Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 9-13-19

Editorial/Column
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Black women dating white men is nothing new. How do I know?
I have an aunt in her early 70s right now who's been into white guys so long that she probably hasn't seen a Black man’s privates in over 40 years. And that's not an exag- geration.
I never got around to asking her why that was the case. I just assumed that vanilla was her flavor of choice.
I bring this up because I've noticed a lot of discussions on different media platforms re- cently that have addressed the issue of Black women (mostly celebrities) who seem to be suffering from severe cases of jungle fever.
Meghan Markel, Ser- ena Williams and actress Thandie Newton are just a few of the sisters whose rela- tionships have made headlines based on their decisions to cross the color barrier.
What people don't seem to realize is that these types of ebony and ivory hookups in the entertainment industry have been going on in this country since Josephine Baker first danced on stage in a banana skirt. Black female icons like Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick were all well known for dating and marrying white guys during the height of their careers. So the idea that these recent cou- plings are anything more than fresh takes on the same old stories sounds almost ludi- crous.
The only difference be- tween then and now is that Hollywood and Madison Av- enue have discovered how to exploit these exotic unions in movies, television shows and advertisements mainly be- cause they are a lot less threat- ening than the image of the reverse.... Black men roman- tically involved with white women.
Even though the sight of Black men doing the same
thing has been going on for just as long (boxing legend Jack Johnson was notorious for parading around with white women back in the 1920s), America still hasn't warmed up to the thought of its fair-skinned daughters falling head over heels for suit- ors who fit the textbook defini- tion of "tall, dark and handsome."
This distaste runs so deep that it could be considered the fundamental reason why Black males have disproportionately become the main targets of over incarceration and are far more likely to be victimized in police shootings than any other demographic. To the dominate society, bondage and execution are the most ef- ficient ways of keeping the ge- netic weapon of mass destruction, that they believe hangs between the legs of Black men, under control.
While I've never personally been involved in an interracial relationship, I've also never knocked those who've gone that route as long as their choice came about organically. It is only when I hear about people who date exclusively outside of their race out of spite, desperation or because it's viewed as being hip, does it become a problem for me.
When I hear a Black man say that he doesn't date Black women because Black women aren't loyal or submissive enough sexually, I become in- stantly aware that I'm dealing with someone whose mental capacity falls squarely within the “ignorant bastard” portion of the intelligence scale. And, conversely, when I see or hear about a Black woman deciding to date white men because there, allegedly, aren't enough eligible Black men available or because white men are "kinder" I view her as equally simple-minded.
The thing I find most hu- morous when this topic comes up, though, is the amount of hypocrisy that often presents
itself. In the past, whenever a successful Black man was seen with a white woman, there would be calls for his head by Black women everywhere who had no issue with calling him a sellout.
Now, with this current crop of Black females in the spotlight acting in similar fashion, those same Black women, who denounced the actions of brothers who were getting their swirl on, ironi- cally, have nothing to say. In fact, in some instances, they've even celebrated the occur- rences as in the cases of Markel and Williams.
The same, of course, goes for Black men. Few of us ever had an issue with watching hip-hop videos or looking through magazines that fre- quently showcased a multi- tude of bikini-clad non-Black females. But that didn't stop us from getting our boxers in a twist when we found out rap- per Eve was marrying a British Billionaire or when Janet Jackson hooked up with the Arab brother.
The thing I believe Black men and women both need to realize is that you can't have it both ways. Like the old saying goes, “what's good for the gan- der should be equally good for the goose” and vice versa.
What I've learned during my short tenure on Earth is that, regardless of how you feel about the activities people en- gage in, sometimes you have to allow individuals to be themselves and do whatever works best for them. If a Black man or woman feels as though he or she can only find happi- ness with the granddaughters and grandsons of those who oppressed, raped and mis- treated their own grandpar- ents, that is a burden their conscious has to bear alone.
It doesn't make much sense to badger them about who they welcome into their bedrooms because, at the end of the day, people are going to do what they want with their bodies whether you like it or not. And trying to convince them otherwise will only lead to elevated levels of stress and frustration, for those on both sides of the equation that I'm sure we can all live without.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
Some People Like To Swirl
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Don’t Get Mad At Jay-Z
etting mad at Jay-Z for seizing the opportunity to do
business with the National Football League (NFL) by providing entertainment and social justice services is the same as getting mad at the Black players for the San Fran- cisco 49ers because they didn’t quit playing for the team in support of their then-quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2017.
Someone needs to be at the table to stimulate change in the NFL.
Simply protesting and talking to each other is not going to change the way the NFL operates. In fact, Grammy nomi- nated Akon said it best, “ . . . It does two things for us. One, it puts one of us inside. ’Cause you can’t make no changes un- less you’re inside . . . at least there’s a voice and one voice eventually will turn into two . . . It’s still going to take time for changes to be made.”
He confidently cited Jay-Z’s business acumen and knowl- edge of the issues.
Someone needs to help the NFL to understand why Kaepernick took a knee much like the two Olympians Jimmy Smith and John Carlos raised their fists when they received their gold and bronze medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Too many whites have no idea of what it’s like to be Black in America in 2019, especially Black men.
Thus, if Jay-Z’s ROC Nation/NFL partnership is going to educate the NFL administration to understand the daily is- sues and behaviors that Blacks are subjected to in the work- place, in schools, in public places, while riding bicycles or driving cars and in business transactions, we applaud Brother Jay-Z.
If Jay-Z is going to help the NFL develop policies and prac- tices that insure Black players, administrators and staff are going to be treated equitably then we say, “Go for it.”
If Jay-Z intends to educate team members, staff, and ad- ministrators to be more culturally and racially sensitive, we give him a “high-five.” If Jay-Z intends to help the NFL in- crease the number of minority vendors and staff utilization, especially during Super Bowls, we say, “It’s about time.”
Finally, if Jay-Z continues to help youth and families all over this nation as he has done in the past, then we believe Jay-Z will help to lift up more Black businesses and brothers and sisters in the process.
We’re not mad at you, Jay-Z. We support you and wish you well in bringing change to the NFL.
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