Say What? Wednesday: A "Nigger" Cake is Served in Sweden

Hello Meltingpot Readers,

Has anybody out there heard about this scandalous story regarding the minister of culture in Sweden eating a "nigger cake?" Say what? You heard me, dear readers. That's what the cake is called and it was in the shape of a naked African woman. The cake was frosted with dark chocolate icing and upon cutting into it, a red velvet cake was revealed. Here's a link for more about how the story was initially portrayed. Prepare to be outraged.

Now dear readers, I am not so ignorant as to think that the entire country of Sweden is run by a group of gleeful racists who like to eat offensive cakes. So, I tried to find the true story behind this cake. Apparently, the cake was a piece of performance art meant to bring attention to the practice of female genital mutilation. Here's a link to an opinion piece penned for Ebony.com that explains the artist's intentions as well as the success or lack thereof of his work. There's a video on that link to show the artist at work. And over at racialicious.com they've got a brief interview with the artist, Makode Aj Linde, who happens to be an Afro-Swede. In other words, he's Black. He stands by his work and said, "it's sad if people feel offended."



What do you think, dear readers? Are you offended?  Did Aj Linde succeed in his mission, or was this an epic fail?

I'm so listening.

Peace!

Happy to be Nappy?: Not in Brazil

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

I've got another hair story for you. This time coming from our sisters in South America. In Brazil to be exact. My co-author from Hair Story, Ayana Byrd, tipped me off to this incredible story from the website BlackWomenofBrazil. Be prepared to be outraged.

Apparently, after two decades in the Brazilian court system, Sony Music has finally been ordered to pay damages for a song they released that was deemed racist and offensive to Black women. Now I expected to read about a song that perhaps used a version of the N-word in Portuguese or had violent lyrics directed towards women. But nothing I could have imagined could have prepared me for the lyrics in this song. Here take a look for yourselves:

"A representative for Sony maintained that the song was not intended to offend women and that the artist was in fact alluding to his own wife in the song and that the terms used in the song are used by Brazilians in reference to not only black women but white women as well."

Below are some of the lyrics of the song in Portuguese and English:

Veja veja veja veja veja os cabelos dela (4x)
(Look look look look look at her hair (4x)

Parece bom-bril*, de ariá panela
(It looks like a scouring pad for pots and pans)

Parece bom-bril, de ariá panela
(It looks like a scouring pad for pots and pans)

Quando ela passa, me chama atenção
(When she goes by, she catches my attention)

Mas os seus cabelos, não tem jeito não
(But her hair just isn’t right)

A sua catinga quase me desmaiou
(Her stench almost made me faint)

Olha eu não aguento, é grande o seu fedor
(Look, I can’t take it, her smell is so bad)

Veja veja veja veja veja os cabelos dela
(Look look look look look at her hair)

Parece bom-bril, de ariá panela (2x)
(It looks like a scouring pad for pots and pans) (2x)

Eu já mandei, ela se lavar
(I told her to take a bath)

Mas ela teimo, e não quis me escutar
(But she’s stubborn and doesn’t listen to me)

Essa nega fede, fede de lascar
(This black woman stinks, she stinks horribly)

Bicha fedorenta, fede mais que gambá
(Stinking beast, smells worse than a skunk)


I know. It's revolting. I can't believe this was a 'popular' tune released by a major music corporation like Sony. I also can't believe a man with a Black mother -- yes you heard me -- could pen such insulting lyrics. Really? To read the whole sordid tale of the song and the lawsuit, please visit the Black Women in Brazil website. And then go rinse the vomit out of your mouth.


Happy Friday.


Peace!

The Grass is Always Greener... Where Race Doesn't Matter

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

I think having a brand new baby to introduce to the world makes you re-evaluate everything in your life. Suddenly the choices you make, from eating that extra cupcake to whether you send you kids to private or public school, seem to be so much more important. Likewise, watching the news and reading the paper I'm so acutely aware of what a f__ed up nation we're living in these days. So, my last post on moving to Barcelona was actually not just a fantasy. I was thinking seriously of uprooting the family, throwing everything away that we've created here and moving to Spain.

But then I saw this article about a Black man who recently decided that after moving to France in 2004 that he was coming back to the US of A because like it or not, life was just better here.

Now, of course everyone can have a bad day or a bad experience and decide life is going to be better somewhere else, but I was truly thinking about the violence, the guns, the flash mobs and that damn Tea Party when I was making my case for moving to Europe.

Perhaps because I only average two hours of sleep at night, however, it took me an extra day to remember that England is burning due to race/youth riots. Norway just experienced a horrific attack from a crazy man afraid of foreigners and all over Europe they're struggling with immigration issues, massive xenophobia, racism and economic disaster waiting to happen. So, where is this Utopia I'm hoping to find? Canada maybe?.

I will say this. If Mickelle Bachman becomes president in 2012 you can forward all of my mail to the North Pole.

Peace!

Burning Questions from the Meltingpot

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

The world really is a crazy place. Makes me question some things. Maybe you can help me with some answers.

