Vikings' committee...
Vikings' social justice committee takes a leading role in community
Eric Kendricks spent the last days of May stewing over his thoughts, sorting through the pain he felt over George Floyd’s death and searching for the right way to respond to a statement from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell he felt hadn’t gone far enough.The Vikings linebacker is ordinarily reticent in public, wary of attracting widespread attention. His comments to reporters are typically polite, but brief, and he’d tweeted just once in May, about an NFL Network story on how Kendricks was selling his own paintings to raise money for COVID-19 relief.
But as he played back everything he’d seen and felt — over the video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck and the 150-word statement Goodell released on May 30 offering condolences to the families of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor without mentioning racism or police brutality — Kendricks kept thinking of teammates on the Vikings’ social justice committee with whom he’d shared ideas and processed deep hurt.
“For about a whole day, I just really sat on it,” Kendricks said Thursday. “The thing is, this committee that I’ve been able to be a part of, and the people in the committee that I’ve learned from — Stephen Weatherly’s not on our team anymore, but he’s on the committee. Hearing him and Ameer , they’re so educated. They’re such smart guys. I felt like, now, with my knowledge, if I say I’m standing for these issues, if I say this is the kind of change I want to make, I had to do something.”
On June 2, he posted a Twitter thread asking the NFL to take concrete steps toward creating racial justice. He released a video through the Vikings on June 3, saying, “It breaks my heart to see the people of Minneapolis not only treated like this but how hurt they are by this,” as he wiped away tears. He and teammate Anthony Barr appeared with 16 other players in a June 4 video telling the league to condemn systemic racism, in words that Goodell repeated in his own response a day later. And Kendricks joined nine teammates in a June 6 meeting with Minneapolis police Chief Medaria Arradondo and three officers to discuss how the department can improve relationships with black people.
The week of public action, in many ways, stood unique in Kendricks’ five-year career. It was prompted by Floyd’s killing in south Minneapolis, which produced worldwide outcry and, eventually, notable contrition from the largest sports enterprise in the United States. It also was the product of three years in a group that has educated many Vikings players and emboldened them to take action.
The social justice committee the Vikings founded in 2017, after discussions among defensive line coach Andre Patterson, General Manager Rick Spielman and team ownership, had two aims: Help players partner with organizations working on systemic issues in the Twin Cities, and create a haven for those players to discuss racial matters together.
It distributed $250,000 in grants from the Wilf family in both 2018 and 2019 to criminal justice reform, education, legal aid, nutrition, youth services and post-prison reintegration programs. It also stoked an activist spirit on the roster: Kendricks’ work with kids in the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center has taught him more about the link between food insecurity and juvenile crime, and last week safety Anthony Harris struck up a 25-minute conversation about police department structures with a white officer in his native Richmond, Va.
The Wilfs this week committed another $5 million to social justice work across the country, and the social justice committee announced a $125,000 endowment for a scholarship in Floyd’s name. In the reaction to Floyd’s death, committee members also see hope for change.
“All people were able to see, for the first time, that it does exist and that this is real,” Patterson said. “It was videoed from the beginning to the end. All the other ones that have happened before, it becomes word of mouth: ‘Was the person resisting arrest? Did the person do something to have the police be this aggressive?’ It becomes, ‘What do you believe?’ Do you believe the person’s family, or what the police is saying happened?
“This one’s different; everybody was able to see what occurred, and how far it went.”
Processing shock together
Patterson, who turned 60 on Friday, grew up in Richmond, Calif., near where the Black Panthers were founded. Now the Vikings’ co-defensive coordinator, he functions as a source of wisdom for the team’s social justice committee, often reminding younger players that change takes time.
Still, he said, “it probably took a week” before he was ready to watch the entire video of Floyd’s May 25 arrest.
“I knew what I was going to see,” he said. “It’s like I told the players — you have to be able to talk, to be able to get it out, because if you don’t, anger will eat you up inside. I had to make sure mentally I was prepared to view it, because I knew the anger and rage would come back.”
