 |
 GOLD RUST BLACK PAISLEY DESIGN PRE QUILTED BUTTON TOP HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL $7.50 Time Remaining: 21d 23h 9m Buy It Now for only: $7.50 |
 BLACK TWO SHELF WALL HANGING POT RACK $49.99 Time Remaining: 1d 27m Buy It Now for only: $56.99 |
 WUSTHOF NEW 10 Inch Sharpening Steel FREE SHIP with metal loop to hang up $26.95 Time Remaining: 25d 10h 24m Buy It Now for only: $26.95 |
 Hanging Kitchen Towels ELEGANCE COLLECTION Handmade $9.99 Time Remaining: 19d 11h 15m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 Oenophilia 6 Bottle Climbing Tendril Hanging Wine Rack Black $31.70 Time Remaining: 9d 4h 24m Buy It Now for only: $31.70 |
 New black iron scroll Fruit basket bowl removable Banana hanging Tree hook $10.94 Time Remaining: 10d 21h 24m Buy It Now for only: $10.94 |
 Space Saving Hanging Kitchen Pot Racks Wrought Iron Met $16.95 Time Remaining: 17d 12h 2m Buy It Now for only: $16.95 |
 Country Dark Red Black Tan Ivory Plaid Danbury Cotton Hanging Hand Towel $5.50 Time Remaining: 14d 22h 32m Buy It Now for only: $5.50 |
 KITCHEN MINI ROUND BLACK HANGING PAN POT HOLDER RACK $13.99 Time Remaining: 3d 15h 30m Buy It Now for only: $13.99 |
 Black Decker SpaceMaker Spacesaver Traditional Toaster Oven Under Counter Hang $89.95 Time Remaining: 27d 21h 58m Buy It Now for only: $89.95 |
 Park Designs WINDOWPANE Hanging Kitchen Towel Black White Plaid $5.75 Time Remaining: 20d 20h 16m Buy It Now for only: $5.75 |
 New Wrought Iron Kitchen Pot Rack Black Semi Circle Hanging Wall Mounted $36.94 Time Remaining: 7d 14h 38m Buy It Now for only: $36.94 |
 LETTUCE Lettuce be thankful Orange black top HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL $2.85 Time Remaining: 25d 23h 3m Buy It Now for only: $2.85 |
 Hanging Kitchen Towel Black White $3.00 Time Remaining: 1d 15h 42m Buy It Now for only: $4.50 |
 New Black Round Hanging Kitchen Mini Pot and Pan Rack $23.95 Time Remaining: 20d 22h 59m Buy It Now for only: $23.95 |
 NEW Handmade Hello Kitty Black Hanging Kitchen Fridge Towel 640 $9.95 Time Remaining: 17d 14h 53m Buy It Now for only: $9.95 |
 BLACK LAB DOGS 1 HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL by Susan $6.00 Time Remaining: 20d 17h 16m Buy It Now for only: $6.00 |
 BLACK WROUGHT IRON HANGING POT RACK $49.99 Time Remaining: 11d 13h 7m Buy It Now for only: $49.99 |
 KITCHEN TOWELS HOT PEPPERS ON RED OR BLACK TOWELS HANG OVER ANY HANDLE 17T 16W $7.65 Time Remaining: 22d 21h 41m Buy It Now for only: $7.65 |
 Set of 2 Crocheted Hand Towel Grippers Hanging Kitchen towel holders $11.69 Time Remaining: 12d 14h 3m Buy It Now for only: $11.69 |
 Hanging Kitchen Towels ELEGANCE COLLECTION 2 Handmade $9.99 Time Remaining: 3d 1h 25m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 Hanging Mount Black Pot Rack Wrought Iron Construction w Hooks Wall Mount NEW $57.95 Time Remaining: 10d 2h 22m Buy It Now for only: $57.95 |
 Kinetic Black Wrought Iron Hanging Oval Pot Rack 12021 $41.27 Time Remaining: 8d 22h 28m Buy It Now for only: $41.27 |
 Pair of 2 Insulated 8 Round Black White Zebra Print Potholders Loop to Hang $8.79 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 19m Buy It Now for only: $8.79 |
 HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL BBQ PICNIC FOOD SEAFOOD BREAD WINE CHOCOLATE DESSERT $8.50 Time Remaining: 28d 3h 53m Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 Black Iron Pot Pan Rack Kitchen Hanging Shelf+Hooks USA $48.95 Time Remaining: 3d 21h 50m Buy It Now for only: $48.95 |
 Chef Bistro Hanging Kitchen Towel NEW Black $2.99 Time Remaining: 2d 16h 37m |
 BLACK LABRADOR RETRIEVER 1 FIDDLERS ELBOW HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL by Susan $6.00 Time Remaining: 3d 18h 7m Buy It Now for only: $6.00 |
 Trivets or Wall Hangings 2 Trivets Black One is Entitled Cupid $10.99 Time Remaining: 23d 9h 45m Buy It Now for only: $10.99 |
 BLACK WHITE TILE DESIGN BUTTON TOP HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL $7.50 Time Remaining: 21d 23h 11m Buy It Now for only: $7.50 |
