Posts Tagged ‘racism’
Roland Martin Offers Choice Words for CNN Upon Exit
April 1st, 2013
Last week Martin was on HuffPostLive with Marc Lamont Hill and characterized CNN as being comprised of “largely white males.”
Martin also alleged that the cable network is not comfortable with the idea of “having strong, confident minorities” in more prominent positions.
There’s still this fear, there’s this fear of actually making a leap… you have largely white male executives, okay, who are not necessarily enamored with the idea of having strong, confident minorities who say, ‘I can do this’… We deliver, but we never get the big piece, the larger salary, to be able to grow from there.”
Full story HERE.
While speaking to me on “Mo’Kelly in the Morning” on Friday 3.29.13, Martin downplayed his exit from CNN. You can here my conversation with Roland HERE. (shuttle program to 1 hour and 14 minutes into podcast)
The Mo’Kelly Reportis a syndicated politics and entertainment journal. Visit http://mrmokelly.com for the latest from Mr. Mo’Kelly. Tune into The Mo’Kelly Show Saturdays from 6-8pm PDT on KFI AM640 and XM 166 Saturdays and Sundays from 8pm-9pm PST. Contact Mo’Kelly at mrmokelly@gmail.com.
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Caroline Wozniacki – Examine Prank in Correct Historical Context not Vacuum
December 11th, 2012
There has been much discussion as to whether Wozniacki’s caricature of Serena Williams was “funny,” or a blatant act of racism. To which, once again comes the need to better understand and re-define what racism is…and is not. Seemingly, its true meaning has been co-opted and misappropriated over the years; watered down to such a degree that few have a good handle on its definition.
Racism has prerequisites.
Racism requires malice.
Racism and ignorance are inextricably linked, but that doesn’t mean that all ignorance and ignorant displays relative to race equate to racism. Racism requires the belief in the idea of racial superiority with respect to the orator and subjugation relative to the object of the offense.
Without getting too specific, racism requires all of the aforementioned. Not all things “racially insensitive” are racist. Not all things “racially ignorant” are racist. Racism and racist acts are of a much higher standard.
Now on to Caroline Wozniacki, and it doesn’t require extensive analysis or debate. The following we know for sure and isn’t open to discussion…
There is a verified history of mocking the features of Black people in this country. It was in print, in film, music and in general society. There have long been caricatures of how we walked, talked and for far too long nothing was considered beyond the pale. There is a litany of examples of how historically the notion of the beauty of Black women has been denigrated by the larger mainstream media.
There is no question that Serena Williams is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. BUT…there IS the question of whether this behavior would have been conceived or perpetrated against a White champion of equal legacy.
Therein lies the discussion of how race impacts the perception of this moment and Wozniacki’s behavior.
The issue for many who are offended at Wozniacki’s display is the belief that such behavior would never have been tolerated relative to a Billie Jean King, a Chris Evert, Steffi Graff and so forth.
How “funny” would it be if some minor tennis player came out on the court attempting to mock the lesbian lifestyle of Martina Navratilova to delight the crowd, or wore an oversized Jimmy Durante nose to ridicule Steffi Graf? If Serena Williams has earned anything, it’s the right to be treated with the respect accorded to one of the greatest of all time.
The display by Wozniacki may not have been in and of itself motivated by racism…i.e. perceived racial superiority or subjugation of another race. But it rings awfully familiar with certain historical cues relative to minstrel shows in which our features were always fodder for humor. This minor tennis player may not have consciously made the correlation, but I think she’s aware of the fact she could probably get away with it with Serena as opposed to a non-Black champion of similar stature.
It’s connected to how many have perceived the treatment of President Obama; 
disregarding the need to respect of the office of the President. History shows no other president being depicted with bones through his nose, or treated with such egregious levels of disrespect by its own citizenry. The parallels are clear. You didn’t have to like President Obama or his policies, but the position supersedes both and should be accorded the appropriate level of respect.
Along those lines, you don’t have to like Serena Williams or how she plays the game…but as one of the greatest of all time, we should be clear she’s more than earned the right to be treated with the same level of respect of those who are not African-American and have come before her. We can debate the motivations of Wozniacki but it is inarguable as to the fact that no other female tennis legend has endured such consistent ridicule over the course of her career, including not yet limited to Wozniacki’s indefensible display for the sake of a laugh.
We shouldn’t necessarily be angry at Wozniacki’s behavior, but moments like these should always be examined through the appropriate historical prism and not in a vacuum.