Harris first questioned whether the video was real when friends texted it to him. He realized he’d talked before with Donald Williams, an eyewitness whose account of the Floyd killing attracted national attention on CNN, when Williams was working as a security guard in downtown Minneapolis.
“I thought I recognized his voice,” Harris said. “It brought it into perspective, how close incidents like that are to you. I can just imagine him, not only seeing another African-American man, but knowing he’s someone who works in the area with law enforcement, that he wanted to help, and how helpless he could have felt.”
The Monday after Floyd’s death, the Wilfs, Patterson and two players from the social justice committee led a team meeting. Spielman spoke the next day, as did Mike Zimmer. The coach consulted Patterson, his close friend and longtime colleague, about what to say; Patterson told him to simply speak from his heart.
“He humbled himself greatly and said, ‘Man, I don’t understand and maybe I haven’t given this as much attention, but I know I love every single last one of you guys in this room and I’ll fight for you guys just like you were my sons,’ ” Abdullah said. “That meant a lot for me because coming from Alabama, I grew up Muslim and black, so I was a double minority. I didn’t have a lot of people of the other color or other religion speaking for me, even when they didn’t understand my religion, even if they didn’t understand my background. So to have Zim come out and say, ‘I don’t understand, but I stand with you’ was powerful for me.”
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-social-justice-committee-takes-a-leading-role-in-community/571243112/
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
@"purplefaithful" said:@"JimmyinSD" said: so what about the Washington Monument? George had slaves, should that get toppled as well? The Jefferson Memorial? maybe we need to rub their faces off of Mt Rushmore as well? Lots and lots of public reminders of historically questionable people.some of this shit is getting way out of hand in terms of historical monuments and shit, if a persons sole reason for being memorialized was racist or biased based.. sure, take em down, but symbols getting trashed simply because they are loosely associated historically with dark periods or bad shit... thats just stupid IMO.
What about Calvin Griffith??By the time the Twins reached out this week to several of their prominent former players, the decision already had been made.The statue of former owner Calvin Griffith, the man who brought Major League Baseball to Minnesota in 1961, was being removed.
In the early hours of Friday morning, just that occurred. The statue of the first team owner, standing in front of Target Field since the ballpark opened in 2010, was hauled away by a construction crew. A sheet of plywood covered the location, with a handmade “BLM” (Black Lives Matter) sign attached, was all that remained by mid-morning.
https://www.startribune.com/twins-remove-calvin-griffith-statue-citing-racist-statements/571365382/
=======================================Recalling Calvin Griffith's bigoted outburst in southern MinnesotaIn 1978, former Twins owner Calvin Griffith was invited to speak to the Lions Club in Waseca, a small city in southern Minnesota. Among those in the audience was Nick Coleman, a former Star Tribune reporter and columnist who is currently executive editor of The UpTake, a Twin Cities-based non-profit news organization.
Taking questions from the audience, Griffith was asked why he brought the Twins to Minnesota from Washington, D.C., in 1961. Coleman wrote that Griffith answered the question with a criticism of Twin Cities sports reporters -- and then he changed direction, moving on to the subject that would dominate local headlines for days to come::
Coleman wrote "At that point Griffith interrupted himself, lowered his voice and asked if there were any blacks around. After he looked around the room and assured himself that his audience was white, Griffith resumed his answer. 'I'll tell you why we came to Minnesota,' he said. 'It was when I found out you only had 15,000 blacks here. Black people don't go to ball games, but they'll fill up a rassling ring and put up such a chant it'll scare you to death. It's unbelievable. We came here because you've got good, hardworking, white people here.' "
His comments have been recalled by Coleman and others in the aftermath of the NBA's ban of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for his remarks about African-Americans.
Griffith went on to call Twins superstar and Hall of Famer Rod Carew "a damn fool" for agreeing to a three-year contract that paid him $170,000 per year: "He only gets $170,000 and we all know damn well that he's worth a lot more than that, but that's what his agent asked for, so that's what he gets. Last year, I thought I was generous and gave him an extra 100 grand, but this year I'm not making any money so he gets 170 -- that's it."