 NEW Handmade Majestic Owls Black Hanging Kitchen Fridge Towel 627 $9.95 Time Remaining: 3d 19h 18m Buy It Now for only: $9.95 |
 Hanging Kitchen Towel SIMPLIFY Live Laugh Love Black crocheted top NEW Gift $2.50 Time Remaining: 1d 13h 37m Buy It Now for only: $2.50 |
 Park Designs PEPPERMILL Hanging Kitchen Towel Black Tan Stars Plaid $5.75 Time Remaining: 15d 9h 36m Buy It Now for only: $5.75 |
 11 Aluminum Griddle Fry pan non stick square hang up design black cool handle $28.98 Time Remaining: 18d 5h 4m Buy It Now for only: $28.98 |
 GREAT CHEF BIG SPOON REST HANDPAINTED CLEAR SEALED VERY NICE W HOOK 4 HANGING $8.95 Time Remaining: 25d 1h 25m Buy It Now for only: $8.95 |
 HANGING BLACK BEAR WINE BOTTLE NECK HUGGER Rack Holder Cabin Lodge Home Decor $8.95 Time Remaining: 4d 20h 1m Buy It Now for only: $8.95 |
 APPLE apple of my pie black top HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL $2.85 Time Remaining: 25d 16h 29m Buy It Now for only: $2.85 |
 Black Metal Hanging Wine Bottle Holder Bottle Glass Design 32 NEW Y11153 $23.99 Time Remaining: 29d 9h 47m Buy It Now for only: $23.99 |
 HANGING WROUGHT IRON BLACK METAL KITCHEN DECOR POT HOLDER NEW $75.00 Time Remaining: 2d 22h 2m |
 Crocheted top hanging kitchen apple themed towels with black toppers $6.99 Time Remaining: 8d 14h 32m Buy It Now for only: $6.99 |
 NEW 2 Pack of Accessory Drawers for Hanging Organizer Black Ships FREE $26.50 Time Remaining: 22d 11h 51m Buy It Now for only: $26.50 |
 TRAVELON Hanging Toiletry Kit Black One Size $29.00 Time Remaining: 5d 15h 3m Buy It Now for only: $29.00 |
 Black Metal Wine Rack Hanging Wine Rack Holds 3 Bottles Grapes Leaves New $54.99 Time Remaining: 20d 16h 17m Buy It Now for only: $54.99 |
 Hanging Kitchen Towel Flower Themes Collection 1 $5.99 Time Remaining: 19d 18h 34m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 PIGS HOGS BOARS SOWS PIGLETS SPOTTED SOLID BANDEDHANGING KITCHEN TOWELS $8.50 Time Remaining: 14d 12h 32m Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 Primitive Country Black White Windowpane Cotton Hanging Hand Towel $5.50 Time Remaining: 20d 21h 27m Buy It Now for only: $5.50 |
 JERSEY DAIRY COWS BLACK WHITE MOO COWHIDE SPOTSHANGING KITCHEN TOWEL PAIR $15.44 Time Remaining: 23d 4h 32m Buy It Now for only: $15.44 |
 4pc Apples Hanging With Black Quilted Tie Top $9.99 Time Remaining: 26d 16h 45m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 NEW Hot Pad Wall Hanging with Vintage Quilting Motif Black Print on Cream $9.99 Time Remaining: 1d 18h 16m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 Best Dad Ever Grey Black White Orange Plastic Bag Holder w Loop to Hang $7.99 Time Remaining: 11d 19h 28m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 BLACK TAN POMERANIAN DOG 1 EMBROIDERED HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL by Susan $3.00 Time Remaining: 27d 12h 2m Buy It Now for only: $3.00 |
 Set of Two Gourmet Bistro Hanging Towels With Tie Top Black Towels w Red Top $8.00 Time Remaining: 3d 42m Buy It Now for only: $8.99 |
 Hanging Kitchen Towel Fall Thanksgiving Themes Collection 2 Multiple $5.99 Time Remaining: 7d 23h 39m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 LIFE IS GOOD Black Tan w Flowers Park Designs Hanging Country Kitchen Towel $6.95 Time Remaining: 15d 10h 29m Buy It Now for only: $6.95 |
 HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL STRAWBERRY GRAPES MELONS WINE CHERRIES BLUEBERRIES FRUIT $8.50 Time Remaining: 27d 17h 56m Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL CHILI PEPPERS SOMBRERO PINATA MARACA CACTUS FIESTA SALSA $8.50 Time Remaining: 7d 1h 16m Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 New 54 Hanging Bar Kitchen Pot Rack Black Brass $81.99 Time Remaining: 8d 16h 30m Buy It Now for only: $81.99 |
 NEW Hot Pad Wall Hanging with Vintage Quilting Motif Black Print on Cream $9.99 Time Remaining: 1d 18h 16m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 modern black iron scroll Fruit basket bowl w removable Banana hanging Tree hook $10.95 Time Remaining: 12d 58m Buy It Now for only: $10.95 |
