Last week I posted about the elaborate hoax called Three Strikes, You're In!, which supposedly a bold new program that rewards  individuals, who are stopped by the NYPD and released three times without charge, with one free Happy Meal™ at participating McDonald’s stores. Like I said, it was a hoax so need to get upset. If you missed it, I posted extensively about the day-long prank that had folks in my Facebook network going berserk for a few hours. You can read it here.

Anyway, most of the videos, press releases and websites associated with this prank have no been taken down. However I have heard back from the organizers, who just posted, under the name Roman, a link in the comment section of the original post about the hoax.

The culprits behind the hoax are members of People Enraged by Racist Policing (PERP), an activist group working with the Yes Lab. The Yes Lab is mainly a series of brainstorms and trainings to help activist groups carry out media-getting creative actions, focused on their own campaign goals. According to its website:

"The group is seeking to highlight what they say are racist and discriminatory policies of the NYPD, while also calling attention to McDonald’s intense marketing of unhealthy food to residents of low-income urban areas. “The cops ‘stop and frisk’ people simply because of how we look and where we live,” said Divad Durant, a PERP spokeperson. “This kind of policing creates an atmosphere of fear and distrust in our neighborhoods, and has convinced New Yorkers that the NYPD is anything but just.”

According to its own data, the New York Police Department made over 684,000 street stops in 2011, a 603% increase over 2002, when Mayor Bloomberg first took office, and a 14% increase over 2010. Nearly 90% of “Stop and Frisk” victims are African American and Latino, though they make up only 50% of the city’s population, according to the 2010 census. Fewer than 10% of the stops led to an arrest, and almost none of those to a conviction. In fact, many of those arrested found themselves handcuffed simply because they had questioned the right of the police to frisk them.

According to PERP, the disparate impact of stop-and-frisk on people of color, particularly in low-income communities, is just the tip of the iceberg. “Stop-and-frisk is just one notable example of an NYPD that is discriminatory and unjust in policy and practice,” said Jerry Goralnick, another PERP member. “The increasing frequency of extreme brutality, such as the recent beating of Jatiek Reed and the killing of Ramarley Graham in the Bronx, are even more outrageous and horrific.”

Abusive policing also has less visible impacts on marginalized groups. Sexual assaults of women, profiling and illegal surveillance of Muslims, and inappropriate treatment of trans-gender, homeless, and immigrant New Yorkers are widespread, according to PERP.

But why was McDonald’s part of the act?

“Like the NYPD, McDonald’s specifically targets low-income communities of color, but in a different way: as markets from which to draw profits, at the expense of our health and well-being,” said Durant.

McDonald’s 365Black.com website merges references to African culture with the company’s marketing goals. “Like the unique African Baobab tree, which nourishes its community with its leaves and fruit, McDonald’s has branched out to the African-American community nourishing it with valuable programs and opportunities,” says the website, which appears to be completely authentic.

Activists say that McDonald’s, with condescending and manipulative marketing that co-opts African-American culture, simply wants to profit from minority New Yorkers at the expense of their health. “Last time I checked, baobab fruit is not high in fat, cholesterol, and salt,” said Durant. “In fact, it’s rich in Vitamin C, and reduces the risk of cancer and heart disease. McDonald’s shouldn’t compare their unhealthy fare with something that’s actually good for you.”

“Other than those who work for the McDonald’s marketing machine, does anyone ever use ‘nourish’ to describe anything about McDonald’s?” added Goralnick.

“McDonald’s wants us to think its ‘food’ is not just life-shortening gruel pumped into unsuspecting stomachs via a tube made of salt, fat, and clever marketing,” said Durant. “And that’s particularly true in the African American community, where it uses TV ads and websites like 365Black.com to tell a wholly inaccurate and misleading story about the company and what it offers.”

Like I said before I don't mind being fooled. I think that raising awareness about a very important issue such as Stop & Frisk and how it unfairly snarls Black and Hispanic men in the justice system ranks a lot higher than whatever embarrassment I might have briefly felt.