(Griffith went on to an assortment of other topics. At one point, someone asked about whether Jerry Terrell, a former Twins infielder, had a chance of rejoining the team. The questioner noted that Terrell was a "favorite son" and was born in Waseca. Coleman reported Griffith's response: "Terrell came into my office in spring training and said he wanted a multiyear contract, I told him to turn your ass around and get out of there if that's what he wanted. It's a disgrace to major league baseball that Jerry Terrell is on a ball club.")
The Twins were playing in Kansas City at the time, and Star Tribune sports editor Gary Libman reported that "a short time after Carew was informed of Griffith's remarks, he ran up the tunnel, tossed off his clothes in front of his locker, took a shower and prepared to leave the stadium. But he changed his mind and played. He refused to comment on the remarks."
Later, Carew told Libman: "I will not ever sign another contract with this organization. I don't care how much money or how many options Calvin Griffith offers me. I definitely will not be back next year."
Carew also said in a voice that Libman described as soft but angry: "I will not come back and play for a bigot. I'm not going to be another nigger on his plantation."
Libman concluded his story: "He respects nobody and expects nobody to respect him," Carew said, spitting on the carpeted locker room floor. "Spit on Calvin Griffith."
Carew, who won his seventh American League batting title that season, was traded to the California Angels for four players before the 1979 season. He played for the Angels until retiring in 1985.
Reached by telephone while on a hunting trip after his Waseca speech, Griffith denied there was any racism intended in his remarks: "What the hell, racism is a thing of the past. Why do we have colored ballplayers on our club? They are the best ones. If you don't have them, you're not going to win."
Griffith, who died in 1999, owned the Twins until selling to Carl Pohlad during the 1984 season. There were no repercussions from Major League Baseball for his remarks.
https://www.startribune.com/recalling-ex-twins-owner-griffith-s-bigoted-outburst/257189521/
Sounds like a POS but today's measuring stick, but were his remarks unheard of in the 1970s and 80s? We are seeing growth.
@"JimmyinSD" said:@"purplefaithful" said:@"JimmyinSD" said: so what about the Washington Monument? George had slaves, should that get toppled as well? The Jefferson Memorial? maybe we need to rub their faces off of Mt Rushmore as well? Lots and lots of public reminders of historically questionable people.some of this shit is getting way out of hand in terms of historical monuments and shit, if a persons sole reason for being memorialized was racist or biased based.. sure, take em down, but symbols getting trashed simply because they are loosely associated historically with dark periods or bad shit... thats just stupid IMO.
What about Calvin Griffith??By the time the Twins reached out this week to several of their prominent former players, the decision already had been made.The statue of former owner Calvin Griffith, the man who brought Major League Baseball to Minnesota in 1961, was being removed.
In the early hours of Friday morning, just that occurred. The statue of the first team owner, standing in front of Target Field since the ballpark opened in 2010, was hauled away by a construction crew. A sheet of plywood covered the location, with a handmade “BLM” (Black Lives Matter) sign attached, was all that remained by mid-morning.
https://www.startribune.com/twins-remove-calvin-griffith-statue-citing-racist-statements/571365382/
=======================================Recalling Calvin Griffith's bigoted outburst in southern MinnesotaIn 1978, former Twins owner Calvin Griffith was invited to speak to the Lions Club in Waseca, a small city in southern Minnesota. Among those in the audience was Nick Coleman, a former Star Tribune reporter and columnist who is currently executive editor of The UpTake, a Twin Cities-based non-profit news organization.
Taking questions from the audience, Griffith was asked why he brought the Twins to Minnesota from Washington, D.C., in 1961. Coleman wrote that Griffith answered the question with a criticism of Twin Cities sports reporters -- and then he changed direction, moving on to the subject that would dominate local headlines for days to come::
Coleman wrote "At that point Griffith interrupted himself, lowered his voice and asked if there were any blacks around. After he looked around the room and assured himself that his audience was white, Griffith resumed his answer. 'I'll tell you why we came to Minnesota,' he said. 'It was when I found out you only had 15,000 blacks here. Black people don't go to ball games, but they'll fill up a rassling ring and put up such a chant it'll scare you to death. It's unbelievable. We came here because you've got good, hardworking, white people here.' "
His comments have been recalled by Coleman and others in the aftermath of the NBA's ban of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for his remarks about African-Americans.
