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#BBQBecky

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44167760

In April 2018, in the designated grilling area of Oakland, California’s Lake Merritt Park, a black family was hosting a midday barbecue. The family-hosted barbecue, which should be a seemingly innocuous activity regardless of race, or any other demographic measure, resulted in two racially fueled phone calls to the police by a bigoted bystander. Jennifer Schulte, the woman who called the police, was recorded by a benevolent passerby as she rattled off a laundry list of fabricated violations and criminal offensives by the back family. The 24-minute recording of the phone calls, which has close to 10 million views on YouTube, took the internet by storm, engendering the hashtag: bbqbecky. At first the hashtag was only associated with Jennifer’s racially biased phone calls, but quickly came to represent any and all deranged interactions by racist whites on the internet. #bbqbecky was a harbinger for policy change on racially biased phone calls to police; since the incident, several states have made it illegal to make discriminatory 911 calls.

Schulte’s racist motives, which she attempted to cover up by claiming her call was due to the family’s charcoal grill, are a vivid demonstration of whiteness, reflective of the themes in Butler’s Mirrors of Privilege, McIntosh’s White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. 

McIntosh introduces us to all the daily privileges we have as whites, implicit conditions that we take for granted. The instance of BBQBECKY juxtaposes white privilege with the discrimination blacks face in their daily lives. A white family gathering for a barbecue, following all park guidelines, would not have to think twice about a passerby calling the cops on them. Yet, a black family, like who gather that April day, has to be aware of potential prosecution and discrimination at all times– even when they are abiding by the law. We are unable to determine whether Jennifer phoned the police out of “fear” of the black family, which is very plausible as media mostly portrays blacks negatively (highlighting criminality while seldom presenting accomplishments or positive social impact), or out of mere racist sentiments. Whichever the case, the actions taken are active forms of racism, which show how even the most pedestrian moments can result in unwarranted harassment for blacks (Mcintosh). 

The fear and racial sentiment captured in the BBQbecky clip has existed within whites for centuries, as it has been disseminated via education systems, media, and legislation. In Butler’s Mirrors of Privilege, one participant describes the overt police presence on a college campus whenever a group of 5 or more black men gathered. The presumption that a gathering of blacks means some sort of violent or criminal activity is present in BBQbecky. Although, thankfully, there were consequences for the racially fueled phone call, BBQbecky shows that such sentiment is still present within white conscious. 

  abcnews.go.com/US/white-long-island-couple-charged-harassment-complaints-black/story?id=72441328.

The captured event and subsequent hashtag have brought increased attention to the harassment of blacks on a global scale. It is positive that the discrimination and harassment blacks face on a daily basis can be witnessed by the masses. It triggered a chain of similar postings and hashtags. Although I don't think it needs to be said, significant change does not happen electronically or via social media. A repost or like only reflects one's sentiments; the impact is rarely transferred in everyday life. Until the energy put towards posting, sharing, and hashtagging racist events is translated towards law making (harsher consequences for racist action and police phone calls) and on the ground activism, calls from racist pedestrians will persist. 

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-white-people-frivolously-calling-police-danger-20181023-story.html

88Nine Radio Milwaukee. INVISIBLE Lines | Darren AND Vedale: Coded [EPISODE 1]. 15 May 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTqcSSQpiQY. Accessed 1 May 2021.

Hutchison, Bill. “White Long Island Couple Charged Following Harassment Complaints by Black Neighbor.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 10 Aug. 2020, abcnews.go.com/US/white-long-island-couple-charged-harassment-complaints-black/story?id=72441328.

McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (1989) 1.” On Privilege, Fraudulence, and Teaching As Learning, 2019, pp. 29–34., doi:10.4324/9781351133791-4.

Snider, Michelle Dione, director. White Woman Called Out for Racially Targeting Black Men Having BBQ in Oakland. YouTube, YouTube, 29 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh9D_PUe7QI.

Vavra, Kassidy. “'BBQ Becky,' 'Golfcart Gail' and the Very Real Danger Connected to White Privilege.” Nydailynews.com, New York Daily News, 12 Dec. 2018, www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-white-people-frivolously-calling-police-danger-20181023-story.html.

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If Beale Street Could Talk (Film)

If Beale Street Could Talk is the 2018 film adaptation of James Baldwin's 1974 novel under the same name. The film was nominated for several categories at the Golden Globes Awards, Academy Awards, and Critics' Choice Awards.  Although "Beale Street" is the title of the film- a  street in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which has a long history in both music and southern black culture; some consider it as the birthplace of blues- the romantic drama is set in 1970s Harlem, New York. The plot centers around two black lovers, Tish and Fonny. Fonny, who has been falsely accused of raping a Puerto Rican woman, is awaiting trial, while Tish and Fonny's families work together to try to pay for a lawyer in hopes of overturning the case.  