I was checking in with Facebook this morning when Chris Rabb, blogger and book author of Invisible Capital, posted a link on his wall about a promotion through selected McDonalds' restaurants. Apparently, 365 McDonalds, which is the network of Black and Hispanic owned and operated fast food chain,  and the New York Police Department were launching “Three Strikes, You’re In!,” a (very) bold new program that rewards  individuals, who are stopped by the NYPD and released three times without charge, with one free Happy Meal™ at participating McDonald’s stores.

Oh Hell, this can't be real. That's what I thought initially. Then I checked my inbox and saw this email press release, which said:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Three Strikes, You’re In!
McDonald's and the New York Police Department Launch Joint Initiative

New York, New York (March 6, 2012) - McDonald's and the New York Police Department are launching "Three Strikes, You're In!," a bold new program that rewards New Yorkers for their patience with the NYPD's "Stop and Frisk" policy.

With "Three Strikes, You're In!," individuals who are stopped and released three times without charge are eligible for one Happy Meal™ at participating McDonald's stores. To receive their Happy Meal™, customers must record each stopping officer's badge number, as well as the the time and location of the stop, on a voucher obtainable at these stores.

"This is just one way McDonald’s gives back to the communities we’re a part of," said Mark Ramos, a McDonald's spokesperson. "We're proud to provide copious, satisfying, affordable food in areas that other chains don't dare operate. With 'Three Strikes, You’re In!' we're showing we also recognize these communities' safety and civil liberties problems."

"'Stop and Frisk' gets dozens of guns off the streets each year, makes respectable citizens feel secure, and lets would-be criminals know that we're watching them," said New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. "It generates some resentment in these low-income communities, since most of those stopped are innocent, but with the help of McDonald's, we’re showing we understand. We can't afford to change 'Stop and Frisk,' but we're happy to compensate those who are stopped in the course of keeping the City safe."

"Three Strikes, You're In!" is a project of McDonald's 365Black.com, which celebrates African American culture and achievements all year round. To download your own "Three Strikes, You're In!" vouchers, please visit www.threestrikesyourein.org. Non-citizens and those with criminal records are ineligible.


CONTACT:
Terry Malloy
+1 347-350-4099
terry.malloy@threestrikesyourein.org
Facebook 365Black

Oh Hell No! It got to be real. I mean it certainly looked legit.  They had the McDonald corporation, the NYPD and the 365 degree logos. They also had a promotional video, a website, a Facebook page and a Youtube channel of videos of youth redeeming their coupons for cheeseburger Happy Meals. Under each YouTube video was this message:

Like the unique African Baobab tree, which nourishes its community with its leaves and fruit, McDonald's has branched out to the African-American community nourishing it with valuable programs and opportunities.

Are we fucking serious? No, that's not what I was thinking, those are the actual words that came out of my mouth. Needless to say I was ready to go full H.A.M and cheese on all them. But I wasn't quite convinced. For one, this sounds like something ripped off an episode of the Dave Chappelle show. And secondly, no one is that foolish. But then again...

So to investigate further, I tweeted McDonalds with this message:

@McDonalds: Is this 3 Strikes You're In program for real? Get stopped by the police 3x get a free Happy Meal?

That, of course, is my calm voice. I was waiting for them to respond with an affirmative, which they never did, before unleashing on their twitter handle a number of expletives-laden tweets. They never responded.  So then I emailed Terri Mallory, the name at the bottom of the press release with the same question. Again, I got no response. In the meantime, this became a war rallying cry for folks within my network, who too began emailing both McDonalds and Mallory as well as several other Black news agencies. A friend of a Facebook friend of mines was even on hold with the administrative offices for the NYPD to find out if they were indeed partners. Folks were ready with the pitchforks and the rocks - Palestinian style.

But then, after a half of hour of Google searching, I found a post on Gothamist, which confirmed what everyone had suspected (and was praying for): this was indeed a hoax. Phwesh.

I let everyone in my network know the "good news," which was met with a combination of "Thank God" and "Yo people need to stop playing with people's emotions like that" - this is a direct quote.  No word yet on who the hoaxers are but I put my money on it being The Yes Men.  They are the only folks I can think of that can thoroughly pull off such an elaborate hoax. 

