Articles

‘I’ve Been Black All the Time’

by richard05831

Diahann Carroll Approached Race Issue Her Way

Sports Illustrated Lays Off 35-40 Percent of Staff

Columnists Debate That Hug in a Dallas Courtroom

Booker, Harris, Caucus Back Allen vs. Comcast

Trump Builds Dangerous ‘Lost-Cause’ Mythology

Nexstar Stations Spend 10 Days Reporting on Border

Test for J-School Entry a Major Obstacle for Latinos

Reporting Prompts Troopers to Collect Racial Data

Black News Channel Gets Majority Investor

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Diahann Carroll in "Claudine"
Diahann Carroll in “Claudine,” 1974

Diahann Carroll Approached Race Issue Her Way

Diahann Carroll was not a member of the news media, but some of the issues she faced as a pioneer in the entertainment industry still affect professionals of color in all fields.

It was in 1975 that Jet magazine lifted a quote of hers to cover-line status: “People say ‘Diahann Carroll became Black after she did [the 1974 movie] ‘Claudine’. Well, let me tell you, I know that I’ve been Black all the time. And I’m comfortable with me.”

The cover line read, “Diahann Carroll: ‘I’ve Been Black All the Time.” The story was written by Jet managing editor Robert DeLeon, who became Carroll’s third husband before his tragic death in an automobile accident two years later.

As Margalit Fox reported in the New York Times, Carroll, “who more than half a century ago transcended racial barriers as the star of ‘Julia,’ the first American television series to chronicle the life of a black professional woman, died on Friday at her home in West Hollywood, Calif. She was 84.”

The cover of the April 3.1975, Jet magazine.
The cover of the April 3, 1975, Jet magazine.

“Her publicist, Jeffrey Lane, said the cause was complications of breast cancer. Ms. Carroll had survived the cancer in the 1990s and become a public advocate for screening and treatment. . . .

“Widely known for her elegant beauty and sartorial glamour, Ms. Carroll began her professional life as a singer and continued to ply that art. She sang on television, in nightclubs, on recordings and on Broadway, where she won a Tony Award.

“In films, she starred opposite the likes of Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, James Earl Jones and Michael Caine. On television, she played the scheming, moneyed Dominique Deveraux on ABC’s prime-time soap opera ‘Dynasty’ in the 1980s. . . .”

Fox also wrote, “Though Ms. Carroll publicly defended ‘Julia,’ she acknowledged that in portraying the black experience it made many concessions to the middle-class white viewers it hoped to attract. She also said afterward that her experience playing the character had been both a professional boon and a professional hindrance. . . .”

She was more blunt in an interview in TV Guide in December 1968. “At the moment, we’re presenting the white Negro. And he has very little Negro-ness.”

Carroll wrote in “The Legs Are the Last to Go: Aging, Acting, Marrying and Other Things I Learned the Hard Way,” a 2008 memoir, “I was under the political microscope for Julia like you wouldn’t believe. But I didn’t have the expertise to discuss the socioeconomic situation of the African-American community. Nor did I feel I should have to defend the character of a polite nurse with excellent taste in clothes, some of which I brought to the set from my own closet. . . .

“The studio had its hands full with all the complaint letters, and had to hire two full-time assistants just to answer all of them. And many psychologists, politicians, and journalists all felt it was important to meet with me about the show’s impact.”

Being a pioneer took its toll on the time she could spend with her only child, Suzanne Kay, Carroll wrote. But as with other professionals, she said she had to be aware of the role timing plays in a career. “In the mid-1960s . . . I was part of a group of blacks who were breaking into the entertainment industry in new ways. Sammy Davis Jr., Harry Belafonte, Nat King Cole, Sidney Poitier, Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt — we were riding something wonderful and giving a guilty and conflicted nation what they wanted to see. So eight weeks in Tahoe or Vegas? Yes. Role in a sophisticated film? How could I say no?  . . .”

Carroll with Robert DeLeon
Carroll with Robert DeLeon

As for the “not black enough” talk, Carroll told DeLeon in 1975, “What we as Black people are going through is a phase — a necessary phase — And the cruelty of it is almost understandable. In order to reach for the new, sometimes you have to prove to the world that we are discarding everything of the old.

“I came out of a certain era and most of the black performers who came out of that same era have to pay a price today for striving for a kind of acceptability that I think the Black community wanted us to strive for 20 years ago.”

Just last month, “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt articulated his own approach to the race issue, telling the Washington Post’s Sarah Ellison, “I’ve never come with an agenda. I was one of those that always said, ‘I’m an anchor who is black, but I don’t come here as a black anchor, and there’s a difference. . . .

