There was an article in Yahoo about YouTube and Facebook being blocked in Pakistan because of “online content deemed offensive to Islam.”  Both internet and mobile access were denied in that country.

Two quotes in the article really got me to thinking…  The first was from a young lady who said, “We are ready to die protecting the honor of our beloved Prophet Muhammad!”  The second quote was made by Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit.  He said that “Such malicious and insulting attacks hurt the sentiments of Muslims around the world and cannot be accepted under the garb of freedom of expression.”

I was totally in awe of these people because they were so passionate about their religious leader that they were willing to disconnect from the rest of the world to ensure that the utmost respect for him was maintained.  After I read this article, I started to wonder why black women were not outraged about the images, words, and other offensive treatment committed toward them by mainstream media.

The article stated that websites were banned for “content deemed offensive.”  All electronic forms of communications were cut off.  The Pakistanis were not allowing disrespect by anyone in any form.  Black women, on the other hand, are disrespected daily by media outlets, from traditional media to explicit lyrics in hip hop songs to the booty shaking in music videos.  We have been reduced to sex objects, yet no one is saying anything.  Am I the only person who finds a problem with this?  Yes, it can be argued that these words and images are not directed at me personally.  But, we are all affected by these portrayals.  I won’t go into how; that’s another blog post.

These Islamic believers were ready to give their lives to protect the honor of their leader.  This is a person outside of themselves, yet their reaction to the actions of others was taken personally.  In my opinion, the lack of action and reaction by black women to the disrespect shown by American media can be construed as acceptance.  The fact that black women are not protesting against media portrayals says that we are OK to being reduced to sex objects and other stereotypes.  Newsflash.  This is NOT OK.  Speaking amongst ourselves does not produce results.  It just stimulates more conversation and no action.  Black women are just as precious as Prophet Muhammad. Unfortunately, everyone understands their value as human beings except us.

Do you know what would happen if black women got upset about the media’s disrespect and disregard?  I don’t know, either.  But I do know that we would begin to have a higher level of respect and appreciation for ourselves and others.

Notice to all black women:  Get outraged with media companies like the Pakistanis did with YouTube and Facebook.  You have more power than you know; use it!  You are just as precious and valuable as anyone else.  You just have to know it.

I received an e-mail from Awesomely Luvvie’s blog regarding a company seeking an ebonics speaking professional. Of course, I had to check it out for myself.

Chenega Corporation is seeking a Linguist II-Ebonics(ATL)*Contingent*

Am I surprised by this?  Not at all. Like Mignon said on Luvvie’s blog: This job ad lives inside the same society, the same government that feels like its okay to include ‘Negro’ as a choice on the Census form. I personally think that the only thing missing from the ad is: Niggers Only.

I shared this post because contrary to what is being stated, racism is hotter than ever these days, but honest discussions will never be seen on TV.

What does post-racial era mean exactly?

ABC 7 reported that the Nordic Fest, a gathering of white supremacists, will be held in Mokena, IL this weekend. So much for post-racial.

Check out Missie Hahn’s story, The Africa Not Seen on TV, on AS NOT See on TV…

“ Africa is special because there is little common understanding between Africans and Americans to provide context for interpretation” (Hawk 1992:4)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=826tpNNrCF0

What are the first things that come to mind when you think of Ethiopia? Poverty?  Famine? African children with bloated tummies from lack of food?  Ethiopia and other regions of Africa are usually viewed in only a negative perspective. This is because mainstream media tend to hide the beauty and elegance of Africa by focusing on stereotypes. I believe these stereotypes were created out of lack of knowledge.

Mainstream media has a huge impact on the way we view the world.  They feed us false facts about Africa, thereby blinding us from the truth.  Common misconceptions include visions of a land completely covered with forests and exotic animals; African people as “tribal”, poor, and uneducated; and Africa is shown as HIV-ridden, corrupt, violent, and unsafe.  Calling Africa a country is also false; it is a continent.

As if sharing false information wasn’t enough, media sources seldom show the existence of the upper class regions of Africa, the regions with beautiful, prospering cities.  Rarely do we hear or see stories or images of Addis Ababa, the beautiful capital of Ethiopia.  There is even less talk about how Africa and its culture have inspired the world.

The video above shows Africa’s artistic, architectural enriched cities and gorgeous landscapes.  These are things that are rarely seen on TV, if ever.

Missie Hahn is a freelance journalist, photographer, and regular contributor to As NOT Seen on TV.