As of right now, the Three Strikes, You're In website is down. And no other news organization outside of Gothamist is reporting on this early morning hoax. In fact, all the fires had simmered and everything is pretty much back to the normal status of posting irrelevant shit in Facebook land. That war rally cry, which we all felt, has now been replaced with relief that this was only a prank.  Ironically though, this prank was only half-untrue.

The Stop and Frisk is very real and violates a lot of folks, particularly folks of color's rights in New York, Philadelphia and other parts of the nation. And while we might have been temporarily outraged at the sheer audacity of a corporation teaming with the police department to reward this barbaric and discriminatory practice with a damn Happy Meals, let's not forget how outrage that we should feel everyday knowing that this Stop and Frisk practice is still in play.  

I say kudos to the pranksters, whoever they are.

Like I said, the website is now down. However check out the Three Strikes, You're In promotional video below:

UPDATE: I just emailed this link to Terry Mallory (probably not a real name) and it bounced back. So if the person, or persons, behind this hoax would like to share the purpose of this prank and what they hoped to accomplish, I would be very much interested in hearing from you.

So, I didn't watch the Grammys last night. I thought about tuning in for the Whitney Houston tribute. But something told me that I would have to sit through hours of extreme dullness just to see a rushed, half thought out attempt at  memorializing a legend and decided to wait until the Soul Train awards. Instead I watched the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead. Borefest.

Nevertheless, I caught the highlights of the awards earlier this morning including Nicki Minaj's performance, which many so eloquently classified as "WTF?!?!" Some folks thought it was demonic while others came to the conclusion that Minaj's reenactment of the Exorcism of Emily Rose during her Roman Holiday performance was just flat out exploitative. If you haven't seen the performance, here it is in all it's weird, confusing glory:

Forget all the other demonic stuff everybody else was talking about. In my mind that plays a very distant second (I mean no one was screaming demon when Michael Jackson was crawling out of tombs for Thriller) to the fact that it just wasn't hot. I have no beef with the theatrics, in fact I am a fan of the theater. And I get it, she is trying to be on some ole' Madonna-Gaga, big budget production stuff. Good for her. About time that Hip-Hop artists start giving their fans a show worthy of the high priced tickets. However to pull this off successfully I definitely believe she needs a better stage director. This mess looks like it was directed by Tyler Perry. Plus it was dated. The Exorcist is on its 1500th remake already, time to give it a rest.

At least, that's what I thought initially. Later that morning, I saw pictures of her red carpet get-up and had sort of an epitome:

Poor grammar aside (what's new, right?), it was an interesting and thoughtful question, which spurred an equally interesting conversation on my Facebook page. I think as people of color, it is especially hard to be taken serious if we step outside of the norm of what is expected of us. Especially among our own folks, who easily dismiss any attempt at being avant garde as pure buffoonery. With so much backlash Nicki has gotten for this performance, perhaps we are missing the greater message in the madness?  

With that in mind, I decided to republish our conversation here in hopes of continuing this dialog about the themes in both her performance at the Grammy as well as her overall aesthetic as an artist. Please note that I presented this dialog as it appeared on my Facebook wall, therefore I didn't edit any of the comments for spelling or grammatical errors. I feel that by now, we all should be keen on how casual and comfortable people tend to write in spaces populated by friends and family. However, I did edit out the full names of those who commented in hopes of maintaining some level of anonymity.