“I can’t escape the fact that I’m here as a result of people who’ve demanded rights and tried to awaken this country. So I have a certain sensitivity and a certain access to cover certain stories, and that’s what we ask of anyone here.”

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Harlem-raised Carroll reminded readers, she hosted fundraisers in her home for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee with Harry Belafonte and Stokely Carmichael. “I supported the Black Panthers and Shirley Chisholm’s bid to be the first black female president [in 1972]. In fact her major Los Angeles fund-raiser was in my home. . . .”

In 1997, after being diagnosed with the breast cancer whose complications eventually took her life, Carroll became a spokesperson for groups confronting the disease.

“I was giving my talk and explaining that a mammogram truck would be coming in on Thursday,” she wrote in her memoir. “A woman came up to me and asked, ‘Does that mean for black women, too?’ Another asked if Asian women were included. I was just stunned to hear from women who believed they would be turned away from testing because of the color of their skin or the language they spoke. It’s all so enlightening. I would probably never have the opportunities to visit these communities, learning so much about our country, if I had not had cancer.”

The course Carroll pursued on the race issue proved to be appreciated, Bethonie Butler reported Friday in the Washington Post:

“As news of Carroll’s death spread Friday, she was honored by prominent black women in entertainment,” including “Scandal” actress Kerry Washington and the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes.

” ‘The power and impact of Diahann Carroll is immeasurable. As the first, she escorted the tv drama into the 20th century,’ Rhimes said in a statement. ‘Her Julia Baker is queen mother to Olivia Pope’s existence.’

“ ‘Thanks for helping clear the path for me and so many others,’ Oprah Winfrey wrote.

“Filmmaker Ava DuVernay tweeted that Carroll ‘blazed trails through dense forests and elegantly left diamonds along the path for the rest of us to follow.’

“ ‘Diahann Carroll you taught us so much,’ wrote Debbie Allen, who directed the actress in her recurring role as Whitley Gilbert’s mother on ‘A Different World.’ ‘We are stronger, more beautiful and risk takers because of you,’ Allen added. ‘We will forever sing your praises and speak your name.’

“ ‘I love you for eternity. With all my heart. I am because of you,’ Washington wrote.

Sports Illustrated Lays Off 35-40 Percent of Staff

“The publishing company behind Sports Illustrated laid off 35 to 40 percent of the publication’s editorial staff Thursday, according to people familiar with the personnel moves, cuts that could decimate what was once the standard-bearer of American sports journalism,” Jacob Bogage and Ben Strauss reported Thursday for the Washington Post.

“Staffers speaking on the condition of anonymity out of concern of reprisal said the job losses are worse than most inside the magazine expected. Even die-hard optimists said morale was at an all-time low given the magazine’s recent struggles, and key managers were not given the opportunity to fight to save some of the organization’s most prized writers. . . .”

Samer Kalaf of Deadspin is compiling a running tally of those laid off, including WNBA producer Kellen Becoats, digital designer Jorge Ruiz, NBA editor DeAntae Prince, writer Scooby Axson and wire producer Khadrice Rollins.

Brandt Jean hugs Amber R. Guyger, the former police officer who shot and killed his older brother, in a Dallas courtroom. (Credit: Pool photo by Tom Fox /Dallas Morning News)
Brandt Jean hugs Amber R. Guyger, the former police officer who shot and killed his older brother, in a Dallas courtroom. (Credit: Pool photo by Tom Fox /Dallas Morning News)

Columnists Debate That Hug in a Dallas Courtroom

“This week in Dallas we watched Brandt Jean, 18, hug Amber R. Guyger, the former police officer who shot and killed his older brother, Botham Shem Jean, as he sat alone in his apartment,”  Lauretta Charlton, Race/Related editor at the New York Times, wrote Saturday. “He hugged her in a courtroom after she was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison, far shorter than the maximum sentence of 99 years.

“Sarah Mervosh, a national correspondent who used to cover courts in Dallas and had been covering the Guyger trial for The Times all week, said she had never seen anything like it. . . .

“Some have criticized both Judge Tammy Kemp and Brandt Jean for showing such compassion to Ms. Guyger. The backlash has been compared to 2015, when survivors and relatives of those massacred in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church offered forgiveness to Dylann Roof. Not everyone agreed with them either.

“Both cases have led to important conversations about who, in circumstances like these, gets compassion and forgiveness and who doesn’t. Ms. Guyger is white and said she thought she was in her own apartment when she shot Mr. Jean, an unarmed black man who had been eating ice cream in his home.

“Imagine if the roles were reversed, and it was Mr. Jean standing in the courtroom.

