May 27 2008

Race and the City or why do the white girls always sit together on television?

Race and the City
or
Why do the white girls always sit together on television?

In a recent interview, Sex and the City (SATC) producer Michael King said he added an African-American character to the cast (played in the movie by Jennifer Hudson) as a response to African American women saying to him that they love the show “but where are the sisters?”

While it is great to see Mr. King respond to those requests (no boycott or petitions required!), GoLeft has to ask, what NY are you living in where people of color are not prominent in your image of NY?

The all-white NY is ubiquitous on television and the movies though white people make up only 44% of the population. In fact most television shows that support a multi-racial casts take place outside of NYC, including Scrubs (L.A.), Grey’s Anatomy (Seattle); and Battlestar Galactica (space). Ugly Betty is a great exception, though the show has less of a NYC feel and 30 Rock has done the most in provocative discussions on race (check out the episodes on Liz Lemon’s Middle-Eastern neighbor and Tracy Morgan’s appeal to Black people to vote republican).

In popular culture race is either ignored or best dealt with satirically. The hard work of teaching, acknowledging and reminding people of past and present racial injustices and the permanent systems in place to perpetuate racial divisions are left to progressive organizers who are pushing this agenda (and they’re a small segment of progressive organizers). That’s why GoLeft was so excited about the greatest cultural opportunity of late, Barack Obama’s speech which touched on divisions among people because of race and the difficulty in having these conversations.

For organizers and people who care about racial justice, the use of popular culture to further these discussions can prove useful. The Obama speech definitely stands out as does movies such as Bulworth (our next movie night film, btw), Crash, Do the Right Thing and Brother from Another Planet. Check out our Top 100 movies every Progressive Should See for more films on race.

Check out these New York organizations that are pushing the envelope on race and working to make sure life does not imitate pop culture include: 

CAAV: Organizing Asian Communities
http://www.caaav.org/
CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities (also known as Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence) focuses on institutional violence that affects immigrant, poor and working-class communities such as worker exploitation, concentrated urban poverty, police brutality, Immigration Naturalization Service detention and deportation, and criminalization of youth and workers.

By organizing across diverse, low-wage, and poor Asian communities in New York City, CAAAV exposes and struggles against violence with the goal of building community capacity to exercise self-determination.

CAAAV’s programs include the Chinatown Justice Project, uniting low-income residents of Manhattan’s Chinatown for decent and affordable housing, and fighting displacement caused by gentrification; the Women Workers Project, organizing Asian women workers in the informal service economy, particularly domestic workers who face long hours, low wages, no job security or health benefits; and the Southeast Asian Youth Leadership Project in the Bronx, which organizes around welfare, public education and INS detention issues.

Audre Lorde Project
http://www.alp.org/
The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color community organizing center, focusing on the New York City area. Through mobilization, education and capacity-building, they work for community wellness and progressive social and economic justice. Committed to struggling across differences, they seek to responsibly reflect, represent and serve their various communities.

Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
http://www.jfrej.org/index.html
Pursues racial and economic justice in New York City by advancing systemic changes that result in concrete improvements in peoples daily lives. They engage individual Jews, key Jewish institutions, and key Jewish community leaders in the fight for racial and economic justice in partnership with people of color, low-income and immigrant communities.