• Charing: Also, if you notice in the video montague that accompanied the performance, the mother kept referring to Nicki as him. And then the next scene is of her singing, "I feel pretty and witty and gay..." There could definitely be some political undertones to it all.13 hours ago · Like
• Sheena:  girl, please. looks like she was channeling lil red riding hood, trying to get her ghetto gaga on. two words: no, ma'am.13 hours ago · Unlike · 2
• Charing Ball Hahahahahaha. I said I might be overthinking things. Trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. I mean, we do think it is genius when Gaga and the likes pull these stunts and can find the subtle nuiances.13 hours ago · Like
• Malik:  ‎**Blink ** Blink** 13 hours ago · Unlike · 1
• Kool:  perhaps u have a point Ms Ball that performance and her outfit was tryna make some sort of statement ... very interesting all i can say13 hours ago · Unlike · 1
• Charing Ball that's what I'm saying Aaron, she was trying to say something. The execution of it was flawed.13 hours ago · Like
• Charing Ball I mean, the lil' red riding hood, who was a innocent girl lost in the woods, being accompanied by the Pope, is pretty strong imagery.13 hours ago · Like · 1
• Charing Ball The Pope=wolf in sheep's clothing. Sheep is also another name for the congregation, faithful flock.13 hours ago · Like · 1
• Malik:  I just think that Nikki, of all people, all of a sudden being so overtly political and self righteous seems a bit far fetched. You ease into statements like that. Show us you have a political stance in previous records, and we can swallow what you have to say during a demonic Grammy performance as "Just vintage Nikki!" prior to this she talked about money and Barbie. Someone need to smack her.13 hours ago · Like
• Malik:  I think it had more to do with the molestation within the catholic church if anything.13 hours ago · Like
• Johnny: you are giving her too much credit :) It was an attack on the church no doubt. The dialogue was a fight between her and her mother. I agree that it was an act of rebellion and want to add disrespect. The priest performing sexual acts on the altar was a slap in the face and her sexual touch of the priest at the bottom of the steps was a punch in the gut. We always come back to this illuminati discussion, and performances like this are why. thoughts on illuminati presence in this performance and behind her actions?12 hours ago · Like
• Johnny:  I think she wasn't little red ridding hood, but more like a sacrifice. if you go the Red Riding hood route, then she is making the church out to be the big bad wolf.12 hours ago · Like
• Lezlee: Wasn't she using her alter ego "Roman"?12 hours ago · Like
• Charing Ball yeah I don't deal too much on the illuminati thing but that is interesting Johnny about the sacrifice angle. But I will say that while I agree that the whole thing would seem out of place with her prior MO, I do see some traces/elements of that with the whole Roman thing, who I am now convinced is an alter ego of a gay or boy in drag, and she has always been gay friendly in light of how she came out initially on the whole bisexual thing, something that she eventually backed away from. I think that the performance could be a reference to the whole, "pray the gay away" thing (again with the movie clip of the mother referring to Nicki as a him). I agree that, again, I could be giving her too much credit and want to believe that there is something more to her. I mean, after the Stupid Ho thing, it does seem far fetched. But my instincts are saying that she was really going for something more.12 hours ago · Like
• Charing Ball Roman. Ah another symbol that went over my head. Roman as in Roman Catholic/British Empire? Maybe that's why she does that stupid British voice.12 hours ago · Like
• Lezlee: I don't want to have to think this hard when I'm watching Nicki.12 hours ago · Like
• Johnny:  i think letting her do the altar ego thing is an out. we make statements in everyting we do. i to caught the "him" reference in the video, but saw that as a reference to the spirit that was in her that came out when she flew accross the room and landed on the ceiling.12 hours ago · Like
• Johnny: Roman Catcholic. Roman holiday is saying she needs a break from religion12 hours ago · Like
• Charing Ball Right. And there is no more confining religion than the Catholic church, I know this thanks in part to my own West Indies, from long ago, roots.12 hours ago · Like
• Charing Ball ‎*West Indies and Catholic*12 hours ago · Like
• Johnny: it does go much deeper than the Catholic church, but going after them makes the largest statement. i looked up the lyrics and one of them said, "overseas, church, Vatican, you at a stand still, mannequin"12 hours ago · Like · 1
• Charing Ball Interesting. So Johnny, so I read last night your thread. Does this kind of change your mind about her performance?12 hours ago · Like
• Johnny: Not so much, but I think that it was less performance and more of a statement. There are politics in everything we see, but this was not just a political statement. The key to catching the piece was the words Exorcism of Roman at the beginning. That explained the scene and gives a direction for interpretation.12 hours ago · Like · 1
• Charing Ball I'll tell you one thing, after thinking about it, and conversing with you guys, it was definitely a mutli-layered performance and can't just be dismissed as cheap Gaga (LOL). I'll probably be thinking about this all day. And I'm thinking of blogging on my own personal blog this conversation. I won't use your names, unless you want me too (I can also do a link back to any sites you want to promote) because I think it is an interesting and thoughtful conversation that folks could get something out of.12 hours ago · Like

Overall I definitely see a number of themes in the Grammy night performance worth discussing. I think that there are lots of things going on within the stage show and because of it, the various themes get muddled. That is a performance flaw. However, looking at it objectively I don't think it is fair to outright dismiss what she was ultimately trying to achieve because she is typically not the person we expect to make statements within her art. If what I'm an concluding is correct, there may be more to Minaj than we give her credit for. And I will be interested in seeing what she does in the future.