Griffith went on to call Twins superstar and Hall of Famer Rod Carew "a damn fool" for agreeing to a three-year contract that paid him $170,000 per year: "He only gets $170,000 and we all know damn well that he's worth a lot more than that, but that's what his agent asked for, so that's what he gets. Last year, I thought I was generous and gave him an extra 100 grand, but this year I'm not making any money so he gets 170 -- that's it."
(Griffith went on to an assortment of other topics. At one point, someone asked about whether Jerry Terrell, a former Twins infielder, had a chance of rejoining the team. The questioner noted that Terrell was a "favorite son" and was born in Waseca. Coleman reported Griffith's response: "Terrell came into my office in spring training and said he wanted a multiyear contract, I told him to turn your ass around and get out of there if that's what he wanted. It's a disgrace to major league baseball that Jerry Terrell is on a ball club.")
The Twins were playing in Kansas City at the time, and Star Tribune sports editor Gary Libman reported that "a short time after Carew was informed of Griffith's remarks, he ran up the tunnel, tossed off his clothes in front of his locker, took a shower and prepared to leave the stadium. But he changed his mind and played. He refused to comment on the remarks."
Later, Carew told Libman: "I will not ever sign another contract with this organization. I don't care how much money or how many options Calvin Griffith offers me. I definitely will not be back next year."
Carew also said in a voice that Libman described as soft but angry: "I will not come back and play for a bigot. I'm not going to be another nigger on his plantation."
Libman concluded his story: "He respects nobody and expects nobody to respect him," Carew said, spitting on the carpeted locker room floor. "Spit on Calvin Griffith."
Carew, who won his seventh American League batting title that season, was traded to the California Angels for four players before the 1979 season. He played for the Angels until retiring in 1985.
Reached by telephone while on a hunting trip after his Waseca speech, Griffith denied there was any racism intended in his remarks: "What the hell, racism is a thing of the past. Why do we have colored ballplayers on our club? They are the best ones. If you don't have them, you're not going to win."
Griffith, who died in 1999, owned the Twins until selling to Carl Pohlad during the 1984 season. There were no repercussions from Major League Baseball for his remarks.
https://www.startribune.com/recalling-ex-twins-owner-griffith-s-bigoted-outburst/257189521/
Sounds like a POS but today's measuring stick, but were his remarks unheard of in the 1970s and 80s? We are seeing growth.
Here in MN they were pretty shocking, even then...Carew actually found it somewhere deep inside to forgive Griffith many years later. But the founding father of MLB in MN wont be honored by his team any longer.
@"purplefaithful" said:@"JimmyinSD" said: so what about the Washington Monument? George had slaves, should that get toppled as well? The Jefferson Memorial? maybe we need to rub their faces off of Mt Rushmore as well? Lots and lots of public reminders of historically questionable people.some of this shit is getting way out of hand in terms of historical monuments and shit, if a persons sole reason for being memorialized was racist or biased based.. sure, take em down, but symbols getting trashed simply because they are loosely associated historically with dark periods or bad shit... thats just stupid IMO.
What about Calvin Griffith??By the time the Twins reached out this week to several of their prominent former players, the decision already had been made.The statue of former owner Calvin Griffith, the man who brought Major League Baseball to Minnesota in 1961, was being removed.
In the early hours of Friday morning, just that occurred. The statue of the first team owner, standing in front of Target Field since the ballpark opened in 2010, was hauled away by a construction crew. A sheet of plywood covered the location, with a handmade “BLM” (Black Lives Matter) sign attached, was all that remained by mid-morning.
https://www.startribune.com/twins-remove-calvin-griffith-statue-citing-racist-statements/571365382/
=======================================Recalling Calvin Griffith's bigoted outburst in southern MinnesotaIn 1978, former Twins owner Calvin Griffith was invited to speak to the Lions Club in Waseca, a small city in southern Minnesota. Among those in the audience was Nick Coleman, a former Star Tribune reporter and columnist who is currently executive editor of The UpTake, a Twin Cities-based non-profit news organization.
