Woke people don’t stereotype, right? And, of course, white men can’t jump. Hm. Consider the following.
For relaxation, my wife Laurel and I attend a bi-weekly creative writing workshop. For a recent assignment, our instructor Jo Scott-Coe asked us to write about chocolate. Each of the other participants wrote about food. Not me. For whatever reason, Jo’s assignment triggered thoughts of former National Basketball Association guard Jason Williams.
On my way out of a local fitness center, I happened across a used book dispenser and, like I always do, peered inside. The cover of one of those books, “Are Men Necessary?” by Maureen Dowd was indeed an attention getter if ever there was one. Although I was amused by it, some may find the book’s title off putting. Yes, I get that.
Which brings us to the issue of men these days – more to the point, arguments for and against the “necessity” of men as Dowd put it.
Let’s start by applying the (non-procreation) “necessity” test to a partial list of “men” as we think about the behaviors of some (note that I didn’t say “all”) men these days.
Imagine this – you work for a popular, international retail brand that has spent an abundance of money on their marketing strategy across all platforms, such as social, broadcast, and print media. You are given specific, detailed distribution instructions to follow based on the elaborate strategies they have paid to create, yet you notice flaws in their plans. Do you alter their plan on your distribution end in an effort to correct the issues, or do you ignore what you know is wrong because it is technically not your decision? Does your opinion change if it is a diversity-related issue, and it becomes an ethical feeling that the brand should have done a better job?
Bridgerton, released in December of 2020, is a popular television series on Netflix created by Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rimes. The show is based on Julia Quinn’s novel series which depicts the Regency-era in London during the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. The show follows the many romances and dramas of London’s elite and is narrated by an unnamed writer who shares the town’s latest gossip in her weekly column. The series caught the attention of many viewers not only for the dramatic plot line, but for the inclusive and diverse cast, which is uncommon among many historical dramas. Although the series certainly grabs viewers’ attention and has quickly made its way to being one of Netflix’s most viewed shows, it has been met with much criticism about what seems to be a colorblind cast.
Continue reading Colorblind Casting in Bridgerton – by Mackenzie Bradford
Well folks, darn, he’s back in the limelight. Ben Carson that is. Can’t say that we missed him. Last we heard was when he left his gig as a failure as Housing and Urban Director under the previous administration.
Now maybe I missed the memo but for the life of me I cannot recall any grandiose retirement parties on “doc’s” behalf at the White House – or while he threw down on caviar and grilled mushrooms at Mar-a-Lago – before he slipped off to who knows where. What I do recall were high fives, fist bumps, “good riddance” and other sighs of relief.
Continue reading Political Commentary #2: Ketanji Brown Jackson – by Terry Howard
Vernon Jones and I are both African American. The only other thing we have in common that I’m aware of is that we are both graduates of HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) colleges 80 miles apart in North Carolina. But it is on those two facts that our similarities end. Period, I must add!
The truth is that I’ve observed Jones over the past few years more out of curiosity turned mild amusement, turned comedic relief, than anything else. As with many politicians, when it comes to party affiliation and loyalty it is often political opportunism more than anything that explains their behavior. “Political chameleons” is one way to define them. So, it comes as no surprise to me that Jones, once a democrat is now a republican. Blind ambition can do that to a person.
Continue reading Political Commentary #1: Vernon Jones – by Terry Howard
Carlos: Joe, it’s been more than two decades since we started working together at the Harvard Summer Institutes for Higher Education. Lots of continuities, but also lots of changes.
Joe: Yes, I first attended your sessions on diversity in higher education in the late 1990’s.
Carlos: Even through I’d been doing diversity workshops for a couple of decades, using the Harvard case study method was a brand new experience.
Joe: The Harvard Graduate School of Education’s summer programs have a distinctive leadership development structure. Very immersive, retreat-like experiences for cohorts of a hundred or so higher education administrators. I recall framing your early sessions as “diversity and community.”
This piece explores another African American bit of history. It is about John Lewis and James Zwerg.
Like many, I would love to have been a proverbial “fly on the wall,” listening intently to candid conversations between those two men. Of course, we –well, most of us anyway – know about the late congressman John Lewis. But James Zwerg?
There is much discussion in the United States of what race is, how it can be and is used for good and ill, and how it can be used permissibly from a legal perspective of “environmental justice” and “race neutrality” as a political initiative. These discussions can become quite heated. This article is an attempt to “disambiguate” the discussion, as the post-modern literary critics say.
Continue reading A Primer on Race Identification in America – by Marc Brenman
Believe me, it wasn’t easy but I took a deep breath and returned to an eerie intersection, the scene of a nearby church and scene of my auto accident four years ago.
Like back then, a motor cyclist pulled out in front of me, this time from a nearby gas station and thankfully with an entirely different result. He sped off and I, shaken by the coincidence, pulled into that church parking lot to catch my breath and reflect on what just happened, what could have happened and what happened back then.
Continue reading Hey, I’m Alive! – by Terry Howard