 Range Kleen Hanging Pot and Pan Rack Organizer Oval Black Enamel CW6000 $59.95 Time Remaining: 14d 1h 16m Buy It Now for only: $59.95 |
 KITCHEN Black Round Hanging Mini Pot and Pan Rack NEW $27.52 Time Remaining: 4d 11h 31m Buy It Now for only: $27.52 |
 HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL CATS TABBY KITTY FELINES CALICO TUXEDO MEOW SIAMESE YARN $8.50 Time Remaining: 27d 17h Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 NEW Handmade Butterfly Rainbows on Black Hanging Kitchen Fridge Towel 648 $9.95 Time Remaining: 17d 15h 22m Buy It Now for only: $9.95 |
 FLOWER POT CHAIN HOOKS TO HANG POT BLACK $4.59 Time Remaining: 4d 8h 34m |
 HANGING BLACK BEAR WINE BOTTLE NECK HUGGER Rack Holder Cabin Lodge Home Decor $8.95 Time Remaining: 4d 20h 1m Buy It Now for only: $8.95 |
 Ceramic Tile Black Wood Wine Bottle Hanging Wall Trivet Gift 13 NEW T2926 $8.99 Time Remaining: 1d 16h 59m Buy It Now for only: $8.99 |
 LLAMA FACEPROFILEFULL FACEON CREAM OR COCOAHANGING KITCHEN HAND DISH TOWEL $8.50 Time Remaining: 22d 16h 45m Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 3pc Bistro Chef Hanging With Black Quilted Tie Top $8.99 Time Remaining: 14d 13h 35m Buy It Now for only: $8.99 |
 INN55805 Hanging File Cart w Clear Lid 15 63inx18inx25 63in Black $56.72 Time Remaining: 16d 21h 57m Buy It Now for only: $56.72 |
 Small Black Metal Hanging Pot Pan Holder Rack $26.99 Time Remaining: 17d 22h Buy It Now for only: $26.99 |
 Black Iron Cake Stands Serving Pieces w Hanging Jewels Set 3 $104.00 Time Remaining: 22d 15h 10m Buy It Now for only: $104.00 |
 HANGING KITCHEN TOWELBEES BEEHIVES BUMBLEE BEES LADYBUGS LADY BIRDS BUTTERFLY $8.50 Time Remaining: 23d 22h 44m Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 OLD DUTCH 325 X 17 OVAL MATTE BLACK HANGING POT RACK 12 HOOKS CHAIN BRAND NEW $81.00 Time Remaining: 19d 21h 22m Buy It Now for only: $81.00 |
 HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL PAIRS CHICKENS ROOSTERS EGGS CHICKEN COOP FEATHERS HEN $15.44 Time Remaining: 27d 20h 11m Buy It Now for only: $15.44 |
 Black Cat decor plates hanging rack Nib $8.99 Time Remaining: 26d 1h 33m Buy It Now for only: $8.99 |
 Kitchen Towel Hanging Watermelon Red Black NEW $3.99 Time Remaining: 20d 6h 17m Buy It Now for only: $3.99 |
 TK Quilts JuneHeartsLove Table RunnerWall Hanging or TopperRedBlack $10.99 Time Remaining: 4d 13h 39m Buy It Now for only: $14.99 |
 CROCHET TOP HANGING HAND TOWEL Halloween scary stuff on black Trick or Treat $3.50 Time Remaining: 4d 12h 29m Buy It Now for only: $3.50 |
 HANGING KITCHEN HAND DISHTOWEL PAISLEY RETRO FLORAL FLOWERS BUTTERFLY HEART DOTS $8.50 Time Remaining: 28d 5h 38m Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 Ekco Forge Stainless Flipper Lifter Spatula 2 rivet black handle hanging hole $6.50 Time Remaining: 2d 13h 17m Buy It Now for only: $6.50 |
 Vtg EKCO Pizza Cutter Great Gadget Black Handle Light Weight Hole for Hanging $8.00 Time Remaining: 22d 21h 9m Buy It Now for only: $8.00 |
 NEW Black Hanging Plastic 4 Measuring Cup Set $9.99 Time Remaining: 5d 22h 31m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 Celtic Heavy Cotton Tapestry Throw Tablecloth Wall Hanging Bedspread Purple $34.07 Time Remaining: 7d 21h 53m Buy It Now for only: $34.07 |
 New 48 Hanging Bar Kitchen Pot Rack Black Brass $76.99 Time Remaining: 8d 16h 29m Buy It Now for only: $76.99 |
 325 x 17 Oval Matte Black Hanging Pot Rack 12 Hooks Chain $103.95 Time Remaining: 4d 17h 43m Buy It Now for only: $103.95 |
 HANGING KITCHEN HAND DISH TOWELDOGS ALL BREEDS MIXES HUNTING SHOW PUPPIES $8.95 Time Remaining: 23d 23h 1m Buy It Now for only: $8.95 |
 HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL SUNFLOWER IRIS DAISY BLUEBONNET POPPY DAFFODIL ROSE FLOWER $8.50 Time Remaining: 28d 3h 4m Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 HANGING KITCHEN DISHTOWEL HORSE MARE FOAL STALLION PAINT PINTO PALOMINO BAY GRAY $8.50 Time Remaining: 28d 5h 21m Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 Vintage copper dipper with black hanging handle $5.99 Time Remaining: 6d 12h 29m |
