racism
Heavy Culture: Musicians Recount Early Experiences of Racism
Heavy Culture is a monthly column from journalist Liz Ramanand, focusing on artists of different cultural backgrounds in heavy music as they offer their perspectives on race, society, and more as it intersects with and affects their music. The latest installment of this column features multiple rock and metal musicians recounting their early experiences of racism. Racism is real. Colorism is real. Implicit biases are real. Injustice is real. It is rooted in ignorance. As a Caribbean woman, the first time I experienced racism was a vivid memory in the first grade. A white, female classmate, the same age as me — about 6 or 7 years old — told me I was dirty, ugly, and that I did not deserve the new stationery my mom bought for me. Even as a child, I felt that this classmate had disdain for me...
Howard Stern Responds to Donald Trump Jr. Bringing Up Old Blackface Sketch
Howard Stern and Donald Trump Jr. Howard Stern used to be close buds with Donald Trump, having him and members of his family as guests on his show numerous times over the years. His alliances have clearly changed, as he’s called Trump’s initial campaign for president a publicity stunt while also encouraging his supporters to drink bleach. That turn of opinion has raised the ire of Donald Trump Jr., who called Stern out over the weekend for an old bit he did in which he wore blackface and used the n-word repeatedly. Now, the shock jock has responded on his SiriusXM morning show. For context, the 1993 sketch in question aired during a New Year’s Eve pay-per-view special. Stern was lampooning Ted Danson, who had worn blackface to a Friar’s Club roast with his then-girlfrie...
Penny Lane from The Beatles Song “in Danger of Being Renamed” over Possible Slavery Ties
As the Black Lives Matter movement continues to surge worldwide, citizens and governments alike are being forced to reconsider monuments to heritages of racism. In America, everyone from GWAR to Taylor Swift is calling for the removal of confederate statues, with one petition proposing they be replaced with ones of Dolly Parton. Meanwhile, over in Liverpool, England, folks are seeking to rename the famed Penny Lane — immortalized in the classic song by The Beatles — over its purported connection to the slave trade. It seems many believe the road was named for James Penny, a slave merchant who spoke against abolition in Parliament. Last week, as protests over racial injustice and inequality gripped the country, signs for the street were defaced and graffitied, with “racist” being sprayed ab...
Netflix Pulls The Mighty Boosh Over Blackface
In more signs that the times, they are a-changin’, streaming services have recently been purging themselves of movies and shows that depict racist or otherwise problematic characters. The latest such shift comes from Netflix, which has yanked British comedy show The Mighty Boosh because of a blackface character named The Spirit of Jazz. Portrayed by Noel Fielding (co-presenter on The Great British Bakeoff), The Spirit of Jazz appeared in a handful of episodes during The Mighty Boosh’s three-series run from 2004 to 2007. Described as the ghost of Howlin’ Jimmy Jefferson, the character saw Fielding painting his face black with white skeleton-like highlights, speaking in a New Orleans accent, and wearing a dreadlocked wig under a tall, white top hat. It’s far from the only problemat...
John Cleese Calls Removal of Fawlty Towers Episode That Uses N-Word “Stupid”
As a wave of media companies are pulling content that could be deemed offensively racist, the BBC-owned UKTV has removed a classic episode of the sitcom Fawlty Towers for its use of racial slurs. The show’s star and writer John Cleese has spoken out against the removal, saying executives trying “to hang onto their jobs” are “too stupid to see that” the episode was mocking the derogatory language, not supporting it. In the episode, entitled “The Germans”, Cleese’s Basil Fawlty has a conversation with Ballard Berkeley’s Major Gowen. The Major recalls a time he took a woman to a cricket game played by an Indian team, during which he uses racial epithets when referring to Indians (“w*gs”) and West Indians (“n*ggers”). While the episode is remembered fondly for its repetition of the phrase “don...
Blac Chyna Accuses NBC Of Racism In Relation To ‘Rob & Chyna’ Reality Show
Source: Neilson Barnard / Getty Back in 2017, Blac Chyna launched a lawsuit against the sprawling Kardashian clan after alleging that they interfered with her former show, Rob & Chyna, leading to its cancellation. In a new statement, Chyna is accusing NBC of racism and that if she were white, the claims made by Kris Jenner that she beat Rob Kardashian would have been investigated and found false. Page Six reports that Blac Chyna’s legal team issued a statement accusing NBCUniversal of canceling her reality series with her ex-boyfriend and father of her daughter after Ms. Jenner informed the network of violent episodes behind the scenes. Chyna is standing firm on pushing back against the allegations made by Jenner and Kardashian and is adding a new wrinkle to the matter. From Page Six: ...
