By M.R. KROPKO – 4 hours ago
She switched her backing to Sen. Barack Obama in June, but said he could not win unless Clinton's supporters rallied behind him. She also said Obama should consider Clinton as a running mate.
"It wasn't enough for her just to break barriers in her own life. She was also determined to bring opportunity to all those who had been overlooked and left behind — and in Stephanie, they had a fearless friend and unyielding advocate," Obama said in a statement.
"I wanted somebody whom I felt could carry on what I tried to do for 30 years in that congressional district," Stokes said. "She did it. She took it to a higher level, a new level. She made me so proud."
Jasmyne Cannick has written a story on an upcoming movie release that I find interesting.
I agree with some of Jasmyne's viewpoints and disagree with others. I agree with her that Hollywood couldn't give two shakes about the history of blackface or how Robert Downey Jr's portrayal will affect us as black women (and black people in general). But she states that "there won’t be any movies opening anytime soon that poke fun at or mimic their experience or their people." Um, Jas, have you seen
She also says "when it comes to Hollywood, the history of Black people in this country, and our image as a people, it’s like, “how much money do you need and how fast can you get the film done?” I would be on my high horse, and ready to protest Tropic Thunder similarly, if it weren't for the fact that black people support coonery also. How many black people saw Soul Plane, The Nutty Professor, Meet the Klumps, Norbitt, etc? Those movies aren't being remade because black people boycott them, or they don't make money. Yes, theoretically, those types of movies could still be financial boons because of white audiences... but if there were no black support and a collective boycott against them, then they wouldn't fly. Hollywood doesn't care about political issues, racial sensitivity or women's rights -- it cares about box office sales. So if we want to see better, then we should do better.
I also look at Cannick's opinions as flawed, because this analysis was sparked by negative images of a 'black' man. How loud is the silence, when, black women are denigrated in film? How loud is the silence, when, roles that should be played by black women are given to women of other races? Yet it only seems to matter when black men are slighted. I take issue with the perception that the image of the black man is the image of black America. While I'm black, my issues, my image and the stereotypes surrounding my experience are uniquely different from that of the black man. We have shared experiences based on skin color, but brothas don't know what its like to be a woman or to be discriminated against because of your skin shade or hair texture (and the fact that its mostly black men perpetuating colorism, but I won't go there today). And the fact remains that black men are working to destroy their own images -- by having children out of wedlock, my committing black-on-black crime, and by selling drugs. Those are things that don't need blackface to make them look bad.
Cannick ends by saying:
If you still want to see Tropic Thunder, might I suggest a trip to your local
neighborhood swapmeet, where more often than not there’ll be a brother out front
ready to sell you a copy of Tropic Thunder for the ultra low price of $5.
I mean I figure if Robert Downey Jr. is going to get paid for a role that could
have easily been given to a Black actor, somebody Black ought to get paid, so
why not your local bootlegger. I’m just saying it’s a good way to stick it
to the industry and help a brotha out.
I can't condone protesting a movie by supporting illegal activities. How about we not go see the movie, period? Or, we tell 1-2 white coworkers why this movie stinks. Or, start a letter-writing campaign to Dreamworks execs, or or or.. but 'helping a brotha out' isn't really going to get us anywhere. Because, truth be told, ignorance is already bootlegged, and the movie studios are still getting paid. How about we start putting our money where our mouths are, and try to effect positive change in the film industry.
I feel like I am in an eye of a hurricane. Lately I've been browsing news stories about black women and girls to post to this blog. It seems like everything I come across is negative: black women have these ailments, this marriage rate, this rate of higher education, etc. I've been hesitant to post about any of it, because I know we've 'heard it all before'. That's not to say that these statistics aren't newsworthy; they are. But today I choose not to perpetuate their discussion.
We as black women in America have so many positive aspects at work in our favor - regardless of what the media tells us. The title of this post is 'Black Women Are Beautiful', and we are. I know I repeat that sentiment alot, but I really and truly believe that. At the core of this statement is a belief in the value, worthiness and substance of our beings. I don't feel that most of us know our worth, celebrate who we are or do enough to uplift our fellow sisters. Quite frankly, sometimes that's hard to do. Between your 9-5, family commitments, just trying to make ends meet, it can be difficult to squeeze together moments of bliss. But if we can just grab one moment for ourselves, on a daily basis, I think that we will improve our inner beings as well as those we touch. In my personal spiritual life, finding happiness is a priority I continually strive for. I'm not advocating that you follow my path, but I am promoting that we take better care of our minds, bodies, children, and those we love. That we step back a moment from what people want us to be, and we embrace the desires that we want for ourselves.
Like I said, I know that's not always easy.. but it is a worthwhile endeavor nonetheless. And we definitely deserve it, each and every one of us.
When Disney announced it was casting its first black princess for its latest animation film, the African-American heroine was hailed as a positive role model for little girls and an ambitious marketing ploy, not to mention an attempt to ward off the allegations of racism that have lurked since the heyday of Walt Disney Productions in the 1940s and 1950s.But now the film studio finds itself fending off a chorus of accusations of racial stereotyping in its forthcoming big-budget cartoon, The Princess and The Frog: An American Fairy Tale, which marks a return to hand-drawn animation.
The heroine has been recast as Tiana, a 19-year-old in a country that has never had a monarchy. She is now slated to live "happily ever after" with a handsome fellow who is not black – with leaks suggesting that he will be of Middle Eastern heritage and called Naveen. The race of the villain in the cartoon is reported to have also been revised.
The film studio began making changes a year ago, first to its title, The Frog Princess, which some had interpreted as a slur. Amendments to the plot followed.
Rodney Hinds, features editor of The Voice newspaper, said: "We are talking about a big company who has had to go back to the drawing board. It's disappointing... Some of the stereotyping of people from our community is still rigid in people's minds. We have our own dreams and stories like everyone else, and we want them to be portrayed positively. This is about how people are perceived and a princess is normally a positive character who most people aspire to."
Disney commented: "The story takes place in the charming elegance and grandeur of New Orleans' fabled French Quarter during the Jazz Age... Princess Tiana will be a heroine in the great tradition of Disney's rich animated fairy tale legacy, and all other characters and aspects of the story will be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity."
Disney's efforts to be multicultural have not always gone according to plan. In 1993, there were protests from Muslims who said the animated film Aladdin depicted the Middle East as barbaric. One lyric included with the line: "I come from a land, from a faraway place, where the caravan camels roam, where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face; it's barbaric, but hey, it's home."
