repeating itself and rather that America has not learned from its past? Let me know in the comment section below.

Super Holiday

I remember waking up Sunday morning with much resentment. I had to take a practice ACT, and the only thing on my mind was the Super Bowl later that night. It got me thinking how nice it would be to have this one special annual Sunday as a holiday. It may seem like a fantasy, but I think it could actually be justified.

Aol reports how the Super Bowl broke the previous record for most-watched TV program in history,  netting 162.9 million viewers. Now, if an annual event regularly comes in as the year's most-watched TV event, it becomes harder to see how it is not justifiable to have the Super Bowl as a national holiday.

Also, many people view the Super Bowl just as a social event, like a party, rather than the biggest football game of the year, every year. For something that attracts so much attention, it is worthy of a day free of tedious tasks, like a practice ACT for a football-craving teenager such as myself.

The fact that someone like Christopher Columbus attracts so much attention in receiving a national holiday baffles me. The Examiner looks into the question of who should truly deserve the credit for discovering the most powerful country in the world. There is no questions about the Super Bowl on the other hand. It is viewed and enjoyed by the whole country, as well as parts of the world, too.

America would embrace the Super Bowl as a holiday with open arms. I certainly would not complain, and I don't think many others would either.

Fear in the Future: America and Guns

My history teacher Mr. Bolos presented a provocative idea about America and the fear of the future and the unknown during class this past week. A hot issue in America over the last year has been gun control, after numerous mass murderers have killed innocent civilians at schools and movie theaters (to name a few). There have been talks about stricter gun control laws in the wake of these shootings, and I believe this is attributed to a fear in America about future incidents of that magnitude.

A family mourns for victims of the Sandy Hook shooting

In reading an article by Sam Harris of The Week, he explained why he owns guns in his home and has trains "with them regularly". He further explains how while dialing 911 for the police is a legitimate mean of protection, if someone intrudes your house with the intent of harming you or your family, there is simply no plausible way for the police to arrive in time.

There is definitely some fear in the future and America in why Sam Harris has guns in his house. Also fear for the safety of his daughter in preschool. I can respect why Mr. Harris feels more comfortable in holding firearms in his household, but lost in all of the fear of mass murderers is the real reason why guns are legal in America to begin with.

It is the fear of the government holding too much power over its people. Even if Americans do not have to use their guns, the government will respect the fact that a revolt would be plausible if its people can own guns. If no guns for the people, the government would have nothing to fear.

Looking ahead, Americans have a lot to be afraid of, and so does our world as a whole. Fear is integral in a changing society however, because without it, one has no motivation to move forward and make the necessary changes.

What is your take on America and the fear of the future/unknown? Should gun laws be changed, and why would your changes be effective?

Final Essay: Blinded by the Light

Deontae Mobley looks in the mirror after having his hair cut by his father

The killing of Trayvon Martin by white shooter George Zimmerman reopened the wound of America’s history of racial violence against blacks. Photographer Lucas Jackson took a fascinating photo of Deontae Mobley, a young black man who lives in Martin’s Goldsboro neighborhood, formerly an all-black city during Jim Crow. The image shows Mobley, in focus, checking his new haircut with a small hand mirror. This photo, however, reveals how the killing of Martin shows the enduring separation of whites and blacks and the shaping force of the legacy of slavery.

The poor condition of the white building is telling of Goldsboro in general: crummy, mistreated, and forgotten. The building is run-down with a rusty roof and tiny windows closed off from the light of day. The fence in front of the building symbolizes the barriers between the races. After the Jim Crow laws cordoned off black communities such as Goldsboro, it seems some whites in Sanford, Florida, have remained unwilling to fully integrate. The building juxtaposed against green grass, which generally relates to growth, opportunity, and freedom; however, I see this grass differently. It is burnt out in patches, much like the present-day condition of blacks in neighborhoods such as Goldsboro.

The photo echoes Sanford’s contrasts between black and white. Both in the contrast between Mobley’s skin and the building and the way the light strikes him, the photo presents a world in which black and white do not mix. This is particularly the case for a young black man who could make whites fearful. This recalls the experience when Frederick Douglass remembered “that killing a slave…is not treated as a crime” (Douglass 14). Slave owners like Covey felt they needed to react with violence in order to suppress revolt amongst their slaves. Obsession with differences based just on race is echoed in the photo’s contrasts.

In the foreground, Mobley holds up a mirror and looks at it with a puzzled facial expression, as if he is deeply thinking about something. Perhaps he is looking for his identity, and the identity of African Americans in today’s society. Mobley might be seeing Trayvon in himself. It could be a realization that justice may not be served from Trayvon Martin’s family. In the Virginia Slave codes, the seventh code states, “no white person involved in such correction…shall undergo any prosecution or punishment.” The correction is referring to a slave who “dies while being corrected by his master.” Although we have equal protection under the law, Mobley may be feeling the legacy of such slave codes, as Zimmerman was not charged with the crime for weeks.