 30 French Hanging Pot Rack 12 Hooks Satin Black by Grace $174.00 Time Remaining: 20d 19h 21m Buy It Now for only: $174.00 |
 BEAUTIFUL FRUIT BOWL Hanging Kitchen or Hand Towel 1 Towel READY TO SHIP $8.95 Time Remaining: 4d 12h 38m Buy It Now for only: $8.95 |
 Oenophilia 6 Bottle Climbing Tendril Hanging Wine Rack Black $31.71 Time Remaining: 4d 17h 43m Buy It Now for only: $31.71 |
 MARY ENGLEBREIT CUP OF KINDNESS TEAPOT TEACUP RETROHANGING KITCHEN TOWEL PAIRS $15.44 Time Remaining: 23d 14h 38m Buy It Now for only: $15.44 |
 66 Length Hanging Hole Design Cooking Sauce Pan Pot Black Handle $5.84 Time Remaining: 23d 21h 29m Buy It Now for only: $5.84 |
 HANGING KITCHEN HAND DISH TOWEL BIRDS SONGBIRDS CROWS STATE BIRDS EAGLES OWLS $8.95 Time Remaining: 27d 15h 41m Buy It Now for only: $8.95 |
 DEBBIE MUMM SUNFLOWERS WATERING CANS CROWS BLACKBIRDS HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL $8.50 Time Remaining: 14d 12h 5m Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 Wall Mount and Pantry Hanging Antique Style Kitchen Dry Spice Black Side Rack $25.50 Time Remaining: 10d 21h 34m Buy It Now for only: $25.50 |
 HANGING KITCHEN TOWEL HAWAIIAN FLOWERS SCENIC VANS SURF PALM TREE STATE FLOWERS $8.50 Time Remaining: 14d 12h 21m Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 Keep Calm Carry On Red Chalk Black Board Memo Retro To Do List Wall Hanging $12.49 Time Remaining: 26d 6h 41m Buy It Now for only: $12.49 |
 LARGE Black Wrought Iron Hanging 10 Hook Intricate Pan POT RACK Holder $39.50 Time Remaining: 19d 14h 10m Buy It Now for only: $39.50 |
Hanging Black
Oreo Dues, The Foolishness Of Black On Black Racial Profiling
Something I Said
Oreo Dues (Black-on-Black Foolishness)
Dwight Hobbes
Colors Magazine archives Some time back, jawing with someone about racism in Twin Cities television news, I stated the case that Lauren Green, now religion correspondent for FOX News Channel, then part-time anchor at ABC affiliate KSTP-TV, should've anchoring fulltime and would've been if she was white. The blacker-than-thou person with whom I was trying to hold an intelligent conversation began to raise hell about Green's lack of blackness. "That boozhie princess talks like she's white. Acts like she's white. She's lived around white people all her life. She even goes to a white church." I forget this idiot's name and legally couldn't say it, anyway, but when I asked whether she'd ever met Lauren Green, she had to say, "No." She fairly spat it. "I don't have to [meet her]. I know her type." Are you following this? An African American woman -- let's call her Sistah X – a black woman, who, herself, has been discriminated against is discriminating against an African American woman. You ought to hear Sistah X fuss about the raw deal she gets. She is manager in an office at the University of Minnesota. And she doesn't behave how white people expect her to. I consider trying to point out to sistah-girl how she's treating Green like white people treat her but figure she's ain't gon' pay me no mind. Her white co-workers feel free to borrow her secretary when theirs have too much work to do. Without consulting her. As they normally would do with each other. Out of professional courtesy. On top of that, Sistah X's supervisors give her secretarial chores. Like photocopying and running errands. Things they'd never think of having her peers to do. Sistah X tactfully protested, availing herself of due process. And, the more she asserted herself in doing her job the more she was seen as having an attitude problem. Her supervisors didn't come right out and tell Sistah X to stay in her place. That'd been illegal. What they did was say things like, "You have to fit here for things to work" and "Some of", get this, "you people have a problem with authority." Homegirl might very well have a problem with authority. She certainly had a problem with racist stupidity. She was expected