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#TrevorNoah

The subject of this blog is the instagram account of Trevor Noah. For those of you who don’t know who this is, he is a comedian known primarily from The Daily Show. Trevor Noah was born on February 20, 1984 in Johannesburg, South Africa. His mom is of Xhosa ancestry and his dad is Swiss-German. Due to apartheid legislation, his mom was considered Black, his dad was considered White and he was classified as Colored. It’s very interesting to note that Noah’s parent’s relationship was actually considered illegal. Interracial marriage wasn’t made legal until he was about one year old. The abolishment of decriminalization of interracial marriages and sexual relationships was thanks to the Immorality Act amendment in 1985. With a history like this and with over 7 million followers, Trevor Noah uses his influence and personal experience to address serious racial and ethnic issues like Black Lives Matter. 

On July 31, 2020, Trevor Noah used his platform on the Daily Show and Instagram to discussed the issues surrounding the Breonna Taylor shooting. He believes that it isn’t enough to just use her name in a meme or as a slogan in social media. Noah believes we need to hear the full story of Breonna Taylor to be able to honor and mourn her in the way she deserves. Being a comedian, he mentions that it was nice to see the media covering the death of a black person by the hands of the police and using good pictures instead of the one “that makes us look like we just robbed a bank”. 

The issues of white privilege were prevalent in the case of Breonna Taylor which is why it directly relates to Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege Checklist. Because she was black, her life was automatically deemed less than. Because the three cops that shot her were white, they were given a free pass. There are different criminal justice systems for the rich and the poor, and for whites and blacks. This was blatantly seen when no charges were filed against the white officers that gunned down Breonna Taylor but several black protestors were arrested for peacefully protesting in front of the District Attorney’s house in Kentucky. At the end of his video, Noah says, “this was not a failure of the system, but the system working as it was intended to.”  Below is a link to Trevor Noah’s video regarding Breonna Taylor.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CDUJ8FyH6ED/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

References

https://www.cc.com/episodes/j8s5is/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-may-5-2021-selma-van-de-perre-season-26-ep-91

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/21/us/breonna-taylor-death-police-changes-trnd/index.html

https://www.cc.com/video/kkqnlm/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-justice-for-breonna-taylor

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#theHelp

The Help is a movie that takes place in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. A young aspiring writer named Skeeter returns from college and decides to interview the black maids who have spent their entire lives raising the children of prominent southern families. Skeeter starts off interviewing Aibileen, the housekeeper for one of her friends, and one by one, other maids decide to tell their stories. The Help shines a light on the hardships and struggles that black women have to deal with and shows the genuine differences between Southern high society and the help. 

Gregory Jay’s “Who Invented Whiteness” dives into segregation during the Civil Rights Movement. There were separate bathrooms, restaurants, drinking fountains, schools, etc. for black and white to ensure the segregation of the two. In The Help, a big issue is the bathrooms. One of the characters is a snooty woman named Hilly. She wants all houses to have a separate bathroom for the help because “you don’t know where they’ve been”. Her maid, Minny, uses Hilly’s bathroom when there is a dangerous storm outside causing Hilly to hysterically scream and show how racist she really is. 

The Help really focuses on the racial differences between African Americans and Whites in the 1960s. Jay’s “Who Invented Whiteness” instills certain topics that can be seen all throughout The Help. He mentions the different advantages white people have in life. Even though the maids were raising the children and basically running the house, they were still looked at as less than the white families they worked for and were told to be grateful they even had a job. Hilly used her power as a white woman in high society to try and enforce segregation throughout her town. She would claim it was beneficial for the help but was really her own nasty way of being a racist. Luckily, Hilly gets what she deserves (if you know, you know) and the help is able to get their truths out. Although it may not have brought the end of segregation and racism, it was a start. 

References 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/help-film-review-219915

movieclipsTRAILERS. “The Help (2011) Minny uses the toilet - HD.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Apr. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A66Ph-DUvM.

Jay, Gregory S. “'Who Invented White People?'.” The Thompson Reader: Conversations in Context. Ed. Yagelski, Robert. Thomson/Heinle Publishers, (2007): 96-102.

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#Black-ish Reflection

The TV show Black-ish follows the Johnson family. The dad, Andre, grew up in the ghetto of Los Angeles. He went to college and is currently a successful VP for an advertisement company. Growing up, he struggled and faced many hardships that he shares with his kids. He never forgets where he came from and makes sure his family knows nothing is ever handed to them. The mom, Rainbow, is biracial (half white, half black). She is an anesthesiologist (who saves lives!) and consistently struggles with the discrimination she receives for being mixed race. She dealt with obstacles not only growing up, but in her current profession. Andre’s mom and dad live with the family and give a different voice to African American history. The Johnsons have five kids who grow throughout the series and learn about what it truly means to be African American. 

Throughout the show, the Johnsons deal with racial stereotypes and the issues of white privilege. Peggy McIntosh created what’s known as the “White Privilege Checklist” and Andre references this issue often. At work, Andre is one of only two black employees. His boss and other co-workers are white and frankly, racist. Andre has to enlighten them to the issues of white privilege on a daily basis as well as combat the typical stereotypes they throw his way. 

In Season 3 of Black-ish, the topic of mix race is addressed. Rainbow has a black mom and white dad, therefore making her “mixed”. A spinoff show called Mixed-ish digs deeper into her life as a child but in this episode called “Being Bow-Racial”, we get a glimpse of how she dealt with issues of self-identification from the internal and external struggles of being biracial as a child and how it has followed her throughout her adult life. In the episode, her son starts dating a white girl. Because of her issues with her sense of identity, she is brought to tears at the fact that she would prefer her son to date black women. This ties into an article written by Susan Saulny that discusses how the internal and external struggles a bi-racial person has does affect their sense of self. Ultimately, Rainbow’s dad gives her some clarity and she starts to come to terms with her identity as both a black and white woman. Here is a brief clip from the episode that highlights Rainbow’s struggle with being biracial.  

https://twitter.com/i/status/804158363449769984

Black-ish is not only an enlightening show but it also carries some deep messages that need to be addressed in our society. The issues of racism, multiculturism, racial stereotypes etc. are problems that African Americans struggle with on a daily basis. This show helps shed light on these ongoing issues and can maybe influence some much needed change in our world. 

References 

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2016/12/131633/blackish-episode-8-biracial-identity-interracial-dating

https://www.tvfanatic.com/gallery/bow-visits-her-dad-black-ish-s3e8/

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/tv/story/2020-10-13/blackish-abc-season-7-cast-key-art-kadir-nelson