LeBron James, Vogue and Who Cares?

I bought the April issue of Vogue magazine that had LeBron and Giselle on the cover. I wasn't thrilled with the cover...LeBron looked brutish to me but I surmised that he was okay with the cover. It's not that I am ignoring the similarities between King Kong and Fay Wray pictures, it's just that given all the other things going on I can't get that excited.

Hattie McDaniels when criticized for playing ditzy servants in films she frequently said, "I'd rather play a maid than be one." Historically there have been an array of Black folks ready to act ignorant in front of the camera...including some modern-day rap artists and athletes. When these people are given an opportunity to make money or to gain exposure that will lead to money for them, they are not considering the implications of their actions on the masses of Black folks---they couldn't care less. In a country where "free speech" is used to condone ever manner of foolishness, there is no way of stopping Black folks from doing their minstrel posturing.

Maybe rather than looking to the White folks who run mainstream media outlets to become more racially sensitive, Black folks should concentrate on more vocally supporting the actors, athletes, activists, and other public figures whom they deem to be better representatives. Case in point, recently XXL magazine interviewed rap artist DMX and asked him about the presidential election. It was clear by his addled response that he didn't know what was going on---even who Barack Obama's was. Why in the world was the magazine even discussing politics with someone who had shown no prior interest or knowledge in the subject? Like the White folks who waste our time with incessant reports about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, Black folks spend way too much time promoting the most uncouth and unconscious folks available...then we get mad when they act out.

Most of us are no more ready to openly denounce LeBron James, than we are rap artist Ma Remy who was recently convicted of intentional assault in relation to a 2007 shooting or rap artist T.I who plead guilty to illegal weapons charges or Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick who has been indicted on perjury and other charges stemming from a cover-up of an affair with his former chief of staff. Remember, in the aftermath of Lil Kim's 2005 conviction for perjury and conspiracy in association with a shooting outside a NYC radio station, B.E.T created a reality program for her that became a top-rated show.


Check out Harry Allen's interesting article: Monkey See, Monkey Doo-Doo:How VOGUE “Honoured” LeBron James by Smearing Black People with White Supremacy & Gorilla Feces