to docilely accept unfair treatment and because she wouldn't do it got typed as an uppity – fill in the blank. She was discriminated against by a prejudiced mentality yet none of that fazed Sistah X when it come to condemning someone she never event met. A Hypocritical Axe One might assume, since Lauren Green has Caucasian features, light skin and excellent command of the English language, that Sistah X is dark with a broad nose, thick lips and sounds "black" when she talks. Wrong. The woman's skin tone is two shades off a banana. She crisply articulates every word she speaks. Has a narrow and sliver-thin lips. In fact, she looks closer to white than does Green and, frankly, chatting with co-workers in the office, she seems pretty comfortable and would be subject to her own criticism, basically for not being niggerish enough. If anyone called Sistah X boozhie, she likely would turn the air blue cussing them out, say in no uncertain terms what they could kiss. It is a willfully ignorant, hypocritical axe she has to grind with Lauren Green. When I told Lauren Green about the conversation, her eyes glinted sharply and she looked down to the restaurant table at which we sat. "That's unfair", she said. "It's also not the first time I've heard that sort of thing. I've lived with it all my life from people who don't even know me. I'm not ashamed of being black. My culture and history are very important to me." A few months earlier, she had performed a classical piano recital featuring compositions by several African American composers. Accompanying her was Frank Wharton, a black flautist. The gallery in which she performed held an array of paintings richly depicting African American life. This is not someone who wishes she were white. Lauren Green is hardly by herself. Many black people catch shit for supposedly not being black enough, are prejudged, dismissed as "oreos", "toms", "sellouts", "wanna-bes", you name it. Should they happen to live in a white neighborhood the assumption is that they're ashamed of their own kind. Supposedly they want to be close to whites in order disassociate from the rest of the black race. It's a lot of horse manure. Sure, there are a lot of black folk who think they're white. Doesn't mean everybody who can speak English and lives in a decent neighborhood is guilty. Fact is, you don't have to live around white folk to get labeled and have to put up with crap. You can live right there in the ghetto where you born and deal with this foolishness. Paula G. comes from North Minneapolis, a pretty rough section of it. "There were", she recalls, "loud fights in the street just about all the time. People carried knives and guns. It was scary. And the people were always after somebody for selling crack." Like most adolescents, in her teenage years she craved acceptance. From her knucklehead neighbors whose parents let them run the street ‘til all hours in the company of God knows who. She began following a bad example, staying out late, drinking, smoking and sniffing. Soon as Mom got wind of it, that was the end of that. Paula had her nose put to the academic grindstone. "Mom taught me to value education. None of my friends liked school and they didn't like me when I started to. After I wasn't getting in trouble and doing drugs, they started calling me names. ‘Oreo'. Stuff like that. It's sad. Because I didn't hang out in the street for very long, because my mother taught me to value something and to be somebody, my friends turned their backs and said I was trying to be white. As if only white people want some good out of life." She left her friends behind and didn't look back. "They didn't like me to be myself, because I was different from them. How that means I wanted to be white, I'll never know. I wasn't trying to be white, I was just being me." In her early 20s, Paula was able to leave the area and promptly did, getting work as a bank receptionist and a part-time job nights as a janitor. She got herself an apartment – in a decent building in a decent neighborhood