The themes of racial divide, racial prejudice within the justice system, and the treacherous effects of racist society on the black community are depicted throughout the film. As focal point of the film is the Tish and Fonny’s relationship, they encounter racial injustice in almost every scene. The most vivid scene portraying the racial divide between white’s and black’s is at Tish’s workplace- in the perfume department of a large New York department store. She describes the difference between how white and black people ask to smell a scent. The white man makes Tish spray her own hand, which in a dehumanizing way  induces physical contact. The white man then grabs her hand and raises it to his nose, holding it there for a disturbingly long amount of time, to ultimately demonstrate his racial and societal dominance over her like that of a slave owner. In contrast, the black man approaches her with a smile. He proceeds to  ask Tish to spray his own hand and raises to his own nose. There is no tension, neither sexual nor racial, but a sense of mutual respect and understanding. The way in which the white man interacts with Tish draws parallels to Willis’ exposition on a photograph of Woman, South African, 1880s. The white man conducts himself as if he is interacting with an animal, taking advantage not only show is dominance, but sexual amusement as well. 

http://thecinemaarchives.com/2019/01/21/if-beale-street-could-talk-2018-barry-jenkins/

The film also represents an idea that racist ideologies are so ingrained in the justice system that any compassion or empathy for blacks to purport veracity will unfortunately be unsuccessful. There are two scenes that demonstrate this. The white grocery store owner tells the police that Tish was being harassed by a white man and Fonny rightfully defended her. Even though the cop walks away, the white man gets his “revenge” soon after by falsely accusing Fonny of rape. 

We could analyze a laundry list of different themes in this film adaptation, but most of them are under the same umbrella, addressing the dichotomy of white and black dignity. Dr. Monique Liston notes that black dignity is centered around the idea “I see you because you see me”. The film depicts this as a battle between suppressing black dignity to restore white dignity. Every time a white person “sees” Tish or Fonny (stands up for them, does something genuine, etc) white man has to crush their dignity to restore “order”. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/movies/if-beale-street-could-talk-review.html

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"IT'S A CLASS STRUGGLE, GODDAMMIT!"

In November of 1969, Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois BPP (Black Panther Party) and founder of the Rainbow Coalition, delivered a speech to a crowd of several hundred people at Northern Illinois University. The speech was erudite and acerbic, filled with harsh truths that not only depicted the struggles blacks face in America, but informed the multiracial audience of the goal and mission of the BPP.

(Fred Hampton(left) at a BPP meeting in 1969)

A mere few weeks after Fred Hampton enlightened the Northern Illinois crowd on the systemic issue of race in America, he was assassinated. Regardless of one’s perception of Hampton, it is hard to argue that the contents of his speech are irrelevant in today’s world. Hampton touches on several topics ranging from people’s perception of the BPP, to media’s role in perpetuating racial tensions and class struggle. Although his rhetoric is somewhat crude and his ideology at times extremist, his depiction of systematic racism is clear: “all types of systems that are functioning in America today was set up long before you got here, brother. Because we brought you over to make money to keep what we've got going, these avaricious, greedy businessmen, to keep what we've got going, going on” (Hampton).

Hampton views systematic racism as a byproduct of capitalism, noting that the goal was for the white man to make money using slaves. Even with slavery abolished, the origins and original intent, perhaps in unintentional in today’s world, still persist. The education on race we receive serves as a veil over our eyes to train us to not feel guilt, break history’s pattern, or work against the system: “…the only thing that they have going for them is the education that they receive in these institutions—education enough to teach them some alibis and teach them that you’ve gotta be black…” (Hampton).

(Racial Disparity in Household Weath 1990-2020)

This reminded me McIntosh's self-reflection on race: "My schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as the oppessor... as a participant in a damaged culture" (McIntosh). As whites we are taught to see ourselves and the poltiical system in a specific way. The same goes for blacks. Even with statistical evidence, the teaching of how one should see race and the self, has remain unchanged. 

I think Hampton's speech would remain the same if given today. The events and statistics may change, but the message would stay. It evokes a new conversation about race; one that is deeper, harshly realitic, and unbarred. Although Hampton's ideologies were extreme, he addresses the racial and socioeconomc oppression in a manner that few have the ability to. I don't think we need to arm ourselves to fight for racial equality. But, I do think to fight and actually change the racism that has plauged the states for hundreds of years, we need institutional change, "The only thing that’s gonna change our set of arrangements is what’s gotten us into this set of arrangements. And that’s the oppressor" (Hampton). 

(1919 Chicago Race Riots)

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/07/27/744130358/red-summer-in-chicago-100-years-after-the-race-riots

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/2/9/22267037/fred-hampton-black-panther-chicago-life-death-legacy

Hampton, Fred. ""It's A Class Struggle, Goddammit!": A Speech by Fred Hampton (1969)." Hampton Institute. Hampton Institute, 30 Aug. 2020. Web. 26 Feb. 2021.

Weller, Christian E. "African Americans Face Systematic Obstacles to Getting Good Jobs." Center for American Progress. 05 Dec. 2019. Web. 01 Mar. 2021.