_Looking for a little mood music to go along with all the commemorating you're doing over Frank Wills and Garrett Morgan and his life saving traffic light during this Black History Month?  Check out my friend, John Morrison's mixtape called, Black History Month Vol. 1: Africa: Center of the World.

Morrison plans to do a series of FREE mixes in celebration of Black History Month. This particular one takes us back to the root of it all with songs celebrating the people of the global African Diaspora. The next mix, which will probably be upload online in a week or so, will be called It's Nation Time and feature artists such as Public Enemy, Brand Nubian, Jayne Cortez, Amiri Baraka, Tupac, among others - or what Morrison calls, "some Black Power radical shit." I'm trying to get him to put it all on one site for yall but you know, Black folks don't listen. Anyway, check out the playlist and then hit play. If you like it, share it. And you can follow him on Tumblr.

 1. Intro: (featuring Diop Olugbala & Dr. Cheik Anta Diop)
2. Fela Kuti & Roy Ayers: Africa Center of the World
3. Bob Ohiri & His UHURU Sounds: Africa is Free
4. The Last Poets: Tribute to Obadi/ Max Roach & Abbey Lincoln: All Africa (Blend)
5. Pretty Afro-Pop Jam I can't remember the name of....
6. Max Roach & Abbey Lincoln: All Africa/Alice Coltrane: ISIS & OSIRIS (Blend)
7. Sakara de Ketou (Yoruba de Benin Chants)/Albert Ayler: Spirits (Blend)
8. Living Colour: History Lesson
9. Madlib: Africa
10. Peter Tosh: Mama Africa
11. J. Dilla: African Rhythms
12. Lawal Gaspar- Awon Ojise-Oluwa/Liturgical Chant of the Ethiopian Jews: Yibarek (Blessing of the Sacred Sabbath)
13. Hukwe Zawose: Munyamaye
14. D' Angelo: Africa
15. The Abyssinians: African Race
16. Nas & Damian Marley: Promised Land
17. Nas & Damian Marley: Africa Must Wake Up
18. Gelede Iwoja (Yoruba De Benin Chants)/John Coltrane: Africa (Blend)
19. Archie Shepp: New Africa

_Oh you didn't know?

From Wiki:

"Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)" is Grammy nominated collaboration song between Kanye West, Nas, Rakim and KRS-One that is produced by Rick Rubin. The song was released as a single on February 20, 2007 by Nike Records. It was performed live at the NikeAir Force Ones 25th anniversary party shown on MTV2."

P.S. I know I've been M.I.A from the home post for a minute now.  This is because I suck at blogging. For real. I have all these great ideas for post swirling around in my head but I'm so lazy sometimes that I neglect to actually put them up. I offer this too as a partial explanation of why I haven't answered back all the letters I've received. Yes, I do read them and I appreciate you all for writing them (even the ones from folks telling me to go to Hell).  And one day, when I'm not so lazy or am not genuinely busy I will draft a post, answering and responding back to all of your letters. Or at least that's the idea I have swirling around in my head :/

In the meantime, here's another DJ Premier/Nas collab. And yes, this hotness is courtesy of some sort of marketing ploy to reach the "urban" market:

"Presented by Hyundai Veloster, RE:GENERATION is a documentary film that follows DJ Premier, Pretty Lights, The Crystal Method, Mark Ronson and Skrillex as they remix, recreate and re-imagine five traditional styles of music."

Sigh. Hip-Hop.  But it's still kind of dope though.

I like this picture. It really makes me think. In fact, here is a working theory:

The amount of media attention being spent on the demise of the Kim K affair seems rather trivial in the grand scheme of all the other much more important things happening in the world.  However, when you stop to consider why the sordid tales surrounding her ill-fated, or planned, love affairs seems to spark our collective interest, it actually makes a bit of sense.  And its not so much that the story feeds our need for gossipy tabloid news (although that has a part in it) but more interestedly, Kim K kind of acts as the personification the modern day version of Marie Antoinette. 