Republic Records Will No Longer Use the Word “Urban” to Describe Music
In a move that could be described as woefully overdue, Republic Records will stop using the term “urban” as a synonym for hip-hop, R&B, and other music pioneered by black artists. Republic is the home of such artists as The Weeknd, James Blake, Taylor Swift, and Ariana Grande. In a social media statement, the label indicated that, “Effective immediately, Republic Records will remove “Urban” from our verbiage in describing departments, employee titles and music genres.” The post continued, “We encourage the rest of the music industry to follow suit as it is important to shape the future of what we want it to look like, and not adhere to the outdated structures of the past.” Via Billboard, the term “urban” comes from legendary black DJ Frankie Crocker, who developed the urban ...
#BlackLivesMatter: How You Can Help From Home Locally & Nationally
Source: David Woods / Radio One Indianapolis The racist deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black people caused protesters in cities across the country to pour into the streets and demand justice in the midst of a global pandemic. We put together a list of vetted organizations that do on-the-ground work and other credible resources including bail funds, petitions, and contacts that you can use to help make a difference in this fight for justice and against racism and oppression. National Resources Black Lives Matter: The national movement that builds power to bring justice, healing, and freedom to Black people across the globe. Bail Fund Networks National Bail Fund Network: The National Bail Fund Network is made up of over sixty community ba...
Amazon Removed Racist Images That Appeared With AirPod & Bluetooth Headphones Listings
Source: Thomas Trutschel / Getty Amazon customers looking to purchase AirPods and Bluetooth headphones on were recommended racism instead. Amazon says it has removed racist images from listings on its UK site. The Financial Times reports that customers searching for AirPods and Bluetooth headphones were greeted with racist imagery saying racist language like “you n****r” and “bloody n****r.” AirPods and Bluetooth were both trending on Twitter upon the discovery, and one user @benjaminteacher share a video of a customer completely disgusted and cycling through the racist listings. The listings in question were only relegated to the company’s UK site and have since been removed on Sunday (May.31), and interestedly appeared on pages of new sellers with little to no customer reviews The Financ...
Bandcamp to Donate Profits to NAACP Legal Defense Fund Every Juneteenth
Bandcamp has been a beacon of charity in these tough times. Having previously waived their fees for 24 hours to support independent musicians, the music website has announced they will donate 100% of their share in sales on June 19th to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. And it’s not just this one date, but “every Juneteenth hereafter…” Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day, a holiday celebrating June 19th, 1865. This was the day the Emancipation Proclamation finally went into effect in the former Confederate States of America, two years after it was signed and a little over a month following the end of the Civil War. What’s more, Bandcamp has additionally pledged to donate $30,000 a year to “organizations that fight for racial justice and create opportunities for people of color.” Calling th...
Beyoncé and Rihanna Address Death of George Floyd: “We Cannot Normalize This Pain”
Beyoncé and Rihanna have both issued statements regarding the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests taking place in cities across the US. “We need justice for George Floyd,” Beyoncé said in a video message posted to Instagram on Friday night. “We all witnessed his murder in broad daylight. We’re broken and we’re disgusted. We cannot normalize this pain.” “I’m not only speaking to people of color. If you’re white, black, brown, or anything in-between, I’m sure you feel hopeless about the racism going on in America right now,” Beyoncé continued. “No more senseless killings of human beings. No more seeing people of color as less than human. We can no longer look away.” Beyoncé went on to encourage her fans to sign a series of petitions demanding more charges be brought against&nbs...
John Boyega strongly speaks against racism
John Boyega strongly speaks against racism on social media in a defiant call to action after the shocking death of George Floyd. George, a 46-year-old black man from Minneapolis, died while being arrested by four cops, with one kneeling on the back of his neck while pinning him to the ground in a report by Huffington Post. He had been stopped for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a nearby store but was unarmed and handcuffed when horrific footage showed him gasping for air, telling officers “I can’t breathe” and then becoming unresponsive. No arrests have yet been made, but George’s death sparked riots in Minneapolis last night. All four officers in the footage have been sacked from the force and the FBI has opened an investigation into their conduct. Star Wars actor John called fo...