1. These so-called race riots in London and the rest of England sound awful. But I'm having a hard time understanding the looting and lawlessness and overall destruction without any kind of clear issue to protest against. In fact, it seems to me that a British race riot sounds a whole lot like a Philly flash mob. What do you think, dear readers, is the difference?

2. Did anyone else -- especially my readers in Germany -- read about the controversy over this advertisement for chocolate cake that features a shirtless Black child in the ad? If you read the story, the bakery owner claims the child in the photo is one of his employees' children and the connection to the chocolate cake was inadvertent. Excuse me? I'm scratching my head on this one. Was this just an oversight? Are protesters being too sensitive? What do you think?

3. What about The Help? In case you haven't been following all of the heated debates about the new movie based on the bestselling book by Kathryn Stockett, here's the deal. A lot of people of color are annoyed that yet another "White" version of the Black experience is being exalted and praised. There's a very good essay explaining the discontent written by Valerie Boyd called, "A Feel Good Movie for White People." Martha Southgate also penned a great piece in Entertainment Weekly about the historical inaccuracies the movie portrays. So here's my question. Can any self-respecting Black woman go see the movie without wearing dark glasses and a big hat? What do you think? If a film by its very existence is perpetuating stereotype and myth about your own people, what's the right thing to do?

So those are my burning questions. I'm listening for your answers.

Peace and Sweet Baby Feet!

Burning Questions from The Meltingpot

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

It's the middle of the week and already my mind is swirling with questions. Got answers? Please share.

1. Is it just me or do other people think adult adoptions are kind of a good idea? I mean if you don't have parents and you find a nice older couple who doesn't have children but likes you a heck of a lot, why not legally form a family? Apparently this is a trend that's finding traction in the United States. Here's a recent story about Adult Adoptions. What do you think? Is there a need to legalize such arrangements? Do you see any obvious pitfalls to the process?

2. So my next question is; how do you say Black hair politics in German? My friend, author and journalist Rose-Anne Clermont over at Currents Between Shores has gotten herself embroiled in a messy minefield of Black hair (and ashy skin) politics. Apparently there is some disagreement amongst her readers about what uncombed Black hair means in Germany. The whole conversation started with Clermont's post about seeing mixed Afro-German kids with hair that was a hot mess (my words not hers.) Please check out the conversation and see if you have anything to add.

3. Okay. So my final question is a simple one. Well, maybe not so simple. Has anyone else been following the um, er, recent scandal involving supermodel, Naomi Campbell and the Cadbury chocolate company? Well, for those of you who might not have been tuned in, Ms. Campbell was threatening to sue the candy company because she believed they had used her name in a racist way to sell their new chocolate bar. The ad read, "Move over Naomi Campbell, there's a new diva in town," and showed a picture of a chocolate bar sitting on a pile of diamonds. You can read the story on the Huffington Post and see a picture of the advert. After Campbell's complaint, the company pulled the ad and issued an apology, but Campbell still chastised them claiming they had insulted Black people the world over for comparing us/them to chocolate. Now here's my question. Did she go too far? I'm having a hard time mustering up my indignity over this one. I mean, she has every right to not want her name on candy bar ad, but she was calling on Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to take up the fight. So, tell me, Meltingpot readers, was there really a fight to be had here? I'm totally listening.

Thanks for reading and helping me find the answers to my most pressing questions.

How Do You Translate "Black?"

Am I the only one who missed this disturbing news about the international advertising campaign for the movie Couples Retreat? Personally, I hardly paid attention to this film when it premiered in the United States because Vince Vaughn is in it and quite frankly, I think Vaughn possesses the dramatic range of a yodeling pickle. But I digress.

Apparently, the movie posters for the film in the UK and other foreign markets had the Black couple removed -- both their photographs and their names in the list of credits -- because, well, because apparently Black people just don't appeal to foreigners. Here's how a Universal spokesperson explained their decision to whitewash the poster: We got rid of the Black actors to “ simplify the poster to actors who are most recognizable in international markets.” Oh, And they "regretted causing offense."

For a full read on the incident,and a peek at the before-and-after posters, you can check out this Yahoo story.

Many people in La La Land, aka Hollywood, believe that Black people just don't translate well overseas. That Will Smith just isn't that popular and so we can't put him on magazine covers or on movie posters and expect our British brothers and sisters to buy. And God forbid can you imagine in Japan or China or Turkey? Or at least that's what top brass at the movie companies are saying. But maybe they're saying that because they personally think that and don't have any Black people in positions of power at the studio to tell them otherwise. That's kind of what this writer at the LA Times says in his article about this whole hulabaloo.

What do you think? Especially you world travelers. Would foreign audiences shun a movie with a Black protagonist or supporting actor? Could they handle Black people on their movie posters? Vivienne Pattison, director of Media Watch UK, told the [Daily]Mail: "... We celebrate diversity in Britain and we could have coped with seeing the same poster used in America." Indeed, I find it really hard to believe that considering foreign markets are so hot for Black music, style, fashion, slang, dance, food (yes, my cousin is about to take a job teaching Italian chefs how to make soul food in Italy.), and our hot Black president, that somehow they would be turned off by Black people in a movie. What is the real problem here? Where are we getting lost in translation?

I'm really, really listening.

Peace.