Negroes, Nike, & Niggerization: Corporate America Wins While Black People Lose

"Yeah, Money... it's definitely the shoes!"

 Maybe it was the time I went back to school shopping with my dad when I was 14yrs old that I learned the commercialism as far as tennis shoes would have no importance in my life. Yeah, that was the time at Kohl's that I debated with my father just how important it was for me to own the Ralph Sampson signature pair of Pumas as opposed to the no-named pair of Brooks he wanted to buy me at the time. Frustrated by my antics and show of selfishness, my father made me leave the store and sit in the car. My younger brothers got Nike while I got, well, not even the pair of Brooks.

I think it was at that point that I learned something valuable: shut up while in stores shopping with dad. Which eventually lead to me not giving a damn about purchasing the hottest tennis shoe of the month ever; and to this day, I am the same way. So when I saw the following video of black folks acting the damn fool at a Houston mall on Christmas Eve when the new Air Jordans were released, I was thankful that my father did what he did while I was at the tender age of fourteen:

So, now blackface is high fashion!

By JuJuBe (Joanna)

When I was a teenager, my family, and the families we were closest to would put on a "talent" show. We would rent out a Knights of Columbus Hall, cook a huge spread, and put on a performance for family, friends and neighbors. No fancy choreography or professionally written scripts. Just a small group of amateurs singing, performing comedy skits, dancing and lip syncing. Not open to the public, just for our own amusement.

Well, one year three women (friends of my mother) decided to perform an "homage" to the Supremes. My grandmother sewed some elaborate costumes. The ladies practiced every day to perfect their dance moves. And when the ladies got on stage to perform, the whole crowd burst out laughing. Why? Well...... about those "costumes".... they had the glittery dresses, the wigs, and, oh, yeah.... BLACKFACE.

At the time, I was a relatively clueless kid, yet I KNEW that this made me REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE. I knew there was something wrong with this "tribute", but I was assured by other family members that their actions were not RACIST, because it was done out of RESPECT. Ummm, yeah, which explains the raucous laughter, right??

I look back on that now and am embarrassed that I actually sat in the audience watching this debacle and said nothing publicly in protest. And the fact that everyone was laughing? Looking back, it saddens me that these are people I used to spend most of my time with. Because honestly, the people who participated in the show probably are CLUELESS as to the offensiveness of their act to this day.

American Apparel Doesn't Want "Trashy" Black Women and Relaxed Hair?

I have always found American Apparel to be ultra trashy clothing.  I haven't even been able to buy a single piece just because whenever I got to the website, I feel like I'm actually surfing the web for porn; and, I'm assaulted by emaciated looking women; women who look like they've just done a line in the bathroom, or drugged with Rohypnol. 

Now American Apparel is no stranger to controversy.  It usually stems from their trashy images, but this time they are in some hot water for being materialistic douche bags.  What I found most interesting about the post was this: 

Another former AA manager says that she received the following instructions as to what kind of black girls she should try to hire during the company's open calls:

"none of the trashy kind that come in, we don't want that. we're not trying to sell our clothes to them. try to find some of these classy black girls, with nice hair, you know?"

i will remember that forever, especially the "nice hair" part. he was instructing another manager and i on who to look for during an upcoming open call, and i sat there dumbfounded, listening to him speak while the other manager made "uh huh, got it" sounds on her end of the phone. the other manager on the call with me later became a district manager, and at one point instructed me to tell two of my employees (both of whom happened to be black females) to stop straightening their hair. i refused to do this, but wondered if the mentality behind her request was related to what dov had said.

If you're asking yourself if they asked them to stop straightening their hair (and most likely go and stay natural), don't  You read that correctly.

I am not surprised by this.  American Apparel's CEO Dov Charney is a little pervert who is living out his teenage revenge fantasies to screw impressionable, and quite thirsty, chicks who want to model.   I'm also not surprised that a fashion establishment has an issue with black consumers.  We know the game.  What I am totally surprised at is the possible implication, for once in all my 28 years of life, that natural hair is nice hair...

Aretha Franklin, Aretha Franklin, Aretha Franklin lemme rock ya Aretha Franklin that's all I wanna do Aretha Franklinnnn!

Every time I read, hear, or see the name Lady Gaga I think of fellatio, but when I see her I think of puke. Yep, and then there was this mess. What the fuck is wrong with Aretha Franklin? I mean I know it gets cold in the city of Detroit, but that's not exactly the reason to leave your house looking like a cross be tween the lion from The Wiz and Chewbacca. Seriously Aretha, this shit has to stop, and stop right now.

I could be wrong, but when someone is the queen of soul, I'd like to think they take more care as to how they present themselves when in the spotlight. I dunno, things in Detroit are tough economically and people are in need of money and all. But did you really have to hire Stevie Wonder to pick out your wardrobe?

Have you seen Stevie's hairline lately Aretha?!

Aretha, you're Black royalty, and especially since Michael Jackson is now dead and gone, I'm gonna need you to take this Queen shit more seriously. Earlier this year when you wore that big-ass ugly green puke colored hat at the presidential inauguration and people roasted you I figured you'd get the hint. But what did you do for an encore Aretha? You show up at the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting looking like a grizzly bear pissed off because someone woke him up from hibernation too early.

Lemme guess, PETA offered to save your house from foreclosure last year if you would stop wearing fur, and you're mad that they put you, your highness, on blast, right? I understand, I wouldn't want people to know that I'm broke or having financial troubles either. Yep, fuck PETA! I hate them skinny salad eating vegetarian fuckers Aretha. They should have gave you the money on the low and not put you out there like that.

But one question: weren't your titties cold in that Manhattan air? Surely your head, face and ass wasn't with all that dead rabbit covering it, but what about the titties Aretha? Yeah, I know them things are huge and you love putting them out there like that; and trust me, I like them. But damn, you're like 84yrs old Aretha! Your titties could have caught pneumonia, or worse, the Swine Flu. I'm just sayin'... in the summer time that's cool if you wanna come out in a tank-top from Forever 21 as you're known to do, but, er, um, in the dead of winter Aretha?

Look, I'm gonna stop for now because the last thing I wanna do is not R-E-S-P-E-C-T the queen. But I'd be damned if her face in the pic above doesn't look like the head of a penis poking out from under the extra uncircumcised foreskin of some Negroes dick....[pause].... um, definitely not a good look there your majesty.