Taking questions from the audience, Griffith was asked why he brought the Twins to Minnesota from Washington, D.C., in 1961. Coleman wrote that Griffith answered the question with a criticism of Twin Cities sports reporters -- and then he changed direction, moving on to the subject that would dominate local headlines for days to come::
Coleman wrote "At that point Griffith interrupted himself, lowered his voice and asked if there were any blacks around. After he looked around the room and assured himself that his audience was white, Griffith resumed his answer. 'I'll tell you why we came to Minnesota,' he said. 'It was when I found out you only had 15,000 blacks here. Black people don't go to ball games, but they'll fill up a rassling ring and put up such a chant it'll scare you to death. It's unbelievable. We came here because you've got good, hardworking, white people here.' "
His comments have been recalled by Coleman and others in the aftermath of the NBA's ban of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for his remarks about African-Americans.
Griffith went on to call Twins superstar and Hall of Famer Rod Carew "a damn fool" for agreeing to a three-year contract that paid him $170,000 per year: "He only gets $170,000 and we all know damn well that he's worth a lot more than that, but that's what his agent asked for, so that's what he gets. Last year, I thought I was generous and gave him an extra 100 grand, but this year I'm not making any money so he gets 170 -- that's it."
(Griffith went on to an assortment of other topics. At one point, someone asked about whether Jerry Terrell, a former Twins infielder, had a chance of rejoining the team. The questioner noted that Terrell was a "favorite son" and was born in Waseca. Coleman reported Griffith's response: "Terrell came into my office in spring training and said he wanted a multiyear contract, I told him to turn your ass around and get out of there if that's what he wanted. It's a disgrace to major league baseball that Jerry Terrell is on a ball club.")
The Twins were playing in Kansas City at the time, and Star Tribune sports editor Gary Libman reported that "a short time after Carew was informed of Griffith's remarks, he ran up the tunnel, tossed off his clothes in front of his locker, took a shower and prepared to leave the stadium. But he changed his mind and played. He refused to comment on the remarks."
Later, Carew told Libman: "I will not ever sign another contract with this organization. I don't care how much money or how many options Calvin Griffith offers me. I definitely will not be back next year."
Carew also said in a voice that Libman described as soft but angry: "I will not come back and play for a bigot. I'm not going to be another nigger on his plantation."
Libman concluded his story: "He respects nobody and expects nobody to respect him," Carew said, spitting on the carpeted locker room floor. "Spit on Calvin Griffith."
Carew, who won his seventh American League batting title that season, was traded to the California Angels for four players before the 1979 season. He played for the Angels until retiring in 1985.
Reached by telephone while on a hunting trip after his Waseca speech, Griffith denied there was any racism intended in his remarks: "What the hell, racism is a thing of the past. Why do we have colored ballplayers on our club? They are the best ones. If you don't have them, you're not going to win."
Griffith, who died in 1999, owned the Twins until selling to Carl Pohlad during the 1984 season. There were no repercussions from Major League Baseball for his remarks.
https://www.startribune.com/recalling-ex-twins-owner-griffith-s-bigoted-outburst/257189521/
Holy shit. And some wonder why some black people are angry. Its surreal almost. Wow.
@"StickyBun" said:I'm working for one of the Pohlad companies these days...The fact they're doing this doesn't surprise me in the least. They get some heckling now and then for not spending enough on Twins payroll, but what they do for employees and community is admirable...And I set the bar high in that regard too.Holy shit. And some wonder why some black people are angry. Its surreal almost. Wow.