that, yes, all happened to be mostly white. She welcomed neither drug traffic nor rowdy, ignorant street behavior. She told what friends she was still in touch with that could come to her home as long as they respected it. They could not come in smoking dope and raising hell. Again, she got bad-mouthed. Those friends talked to the other friends. "It wasn't said to my face, but people would come and tell me what was being said behind my back. Things like, ‘Well, if she's so ciddity, let oreo be by herself up under some whiteys.' Why was I wrong because I wanted my home – that I paid rent for, where I paid the bills – why was I an an oreo because I wanted my house respected?" Years later, Paula G. would spot former acquaintances, roaming the streets, raggedy and scarred, looking like something the cat wouldn't bother to drag in. Those who hadn't been in trouble with the law, were well on their way to getting there. And the gossip still kept getting back to her. Looking back on it, she shakes her head. "They're like crabs in a bucket. One tries to crawl out and others would rather drag him back in than climb out after him. I'm sure they'd've been very happy to see me lose what I had and have to move back into some rundown rattrap. Well, I got out of the ghetto and don't have any intentions of ever going back." Mary Broussard dark-skinned, soft-spoken, moved from New Orleans to Minneapolis. "Back home", she says, "people teased me as a child for speaking too correctly and told me I talked like a white person. Because I tried to be polite and because I spoke too well, they criticized me for trying to act white." Broussard carries herself with a reserved demeanor. It doesn't sit well with certain individuals in her apartment building who regularly loiter in front of the stoop, drinking beer and "convasatin'". They're there when she leaves for work in the morning, they're there when she gets home at the end of the day. If a one of them earned a legal dollar she'd be surprised. But her behavior is wrong. It was wrong, back home, when she worked at a New Orleans hospital, assisting the nursing staff. Coworkers got on her case for being correct. "Work is not a place to play. I keep my social life and work life separate. The others would congregate in hallways, goofing off and talking loud. I didn't do it. I did my job. And since I didn't hang out with them and instead went for lunch and coffee with people who seemed more serious about the workplace. I was told I think I'm better. And, yes, that I think I'm white." Failure to meet idiotic expectations is punishable by derision. Tonya Bailey was development manager The Playwrights Center in Minneapolis. She'd attended Washington University in St. Louis, minority student population about 10% -- including Hispanics, Native, Asian-American and black. Bailey had never been much of one to run with the herd and, accordingly, did not join a black sorority at Washington U. "I didn't want to join AKA (Alpha Kappa Alpha), she recalls. So, people figured I was a race traitor. Just because I wouldn't be part of, of all things, a Greek sorority. I'm sorry, but I wasn't going to let membership in some in-crowd decided my identity. To them, that meant I didn't have the first idea who I was." Didn't help that she had a gossiping roommate, one who didn't like it that Bailey was dating a white boy. Whether the roommate didn't believe in dating white or was just mad because he didn't see her first is up for grabs. Point is, homegirl picked at Bailey about him and, then, "had it on the grapevine that I thought I was above other black people. People listened to this girl. They figured, if she roomed with me, she had to know. Nobody spoke to me. They just assumed." Bailey says those days, "taught me to be careful not to judge other blacks." Gerald Beckles grew up in Central Islip, a Long Island, N.Y. suburb. The neighborhood was made of blacks who had made something of themselves. A pharmacist, a landscaper, more than a few folk holding down a good paycheck