The Mo’Kelly Report is a syndicated politics and entertainment journal. Visit http://mrmokelly.com for the latest from Mr. Mo’Kelly. Tune into The Mo’Kelly Show Saturdays from 6-8pm PDT on KFI AM640 and XM 166 Saturdays and Sundays from 8pm-9pm PST. Contact Mo’Kelly at mrmokelly@gmail.com.
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Posted in Uncategorized | 
Tags: Caroline Wozniacki, ignorance, mammy, racism, Serena Williams, tennis | 
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Michelle Obama Racism at the Rodeo…Who Would’ve Thunk It?
September 17th, 2012
According to the San Luis Obispo newspaper, the Tribune, an announcer during a Creston Classic Rodeo offended many in the stands after making a joke comparing the current first lady to the wife of presidential challenger Mitt Romney. The paper reported:
An announcer at the Creston Classic Rodeo offended some in the audience Saturday when he made a racist joke about first lady Michelle Obama over the PA system. Now, at least one rodeo board member is demanding an apology.
“I was really appalled and the people around me were really appalled,” said spectator Dona Wilson of Santa Margarita. “He was acting like we were buying into his bigotry and we weren’t.”
Wilson said she heard a lady beside her say: “ ‘Whoa! Racist or what?’ ”According to Wilson, the joke as told by the announcer, went something like this: Playboy is offering Ann Romney $250,000 to pose in the magazine and the White House is upset about it because National Geographic only offered Michelle Obama $50 to pose for them. “I can’t speak for the board, but I myself think that this is unacceptable behavior or conduct by the announcer,” said Mike Barrett, Creston Classic Rodeo board member. “I find it offensive, and I think that it’s conduct unbecoming the rodeo announcer.”
Full story HERE
The Mo’Kelly Report is a syndicated politics and entertainment journal. Visit http://mrmokelly.com for the latest from Mr. Mo’Kelly. Tune into The Mo’Kelly Show Saturdays from 6-8pm PDT on KFI AM640 and XM 166 Saturdays and Sundays from 11pm-midnight PDT. Contact Mo’Kelly at mrmokelly@gmail.com.
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CNN Camerawoman Patricia Carroll Details ‘Peanuts’ Incident (Plus a Mia Love Incident!)
August 31st, 2012
Patricia Carroll, the CNN camerawoman who was assaulted with peanuts and called an animal by two attendees at the Republican National Convention, told Journal-isms on Thursday that “I hate that it happened, but I’m not surprised at all.”
Carroll, who agreed to be named for the first time, said she does not want her situation to be used for political advantage. “This situation could happen to me at the Democratic convention or standing on the street corner. Racism is a global issue,” she said by telephone from Tampa.
Carroll said no one took the names of the attendees who threw peanuts at her Tuesday on the convention floor and told her, “This is what we feed animals.” She alerted fellow camera operators, producers and CNN security. The head of the delegation — she was not certain of the state — told her the perpetrators must have been alternates, not delegates.
But Carroll, 34, said that as an Alabama native, she was not surprised. “This is Florida, and I’m from the Deep South,” she said. “You come to places like this, you can count the black people on your hand. They see us doing things they don’t think I should do.”
Carroll noted of the Republican convention, “There are not that many black women there.”
She said she wanted to thank CNN, which “has been behind me 100 percent.” Although she was stationed on the floor next to Fox News, she was not operating the camera at the time. The perpetrators “didn’t know what I was doing. I happened to be standing there,” near one of the delegations.
“I can’t change these people’s hearts and minds,” Carroll added. “No, it doesn’t feel good. But I know who I am. I’m a proud black woman. A lot of black people are upset. This should be a wake-up call to black people. . . . People were living in euphoria for a while. People think we’re gone further than we have.”
Carroll said she had received many requests for interviews and was in meetings most of Wednesday. “I was hoping this story would go away,” she said. “I’m not interested in talking to any other media about this.”
Mia Love
ALSO:
An article at Salt Lake City, Utah station KUTV.com (Channel 2) titled, Racism At The Republican National Convention? says Mia Love, a Haitian American, called a “rising star” in the GOP who gave a rousing speech at the RNC; wowing the crowd left and right, later found her Wiki page hacked, with an onslaught of insults that inclded the “N” word. While Love delivered her speech, talking of civility and equality, a hacker took over her online identity…and called her a “dirty, worthless wh*re who sold her soul in the name of big business,” among other things.