@"Nichelle" said:@"JimmyinSD" said:@"Nichelle" said:@"StickyBun" said:I had a mini-celebration when they announced the Aunt Jemima change. I held a little-protest as a kid in order to stop my mother from buying that brand. At the time, the logo had a black woman with a scarf and apron who was fully representing the mammy figure. It was like Gone With the Wind where the black character didn't even have a name. She was just mammy.@"JimmyinSD" said: How long after all caricatures of color are removed from product branding will there be renewed complaints of racism because companies all use white images to depict thei wholesomeness or whatever of their brands?I understand true offensive depictions like chief wahoo, but some of these are a little extreme and just seem to be pandering to the extreme minority of monority people. I've had these conversations regarding native Americans with Native Americans I work with and have never heard one of them complain about the land o lakes maiden. Honestly the thing that troubles .most of them is the fear of losing their heritage or that heritage being ill represented, not so much about their likenesses being used respectfully because that keeps their heritage alive for millions that never would otherwise think about a native American.
Oh for sure there will be pandering. But when hasn't there been? Especially in today's Social Justice Warrior/call out culture mentality. Yes, they are going to take this too far and that's too bad. But some of it had to go and it was long overdue. But the rational, lets not overreact thing isn't going to happen. Its either overreaction or under-reaction. The problem comes when you take stereotypical visuals like an Aunt Jemima or Washington Redskins: its just racist. But native Americans have zero power or leverage in this country and blacks have been a severe minority forever: no squeaky wheel is going to get any oil because nobody is forced to do it for money reasons. But today with social media, outrage can be quantified. Corporations react swiftly to save sales volume...actually overreaction saves them a lot of money. There is no indignation from corporations, only $$$$$. If Land O'Lakes marketing department told them a caricature picture of two donkeys having sex on the butter brands would increase sales 19% in Q1 and 33% in Q2, guess what's going to happen? Same conversely with getting rid of an image. They are just whores.And honestly, who cares if they take away Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben?? Does it matter to your everyday life? Talk about something I couldn't give two shits about other than an opinion. I don't care. The outrage on Facebook by some is absolutely insane and hilarious.
I used to ask my mother 'Who do we know that looks like that? or Who do we know named Jemima'. I hated it as a kid and never bought a single Aunt Jemima anything as an adult. I signed plenty of petitions to change it though.
Does stuff like that matter to me? Yes. And people talking about history being erased? You're not learning anything from a pancake box so screw that. Everyone will still have pancakes and syrup. Everyone will be okay.
all the syrup talk is making me hungry for some pancakes. is Mrs Butterworths ok? I dont know what her skin color is supposed to be, but she sounded a lot like my white Irish Grandma when I was a kid growing up.(and by the way, if Aunt Jemima truly bothered you, then I am sincerely happy for you :) )
I remembered McDonald's commercials that drove me nuts. The first was a commercial advertising 2 for 1 hamburgers. One commercial featured a wholesome white family who were all (mom, dad, daughter and son) able to go out for a family meal while saving money. The commercial was filled with blonde hair and pearly whites. The other version of the commercial featured a young black man buying the burgers and attempting to entertain two dates at once with the 2 for 1deal, neither of them suspecting the other was in the restaurant.The second McDonald's commercials advertised a free Coke glass with the purchase of a meal. The white version of the commercial showed a group of friends all enjoying their meals and drinking from the glasses. Then there was a black version in which they took the glasses, turned them upside down and beat them like drums.
Wow....I could be wrong, but I'd even bet that in the ad meetings, none of the creatives involved made a conscious decision to portray blacks and whites in two different ways. But that kind of unwitting stereotyping is even more dangerous over time, because we don't recognize it. And when it's in advertising, it infects us all.Reminds me of the two Katrina images. White couple wades through chest-deep water after "finding" food in grocery store. Black man wades through chest-deep water after "looting" grocery store.