I received an e-mail about Texas rewriting history to emphasize white supremacy. More specifically, it stated: “Among the many proposed changes are attempts to paint the Confederacy in a positive light, rewrite the civil rights era, downplay the contributions of nonwhite characters in Texas history, and ignore the atrocities committed on our own soil by groups like the Ku Klux Klan.”

While I understand the concerns, I really can’t be mad about the changes. I mean, most text books already exclude black history and give correct information anyway.  At least Texas is being honest and open about their actions and white supremacist views.

And, Texas has always been known as an overly-racist state.  They were the last state to free slaves, thus the June-teenth Celebration.  They have hellified penalties for criminals which are mostly black. And, when I went to conduct research on the Klu Klux Klan, an article from the Handbook of Texas Online was one of the first articles that appeared. Oh, it’s also home of former President George W. Bush.

So, are we really surprised about any of this?

Following is an e-mail from the Color of Change asking Fox to fire John Stossel. Click here to the sign the petition.
Dear friends,

On Wednesday, Rand Paul, the GOP’s US Senate candidate for Kentucky repeated his claim that a central piece of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was wrong, and that businesses should be free to discriminate against whomever they please.¹ Paul and his supporters don’t seem to care that without federal intervention, Black people might still be second-class citizens in most aspects of American life: where we eat, where we work, even where we live.

Then, on Thursday, FOX contributor and business anchor John Stossel went even further than Paul and called for the section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that applies to business to be repealed.² And he’s refused to back down.

It’s time to hold FOX accountable:

http://www.colorofchange.org/stossel/?id=2255-882966

While Rand Paul may have started this outrage, he can be taken care of at the ballot box — FOX News can’t.

Stossel’s position is an affront to Black America and everyone in this country who believes in racial progress. It’s one thing to be a candidate with backwards views. It’s another to be employed by a supposed news network and to use that platform to push hateful ideas that our nation repudiated decades ago.

It’s time that FOX drop Stossel. It’s why I’ve joined ColorOfChange.org in demanding Fox do so immediately. If after hearing from thousands of people like you and I, FOX refuses to act, it will make clear that FOX stands with Stossel and his values, and ColorOfChange has pledged to go directly after the network with a major public campaign.

Can you take a moment to add your voice to the call to fire Stossel? After you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/stossel/?id=2255-882966

FOX has a history of providing a platform for bigoted views and race-baiting. Most recently more than 300,000 people helped us hold FOX accountable by stripping Glenn Beck of more than 100 of his advertisers, after Beck called President Obama a “racist” with a “deep-seated hatred for white people.”³

But Stossel has arguably gone beyond Beck, echoing segregationist arguments from the Jim Crow era:

“It’s time now to repeal that part of the law because private businesses ought to get to discriminate. And I won’t ever go to a place that’s racist and I will tell everybody else not to and I’ll speak against them. But it should be their right to be racist.”

Stossel went on to argue something that history has disproved time and again — that private business will do the right thing, without being compelled by laws, because no one would patronize a business that discriminates. It’s a blind belief in market fundamentalism that just isn’t in sync with reality. In the ’60s, white-owned businesses that allowed Blacks as customers lost business. Market forces actually perpetuated discrimination; they didn’t combat it. Simply put: segregation would still be active in parts of this country if government hadn’t stepped in.

And recent history has shown that the public accommodations section of the Civil Rights Act is still needed. In 1994, it was used to hold Denny’s Restaurants accountable, after the chain repeatedly refused to seat Black customers.⁴ Just last year, it was used to go after a Philadelphia pool that prevented Black children from swimming there.⁵

It’s time for Fox News to make a choice. Are they willing to continue to give a platform to racially-divisive rhetoric and revive dangerously outdated perspectives? Or will they move with the rest of the nation into into the 21st century? Please join me in calling on Fox News to fire John Stossel. And once you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/stossel/?id=2255-882966

Thank you.

References:

1. http://huff.to/cjOnxL
2. http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201005200033
3. http://bit.ly/aoJUUy
4. http://nyti.ms/bpVZZY
5. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/January/10-crt-033.html

The more I read black history books by black authors, the more I am convinced race relations in America haven’t changed much since slavery.

I have yet to run across the progressive African Americans that made it to the World’s Fair in history books (I’m still in my early stages).  However, Ethel Worthington, the Great Aunt of artistic genius, Kenneth Worthington,was the first black woman to display art at the Columbia Exposition.  This artist and photographer made fine China.  She did everything from start to finish – fired it; glazed it; and painted it.  That’s talent!

Here is Ms. Ethel featured on the front page of the Pullman Porter’s Review in October of 1916. She went on to sell and display art work at Chicago Marshall Fields Store on State Street in Chicago.