And to add insult to injury, according to KUTV.com, media outlets have reported that Love and almost every other minority who spoke was edited out of live broadcasts on at least one network. RNC speakers who were not seen on often liberal leaning MSNBC include Love, Hispanic Texas senate candidate Ted Crux, Hispanic Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and former Obama backer Artur Davis, who is African American.
See the KUTV (Salt Lake City) Report HERE!
The Mo’Kelly Report is a syndicated politics and entertainment journal. Visit http://mrmokelly.com for the latest from Mr. Mo’Kelly. Tune into The Mo’Kelly Show Saturdays from 6-8pm PDT on KFI AM640 and XM 166 Saturdays and Sundays from 11pm-midnight PDT. Contact Mo’Kelly at mrmokelly@gmail.com.
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Posted in Uncategorized |
Tags: CNN Camerawoman, Mia Love, nuts, Patricia Carroll, peanuts, racism, Republican National Convention |
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Dr. Christian Head and UCLA – The Realities of a ‘Post-Racial’ America (VIDEO)
May 31st, 2012
The Mo’Kelly Report is a syndicated politics and entertainment journal. Visit http://mrmokelly.com for the latest from Mr. Mo’Kelly. Tune into The Mo’Kelly Show Saturdays from 6-8pm PDT on KFI AM640. Contact Mo’Kelly at mrmokelly@gmail.com.
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Chief U.S. District Judge Sends Obama ‘Race-Bestiality’ Email
March 1st, 2012
Judge Richard Cebull
Is it too much to ask to disagree with the President along policy or legislative lines? Is it really too much to ask? George Bush was never disrespected in such a manner. Same ish different day.
_______
HELENA — Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull on Wednesday admitted to sending a racially charged email about President Barack Obama from his courthouse chambers.
Cebull, of Billings, was nominated by former President George W. Bush and received his commission in 2001 and has served as chief judge for the District of Montana since 2008.
The subject line of the email, which Cebull sent from his official courthouse email address on Feb. 20 at 3:42 p.m., reads: “A MOM’S MEMORY.”
The forwarded text reads as follow:
Normally I don’t send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.
“A little boy said to his mother; ‘Mommy, how come I’m black and you’re white?’” the email joke reads. “His mother replied, ‘Don’t even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you’re lucky you don’t bark!’”
Cebull admitted Wednesday to sending the email to seven recipients, including his personal email address.
The judge acknowledged that the content of the email was racist, but said he does not consider himself racist. He said the email was intended to be a private communication.
“It was not intended by me in any way to become public,” Cebull said. “I apologize to anybody who is offended by it, and I can obviously understand why people would be offended.”
Cebull said his brother initially sent him the email, which he forwarded to six of his “old buddies” and acquaintances.
He admitted that he read the email and intended to send it to his friends.
“The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan,” Cebull said. “I didn’t send it as racist, although that’s what it is. I sent it out because it’s anti-Obama.”
Travis McAdam, executive director for the Montana Human Rights Network , said the email contained highly racist rhetoric unbecoming of a federal judge.
“It’s one thing if the judge is not a fan of President Barack Obama, but you would think someone in his position would articulate that in a way that criticizes his policy decisions or his position on issues,” McAdam said. “We have a hard time believing that a legitimate criticism of the president involves distributing a joke that basically compares African Americans with animals.”
Full story HERE.
The Mo’Kelly Report is a syndicated politics and entertainment journal. Visit http://mrmokelly.com for the latest from Mr. Mo’Kelly. Contact him at mrmokelly@gmail.com.
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ESPN Fires Employee for ‘Chink’ Jeremy Lin Headline
February 19th, 2012
From The Huffington Post
Jeremy Lin
RISTOL, Connecticut (AP) — The cable television sports network ESPN says it fired an employee responsible for an offensive headline referring to Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin.
The headline “Chink in the Armor” was used Friday on ESPN’s mobile website after Lin had nine turnovers in New York’s loss to New Orleans.
In a statement Sunday, ESPN apologizes for that headline and also says it is also aware of two other “offensive and inappropriate” comments on ESPN outlets.
An ESPNEWS anchor who used the phrase has been suspended for 30 days. And ESPN says a similar reference was made Friday on ESPN Radio New York, but the commentator is not an ESPN employee.
Lin is the NBA’s first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. He has captivated fans by leading the Knicks to seven straight wins before Friday’s loss.
The Mo’Kelly Report is a syndicated politics and entertainment journal. Visit http://mrmokelly.com for the latest from Mr. Mo’Kelly. Contact him at mrmokelly@gmail.com.
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