@"MaroonBells" said:I'd bet you're right. They were there to create successful ad campaigns and I'm sure thought they were doing their best. It probably all made perfect sense. Unfortunately, the more we see those messages, the more they become 'normal' and the more we internalize them. And the 'we' includes the people who are the subject of those negative images.@"Nichelle" said:@"JimmyinSD" said:@"Nichelle" said:@"StickyBun" said:I had a mini-celebration when they announced the Aunt Jemima change. I held a little-protest as a kid in order to stop my mother from buying that brand. At the time, the logo had a black woman with a scarf and apron who was fully representing the mammy figure. It was like Gone With the Wind where the black character didn't even have a name. She was just mammy.@"JimmyinSD" said: How long after all caricatures of color are removed from product branding will there be renewed complaints of racism because companies all use white images to depict thei wholesomeness or whatever of their brands?I understand true offensive depictions like chief wahoo, but some of these are a little extreme and just seem to be pandering to the extreme minority of monority people. I've had these conversations regarding native Americans with Native Americans I work with and have never heard one of them complain about the land o lakes maiden. Honestly the thing that troubles .most of them is the fear of losing their heritage or that heritage being ill represented, not so much about their likenesses being used respectfully because that keeps their heritage alive for millions that never would otherwise think about a native American.
Oh for sure there will be pandering. But when hasn't there been? Especially in today's Social Justice Warrior/call out culture mentality. Yes, they are going to take this too far and that's too bad. But some of it had to go and it was long overdue. But the rational, lets not overreact thing isn't going to happen. Its either overreaction or under-reaction. The problem comes when you take stereotypical visuals like an Aunt Jemima or Washington Redskins: its just racist. But native Americans have zero power or leverage in this country and blacks have been a severe minority forever: no squeaky wheel is going to get any oil because nobody is forced to do it for money reasons. But today with social media, outrage can be quantified. Corporations react swiftly to save sales volume...actually overreaction saves them a lot of money. There is no indignation from corporations, only $$$$$. If Land O'Lakes marketing department told them a caricature picture of two donkeys having sex on the butter brands would increase sales 19% in Q1 and 33% in Q2, guess what's going to happen? Same conversely with getting rid of an image. They are just whores.And honestly, who cares if they take away Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben?? Does it matter to your everyday life? Talk about something I couldn't give two shits about other than an opinion. I don't care. The outrage on Facebook by some is absolutely insane and hilarious.
I used to ask my mother 'Who do we know that looks like that? or Who do we know named Jemima'. I hated it as a kid and never bought a single Aunt Jemima anything as an adult. I signed plenty of petitions to change it though.
Does stuff like that matter to me? Yes. And people talking about history being erased? You're not learning anything from a pancake box so screw that. Everyone will still have pancakes and syrup. Everyone will be okay.
all the syrup talk is making me hungry for some pancakes. is Mrs Butterworths ok? I dont know what her skin color is supposed to be, but she sounded a lot like my white Irish Grandma when I was a kid growing up.(and by the way, if Aunt Jemima truly bothered you, then I am sincerely happy for you :) )
I remembered McDonald's commercials that drove me nuts. The first was a commercial advertising 2 for 1 hamburgers. One commercial featured a wholesome white family who were all (mom, dad, daughter and son) able to go out for a family meal while saving money. The commercial was filled with blonde hair and pearly whites. The other version of the commercial featured a young black man buying the burgers and attempting to entertain two dates at once with the 2 for 1deal, neither of them suspecting the other was in the restaurant.The second McDonald's commercials advertised a free Coke glass with the purchase of a meal. The white version of the commercial showed a group of friends all enjoying their meals and drinking from the glasses. Then there was a black version in which they took the glasses, turned them upside down and beat them like drums.
Wow....I could be wrong, but I'd even bet that in the ad meetings, none of the creatives involved made a conscious decision to portray blacks and whites in two different ways. But that kind of unwitting stereotyping is even more dangerous over time, because we don't recognize it. And when it's in advertising, it infects us all.Reminds me of the two Katrina images. White couple wades through chest-deep water after "finding" food in grocery store. Black man wades through chest-deep water after "looting" grocery store.
While ads were no longer as blatant as the ones linked here, there was still so much racist (and sexist) messaging in marketing: ( https://www.businessinsider.com/vintage-sexist-and-racist-ads-2011-6 )
And I'd forgotten about the 'looting' photos and the taglines. That's a great example of how implicit bias can show up.
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