“I like to think that what Brandt Jean did was more than an act of forgiveness. A young black man dealing with his grief as best he could — that’s bravery. . . .”

Separately, “A key witness in Amber Guyger’s murder trial was shot and killed Friday evening at an apartment complex near Dallas’ Medical District, authorities said,” Marc Ramirez and Jennifer Emily reported Saturday for the Dallas Morning News. “Joshua Brown, a neighbor of Botham Jean’s and Guyger at the South Side Flats apartments, was slain about 10:30 p.m. in the 4600 block of Cedar Springs Road. . . .”

Booker, Harris, Caucus Back Allen vs. Comcast

Cory Booker and Kamala Harris (Credit: Shutterstock)
Cory Booker and Kamala Harris (Credit: Shutterstock)

“Days before the new session of the Supreme Court is set to begin, an ever-growing chorus of displeasure with the alliance between Comcast and Donald Trump’s Department of Justice in Byron Allen’s $20 billion battle with the NBCUniversal owner grew even louder and potentially more presidential,” Dominic Patten wrote Thursday for Deadline

“In the closing hours for amicus briefs to be filed to the high court earlier this week, Oval Office contenders Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) joined with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the influential Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal to stop a perceived pivotal change to long-standing civil rights legislation in the case that is to be heard before the justices on November 13.

Patten also wrote, “Amid battling Allen and his Entertainment Studios for nearly four years in the courts, Comcast got a boost from the Trump administration on August 15, when the William Barr-led Justice Department filed a brief that seeks to tighten the definitions of the Reconstruction Era statute in the Philadelphia-based corporation’s favor.

“The DOJ’s brief frames the statute to require that Entertainment Studios has to prove race was not merely a motivating factor, as the 9th Circuit interpreted the statute earlier this summer. Now, if Chief Justice John Roberts and associate justices agree, Allen’s lawyers would have to prove that race was absolutely the only reason Comcast didn’t place the company’s channels on its distribution services and platforms — which is a near-impossible standard by any measure. . . .”

The original Lost Cause, balm for defeated Confederates, is celebrated in this 1866 book by Edward Pollard. (Credit: civilwartalk.com)
The original Lost Cause, balm for defeated Confederates, is celebrated in this 1866 book by Edward A. Pollard. (Credit: civilwartalk.com)

Trump Builds Dangerous ‘Lost-Cause’ Mythology

“What we’re witnessing is the birth of a lost-cause mythology for the Trump presidency,” Matt Ford wrote Thursday for the New Republic.

“His supporters are being told that if he is impeached and removed from office, it won’t be due to the fact that he violated his oath of office by inviting foreign governments to interfere in the American democratic process. His downfall will instead be precipitated by a shadowy cabal of partisan Democrats, bent on overthrowing him—and American democracy, by proxy—through corrupt and illegitimate means. The risk here, as with the original Lost Cause narrative, is that it will encourage far-right groups to assault and murder Trump’s political opponents.

“That risk is well-established. On the eve of the 2018 midterm elections last year, more than a dozen pipe bombs were mailed to frequent targets of Trump’s criticism: the Obama and Clinton families, multiple Democratic members of Congress, other liberal officials and donors, and the news network CNN. The FBI soon arrested Cesar Sayoc, a vocal Trump supporter who often distributed pro-Trump conspiracy theories on social media. Trump himself initially condemned Sayoc’s actions. Then he wrote that the mainstream media was responsible for ‘a very big part of the anger we see today in our society’ and had to ‘clean up its act, FAST!’

“Five months after the pipe bomb scare, federal agents arrested Coast Guard lieutenant Christopher Hassan on federal drug and firearms charges. In their motion to hold him before trial, prosecutors laid out a disturbing plot by Hassan to carry out a wave of assassinations against prominent Democrats and journalists. He allegedly stockpiled more than a dozen guns and a thousand rounds of ammunition while gathering information about where members of Congress resided. Hassan, who identified as a ‘long time White Nationalist,’ hoped to ‘make change with a little focused violence.’ . . .

“There’s a long, tragic history of political violence in America that predates Trump’s rise to power. But he stands apart, at least among modern American presidents, for his willingness to tacitly encourage it among his supporters. . . .”

Nexstar’s Border Tour team includes, from left, front row,Chris Berg, Anna Wiernicki, Julian Resendiz, Sandra Sanchez. Back row: Ozzie Carrillo, William Hague, Michael Bert of Accelerated Media Technologies, and Austin Kellerman. (Credit: Border Report)
Nexstar’s Border Tour team includes, from left, front row, Chris Berg, Anna Wiernicki, Julian Resendiz and Sandra Sanchez. Back row: Ozzie Carrillo, William Hague, Michael Bert of Accelerated Media Technologies and Austin Kellerman. (Credit: Border Report)

Nexstar Stations Spend 10 Days Reporting on Border

“In a ground-breaking, comprehensive series of broadcast and digital reports, Nexstar Broadcasting sent a team of journalists on a 10-day mission to offer viewers a unique and revealing look at life along the border, from one end to the other,” Paul Greeley reported Friday for TVNewsCheck.