The way the light strikes Mobley’s darker skin is telling as well. He squints, suggesting the white light is hurting him. The sun is positioned behind him but reflects onto his face off of the mirror. The past of white cruelty is still present and is making Mobley, along with other blacks such as Trayvon Martin, suffer.

The feelings stimulated by this picture suggest the struggle of blacks as slaves is still a prevalent issue today. In “Frederick Douglass,” Robert Hayden pictures Douglass “visioning a world where none is lonely, hunted, alien” (Hayden). The Trayvon Martin case shows that this vision is not yet accomplished. In a world in which a young black man can be hunted and killed, Mobley must wonder who will be next. What could be more lonely and alien than that?

NFL A Gamble?

When I woke up this morning, I saw in the Chicago Tribune that former NFL linebacker Junior Seau, a perennial pro bowler and big hitter, has been diagnosed with a brain disease. Seau killed himself in May of 2012, leaving the safety and future of NFL players up in the air.

The diagnosis was chronic traumatic encepholopathy, or CTE. In an article from ABC News, it states that his wife noticed "A lot of things, towards the end of his life, patterns that we saw and things that worried us, it makes sense now." So, could Gina Seau and her family have gotten help earlier for her husband? Or, could Seau have had no head issues to begin with? Sadly, I think no. There will be head injuries in the NFL forever (most likely).

The NFL has not been secretive with the safety of their players, and they are working on improving their safety. A commercial I recently saw showed me how the game is evolving and the NFL.

One can see how the game has evolved and players have gotten bigger, faster, and stronger. The NFL needs to keep up with the evolving game of football, but like Seau's wife admits, "I think it's a gamble." I agree with her. When you get paid great money (even the minimum salary) to play football with fame and spotlight all around you, there is a risk you take with your health.

What risk regarding their health should players in the NFL have, considering they play football for their PROFESSION? Let me know.

P.S. To see a blog post Mr. Bolos, one of my teachers, posted about the NFL and concussions, click here.

NHL Lockout Ending Means Good For All

Most are probably aware of the recent NHL lockout, and how the league has been out of commission for the past couple of months. If you are not aware, it might be that you just are not the sports junky I happen to be. Regardless, bringing hockey back to the United States is a triumph and something I look forward to, even though I am not the biggest hockey fan. I am anxious for its return this weekend because I know it will offer business for sports bars and shops around the United Center (where the Chicago Blackhawks play). I read an article from the Chicago Tribune that expressed the buzz the Blackhawks are bringing back to the city and to small-business owners around town.

The return of the NHL and the Hawks can also show one how professional sports and teams in a city can be an integral part to the functionality of the economy and the people. When the team is in town, it can help businesses run and give residents events to go to in support of their city and sports team. I think having the Hawks back on the ice is exciting, and I look forward to hearing "Chelsea Dagger" play after Patrick Kane (or whoever) nets that first goal this weekend. "Here come the Hawks, the might Blackhawks!"

Redistribio's Pizza

As most Americans know, Congress recently found a temporary agreement to the imminent "fiscal cliff" debacle. In its attempt to salvage the American economy, Congress made a compromise in the form of a short-term solution, but what does that even mean for us Americans and the future of our economy?

Over break, my father showed me an op-ed by P.J. O'Rourke in The Wall Street Journal. O’Rourke, my father told me, used to be a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. Entitled "Dear Mr. President, Zero-Sum Doesn't Add Up," the opinion piece argues that redistribution of American's wealth from the richer to the poorer does not build a stronger economy. Rather than claiming that "there is only so much money," O’Rourke does not believe that America’s wealth is finite. He raises a legitimate question: why not have "more pizza parlors baking more pizzas"? That way, everyone has a stake in more pizza, or more money.

Relating this back to the fiscal cliff, I think that although the agreement is a compromise, it is not good enough.  Because of their unwillingness to cooperate, government officials on both the right and the left have contributed to America’s economic problems. Although conservatives are certainly not perfect, as their unwillingness to compromise on such areas as defense spending attests, Mr. O'Rourke raises an interesting point in his column: "The evil of zero-sum thinking and redistributive politics has nothing to do with which things are taken or to whom those things are given or what the sum of zero things is supposed to be. The evil lies in denying people the right, the means, and, indeed, the duty to make more things" [emphasis added].

Now, in my American Studies class, we were recently talking about rights and how suppressing those rights can run counter to what a country stands for. While few people will object to these tax hikes for the wealthy, I agree with Mr. O'Rourke that we must be careful to avoid “denying people the right. . . . to make more things."

So I ask you, the reader, what is your take on the recent fiscal cliff drama?

Do you agree with P.J. O'Rourke that President Obama's economic stance is redistributionist? Is the right to make things a right that America should protect?