Good morning everyone!
Let's get to it, shall we?
Sage Steele, Carlos Watson, and Van Jones are not the Black voices that speak for the Black community; they speak for the people who provide the paychecks. Thank you, Tiffany Cross, for bringing this issue the attention it deserves.
I'm going to start with Sage Steele.
This is an old video on YouTube; it's an uncomfortable video for me. It's uncomfortable because a man is asking to touch her hair, which she allows to happen on air.
I wasn't fond of this move at all. It was triggering for me.
It reminded me of an extremely intense conversation of colorism that didn't go so well. That conversation went south because colorism "wasn't a form of racism".
"Tokenism isn't a form of racism either" was another condescending dismissal.
It's painful to watch a mockery of Black pain play on television for likes, clicks, and revenue, especially in the newsroom.
It's not entertainment because "it isn't your history or experience". It's lazy and sadistic. Kindly please put some respect for Black pain!
Here's a clip from YouTube that got Sage Steele suspended from ESPN. I'm not addressing what she said in this podcast with Jay Cutler; I would rather reserve my energy getting folk ready for this upcoming election and the midterm elections. She's already getting dragged and read for filth on social media.
The next person to address is Carlos Watson.
Here's a clip from YouTube about the scandal involving his media company.
The next person to address is Van Jones.
Van Jones is problematic for me because he wasn't transparent to his audience about his part working with the Trump administration on criminal justice reform and other things.
Here's a clip from YouTube 3 years ago.
I was hoping she would add Killer Mike (Michael Santiago Render). I was hoping she would have addressed his "visit" with Governor Brain Kemp, calling him "a principled man, and his appearances on Real Time with Bill Maher. There are other names to add to the list; I'm beyond frustrated and exhausted to add those names.
I loved that she talked about the funding of the newsrooms. Here's the link. Please watch it for more context and clarity.
Thank you for reading.