“It’s unprecedented for a local TV station group to assemble reporters, photographers, digital content specialists and producers on such a journey and to share their stories with the viewers at the 170 local TV [stations] Nexstar owns.

“Nexstar’s Border Report Tour, started in San Diego on Sunday, Sept. 22, and concluded on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in Brownsville, Texas. Along the way, the team generated more than 50 pieces of original content for digital, hundreds of news stories and more than 130 live shots for broadcast.

“All of the reports, stories, photos, maps and graphics are available on the Border Report website.

“The whole idea of sending a team of journalists to tour along the border and file reports came from Perry Sook, Nexstar’s CEO, and Tim Busch, Nexstar’s president. While they were at the grand opening of the new KTSM operations center in El Paso earlier this year, viewers told them there was a strong need for presenting the untold stories of their local community and other communities in the United States that share a border with Mexico. . . .”

Test for J-School Entry a Major Obstacle for Latinos

“The Daily Aztec has published various stories on the barriers upheld by the Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation test. Each evaluation brings a valid point to a conversation worth having, but one that is lacking is the obstacle it produces for Latinx students seeking to become journalists,” Charlie Vargas wrote Wednesday for the Daily Aztec at San Diego State University.

San Diego test“For those unfamiliar with the GSP, it is a test that used to require a score of 80% for admission into the School of Journalism and Media Studies. Grammar and punctuation rules in the Spanish language are very different from that in the English language. It makes the test more difficult for students whose primary or first language is not English. That passing score was reduced to 77% on Sept. 23, according to notifications sent to students by the journalism department.

“Why did the department decrease the score needed to pass the test? Because only 12% of students who took the exam in the 2018-19 school year passed it. The highest pass rate seen in recent years was during the 2014-15 school year, when 19% of students passed.

“Prospective journalism students get three chances to take the exam, but many end up ultimately having to petition to get into the major. Of the students who have to petition, it is not uncommon to end up having to change major programs completely.

“The GSP requirement fails to assess the complexity of Latinx students looking to get into the JMS programs. Some students are first-generation, others are DACA recipients and for many, English is their second language. English being a student’s second language can be a major barrier when it comes to test-taking. . . .”

Reporting Prompts Troopers to Collect Racial Data

“The Pennsylvania State Police, the third-largest statewide law enforcement agency in the country, has stopped collecting data on the race of drivers its troopers pull over, making it far more difficult to detect bias,” Angela Couloumbis and Daniel Simmons-Ritchie reported Sept. 20 for Spotlight PA, “an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PennLive/Patriot-News.”

“The change, which was never publicly announced, was made by the State Police in 2012 and has remained in place despite national attention on race and policing in recent years and the widely accepted value of collecting such data for analysis.

“Comprised of about 4,700 troopers, the Pennsylvania State Police is one of only 11 statewide law enforcement agencies in the U.S. that does not collect race data during stops, and by far the largest, according to a Spotlight PA survey of all 50 states. . . .”

Couloumbis and Simmons-Ritchie also wrote, “When initially asked why data collection was discontinued, a spokesperson for the State Police said it was based on studies that found no evidence of racial disparities in traffic stops. One of those studies had, however, identified ‘racial, ethnic, and gender disparities’ in how troopers dealt with motorists after they were stopped.

“On Sept. 17, after being presented with the findings of Spotlight PA’s nationwide survey, State Police officials said the agency would reverse course and resume collection next year. . . .”

Billionaire Shahid (Shad) Khan announces purchase of Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012. (video)

Black News Channel Gets Majority Investor

“Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan disclosed Wednesday that he will be the majority investor in the nation’s only 24-hour news network aimed at African American viewers, giving the network a deep pocket as it launches next month,” Brendan Farrington reported for the Associated Press.

The Black News Channel “has been in the works for years and an announcement about its launch was made earlier this year. But Khan’s backing gives it a substantial boost. . . .”

Farrington also wrote, Khan “declined to say how much he would invest initially but said it would be enough to keep the network running for a long time. . . .

“Khan is worth an estimated $8 billion and made his fortune in the auto equipment industry. As well as the Jaguars, he owns Fulham Football Club of the English Football League, Four Seasons Hotel Toronto and All Elite Wrestling. . . .”

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