at Central Islip State Hospital. Gerald's dad had left a rough section of The Bronx to raise a family in peace, quiet and safety. Gerry was not permitted to run the streets or use foul language. He carried himself like a courteous, well-bred young man. That was on Ferndale Boulevard, a nice stretch of land along which black folk had no problem being civilized. A mile or so away was Carleton Park, a real niggervile of congested, dilapidated housing. There lived the roughest, toughest black teenagers in town. Some of the dumbest, too. Lucky if they could read their names, let alone a schoolbook. They went to the same high school as Gerry and missed few opportunities to mess with him. It was always about him wanting to white. "My father sent to me to school to do good. Was it my fault I good the best grades? Was it my fault practically all the other students in the accelerated classes were white?" Beckles wound up going onto and graduating University of Notre Dame. "If those kids had spent less time calling me names and more time getting grades, they might be somewhere in life today. Most of them, I hate to say it, are in jail, dead or on crack. I don't wish bad on anybody, but they made their choice." This black-on-black stereotyping doesn't deny its victims good jobs or nice housing. It'll never become a civil rights issue. It does, however, make people pay senseless dues.
About the Author
Twin Cities Daily Planet articles archived at www.tcdailyplanet.net/profiles/dwight-hobbes. Dwight Hobbes has written for ESSENCE, Reader's Digest, Washington Post, Minneapolis Star Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, City Pages, Mpls/St. Paul, MN Law & Politics, Pulse of the Twin Cities, Twin Cities Daily Planet, Women & Word, San Diego Union-Tribune and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (where he contributes the commentary column Something I Said). He's spoken his mind over National Public Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, Blog Talk Radio's UNOBSTRUCTED and KMOJ in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Was regularly featured as guest commentator on NewsNight Minnesota (KTCA-Minneapolis/St. Paul) and Spectator (Minneapolis Television Network). His monthly column "Hobbes In The House" in MN Spokesman Recorder speaks to domestic abuse and rape. His plays are Shelter - produced at Mixed Blood Theatre by Pangea World Theater, Dues - produced by Mixed Blood Theatre, University of Southern Illinois in Point of Revue, selected for Bedlam Theatre's 10-Minute Play Festival and published by Playscripts, Inc. You Can't Always Sometimes Never Tell - produced by Theater Center Philadelphia, Long Island University, reading at The Kennedy Center and published in the anthology CENTER STAGE, In the Midst - produced by Long Island University, starring Samuel E. Wright. Hobbes spoke on the panel "Farewell To August Wilson" at the Guthrie Theater, broadcast on Conversations With Al McFarlane (KFAI, KMOJ). Singer-songwriter Dwight Hobbes recorded the single "Atlanta Children" (BeatBad Records) and gigged 10 years in the Long Island/NYC area, including The Other End, Kenny's Castaways and My Fathers Place. He fronted the Boston blues band Midlight. In Minneapolis, Hobbes opened for David Daniels at First Street Entry, James Curry at Terminal Bar, sat in with Yohannes Tona, Alicia Wiley at Sol Testimony's Soul Jam, The New Congress at Babalu, Willie Murphy at the Viking Bar and Wain McFarlane & Jahz at Lucille's Kitchen. Dwight Hobbes still drops in at the occasional open mic around town. www.myspace.com/dwighthobbesmusic
What is the black cord hanging from the baby's head when it's born?
i was watching the last episode of 16 and pregnant and the baby had that cord coming out it's head.
Sometimes they put a cord on the babies head to monitor its pulse to see if baby is distressed because the ones they put on your stomach move too much during labor and pushing. That's probably what you saw
The Letter Black - Hanging On By a Thread (With Lyrics)