Not that she is royalty, although she make like to think she is, but there is no denying the grand frivolous and superficial nature of her lifestyle including her fairytale wedding, complete with three designer gowns, half a million dollars in champagne and almost a million dollars worth of grub. And it was all captured on tape to be played ad nauseam to for our adoring eyes.

The egregious displays of wealth normally wouldn't bother folks. In fact, in better times, we have all enjoyed the spectacles of lavish spending and grandiose affairs. However, these are not good times. And  the country - hell, the world - is in the throes of declining wealth among the middle class, high unemployment and poverty and insurrection in the streets, via the Occupy movements.  All the while the top tier elite continue to get richer and spend frivolously.

Now Kim K and her affairs may not be warranted all this attention or even ridicule. I mean, what does she have to do with politics, poverty and world affairs? However, some would argue the same for Marie Antoinette, who after all, wasn't exactly the most influential member of the French monarchy. But she was a part of the french monarchy, which had been wasting a good amount of tax dollars on themselves while their citizens starved. By beheading the many nobles at the time sent a as a message that profligates would no longer be tolerated. So perhaps like a modern-day Antoinette, it makes everyone feel better to crowd around the guillotine, chanting "off with her head," while Kim K is executed - or at least dragged through the tabloid gutter - for her crime of being extravagant and recklessly wasteful.

Again, that's a working theory. Don't hold me to it.

Can I get real, and I mean really, really real, with yall for a moment and ask this question: Is anybody else irked by Steve Stoute and his mission to whitewash, or at the very least tan, black culture?

He seems to be on a mission to present this Kumbaya version of current race relations in this country, which doesn't jive with the reality of America. And truthfully and honestly, that gets under my skin. Like his new book, The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy, Stoute, who started out as a Sony executive and is now an award winning marketing whiz, discusses how what he sees as the impact that Hip Hop has had on how people in globally spend their money.

To help promote his book, recently Stoute has produced a series of videos with Hip-Hop’s biggest names to discuss ways in they all realized that Hip-Hop had fully crossed over to white, mainstream audiences. His first video installment features Jay-z, who is not only a client of Stoute but also business partner to his Translation Advertising, an ad firm specializing in connecting huge corporations to "urban" celebrities for ridiculous amounts of money.  Together, Stoute and Jay-z discuss how Hip-Hop has brought the world together and more importantly, has enable them to see their brands across a wider demographic, thanks in part to the new generation that no longer sees color.  Also, they suggest that the concept of ‘selling-out’ just does not apply anymore because more and more black folks are invested in the new aspirational culture of the Hip-Hop. 

Well I give both Stoute and Jay credit for recognizing that authenticity, creativity and in some cases talent have certainly given way to a more materialistic and denigrating aesthetic in hip-hop.

But this whole idea that Hip-Hop has somehow changed the global landscape is nonsense. First off, white people gravitating to what some would call as black music is not a new phenomenon. Likewise Black culture, more specifically musical culture, has and will always be popular around the world. Prior to hip hop, there was Jazz, Rock & Roll, Soul and Reggae – all with roots in the black community – which had and continue to have wide mainstream and global appeal. But while white folks, as well as folks of other colors, have gravitated to the music, never really meant much for race relations.  That’s why the James Browns and, Chuck Berrys, as well as many black artist before them, used to have to enter and exit through the back door just to play to all white audiences at white only establishment. In other words, just because people enjoy our music doesn’t mean they like us. Furthermore, selling our art form to corporations, whose sole purpose is profit, hasn’t really help to mature the art form itself besides making Stoute, Jay-Z and a few other acts here and there rich.  Before profits became the motivating factor within Hip-Hop, the music and the culture around it was much more political, much more relatable and more importantly, much more empowering. All we have now is a bunch of white boys calling each other niggers and that somehow we are supposed to see this as progress? Negros please.

But this whole tanning thing seems to be a running theme with Stoute. Like early this year, Stoute, who took over as lead investor and chairman for Carol's Daughter, went to work on reimagining that company’s image, which originally was founded on catering to the beauty needs of Black women. The first thing he did was announced the “Beauty in Diversity,” campaign, which featured Selita Ebanks, Cassie and Solange to represent the “polyethnic essence” of black women.

Upon the release of the campaign, Stoute issued this statement, which said, “We want to be the first beauty brand that truly captures the beauty of the tapestry of skin types in America. When I say polyethnic, I mean women who are made up of several ethnicities. If you ask them what they are, they’re going to use a lot of different words to describe themselves. That’s in line with the Census data coming out — people are checking much more than two boxes. We believe we’ve put together a shoot that celebrates many different ethnicities, to become a mirror of what America’s really becoming.[...] “They will serve as cultural ambassadors in bringing forth this acceptance that the definition of beauty is now colorless."

 
 Of course, lots of women took issue with this campaign for their lack of inclusion of women from the darker hue of the colored-woman’s spectrum.  In essence, many women felt that "well, these daughter must be adopted because they don't look nothing like the Carol, that has been marketing to me and I've been using and supporting for years.” All complexions are beautiful and this whole “polyethnic” view is certainly nothing new to a people, who historically can claim Native American, Europeans, Asian and other ethnicities within its culture yet have always been considered Black American. But having said that using only black women whose beauty, and more particularly skin tone and hair texture, has always been the acceptable norm for mainstream audiences is not only not diversity but is also indicative of this twisted mindset within the Black community that the only way to capitalize off of our feminine beauty globally is by lightening up our aesthetic.  Black women and girls are still having to fight to have their natural images seen and respected in not just mainstream cultural but also in cultural realms within the Black community, particularly within current Hip-Hop (a situation, which Stoute has gladly taken credit for), which has placed lighter-skinned women on higher pedestals than women similar in hue to the rappers themselves.  Having a campaign, which tries to redefine Black womanhood, seems at the very least counterproductive.  

I give Stoute credit where credit is due: He is a marketing genius and a master of the crossover illusion, who has helped to make many minority artists not only appeal to bigger audiences but also filthy rich.  But Stoute and his brand of Post-Black marketing only seeks to leverage our lifestyles and culture contributions to assist corporations push their brands into new markets. And just because he was able to sell the idea of Lebron James chomping down on a burger in a McDonalds ad or Chris Brown dancing and singing for a Wrigley's gum campaign does not mean that the world has accepted African Americans. Nor does it mean that any of his personal achievements and financial gains has done anything to improve upon the position of African Americans as a whole in this country, which over the last few years has gotten worse.  

If anything, Stoute’s entire views on the state of current race relations fits nicely into that old “if everybody was mixed up” meme, which has always been touted as the answer to racism by those who claim colorblindness. However, that thinking always puzzled me because we are not all equally partners in oppression. There are very real systematic assaults that have been put into place to ensure that Black and Brown folks in our society are subjectated and are viewed as less than desirable.  Likewise, pushing this idea that folks have to be tan in order for them to be socially acceptable does not bode well for those who are just regular old black and brown and red and yellow and still believe they are deserving of equality and humanity.

From The Root:

Leola Anifowoshe, the self-proclaimed authority on natural hair care, has founded Pi Nappa Kappa (Yes, that's "Nappa" as in "nappy," not an actual Greek letter), which she says is a sorority designed to allow natural hair enthusiasts to support each other. Nearly 600 women have already joined.

Why?

Seriously, why is this even necessary?  I know the turbulence that Black women, who wear natural hairstyles experience out in the corporation, or white, world can be off-putting. But really,a sisterhood around something as short-lived as hair?  It sounds a tad bit divisive and snobby?

I never liked cliques and I was never down with the Us vs. Them mentality, which appears to be so pervasive in the community. It seems like we always got to seek out new ways to segregate ourselves and this most recent natural hair trend/movement is no exception. I have read and overheard some very ugly rhetoric against those women, who still perm and weave, from those, who profess to be natural and loving it. If you were really secure in your natural state, you would not need a reason to demean those, who choose to perm or weave. Just saying.

Likewise, I try to stay away from the natural hair nazis, who like to police the experiences of others.  Not saying that this is the intention of Leola Anifowoshe, the founder of Pi Nappa Kappa, but it certainly appears to be a breeding ground for the third hair reich to rise.