By Sam Frescoe
Welcome to the next CRAP segment. CRAP is dedicated to
calling-out the junk that politicians and activists within dominate culture
want us to accept with a smile. If you’re ready to resist what is “Coercive,
Reprehensible, Arrogant, Profane” or “Corrupt, Ridiculous, Absurd, Pointless”,
then you’ve arrived in the right place. I am your host, Sam Frescoe. I’m glad
you’re here!
Getting Started
Did you see and hear the Jesse
Williams speech given after he received the BET Humanitarian Award on 26
Jun 2016? What did you think of his performance? I thought it was excellent. I
must admit, until that moment, I had not seen a grown man throw such an
amazingly well rehearsed temper tantrum. It’s unfortunate that this masterful
performance was delivered by a vicious, immoral, and ungrateful racist.
Framing
The BET Humanitarian Award is an
annual award presented by BET during a televised event. To the best of my
knowledge the honor has no formal criteria; therefore, is nothing more than a
fancy trophy. (I must admit that, as entertainment-based awards go, it does
look good and seems to be well crafted.) Jesse Williams was selected by BET “for
his work in fighting for equal rights” and his “support of the Black Lives
Matter movement.” [1]
Jesse Williams is an actor and
producer best known for his role on Grey’s Anatomy. He is regularly described
as an equal rights activist and champion of black culture in America.
The Hype
Lilly Workneh, Black Voices Senior Editor at Huffington
Post, wrote Jesse Williams received a Humanitarian award “for his work in fighting
for equal rights” and his “support of the Black Lives Matter movement.” [2]
Just how did Williams fight for
equal rights? – “People” offered the following: [3] Williams is a board
member of The Advancement Project, a co-creator of Ebrojis (a texting emoji app),
an executive producer of “Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement”, a
participant of the Ferguson marches, a co-founded farWord Inc. (a production
company), and is an executive producer for black arts.
Just how did Williams support BLM?
– Williams stars in and executive produces “Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter
Movement”; a documentary for exploring the evolution of a movement.
Mallory Carra of “Bustle” wrote “Jesse Williams received the
Humanitarian work for his work supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.”[4]
Olivia Blair of “Independent” wrote “Audience members rose
to their feet and were visibly emotional as Jesse Williams delivered a powerful
acceptance speech at the BET awards on Sunday night.”[5]
And, the list media echoes goes on and on…
- Fortune
- CNN
- New York Times
- CBS News
- Washington Post
- TIME
- Huffington Post
- ABC News
- People
- Chicago Daily Tribune
- Salon
- Daily Mail
- The Guardian
- BBC News
The Speech
The speech was an angry, bold attack aimed directly at white
Americans. Clearly the primary issue was race, particularly as it relates to
black Americans. General claims were offered that spanned all of American
history. He stated his opinion of prior tragedies (loss of life) as factual
evidence. The illicit invention of “whiteness” was offered to warrant reason
and acceptance. The speech was delivered in a bombastic and metaphorical manner
leveraging empathy and credibility argument styles. – During his speech, he equated
his opinions to mathematical certainty, clearly stating his intent to disregard
any other rational discussion or opinion, and include an unveiled directive for
others to remain silent on the issue.
CRAP – Coercive, Reprehensible, Arrogant, Profane
Now that the gauntlet is thrown, let’s pick it up.
Williams claims that “whiteness uses and abuses” black
Americans to “bury black people”. He uses these terms in a general manner and
within the context of ill-gotten wealth. – In my view, he is claiming to be the
champion of all blacks that were victimized by whiteness. Let’s take a look at
that, shall we.
Whiteness – A powerful fiction
enforced by power and violence. Whiteness is a constantly shifting boundary
separating those who are entitled to have certain privileges from those whose
exploitation and vulnerability to violence is justified by their not being
white.[6]
If whiteness is illicit, not bound by time, and present
beyond a doubt, then Williams is not (and has not) been a beneficiary of such
evil. The tables below attempt to illustrate the impact of “whiteness” on the
career of Williams.
Williams’ career is well
documented. A quick Google search reports his participation in a number of
projects and associations over a 10 year period of time. Further searching
provides some insight into the leadership of those projects and associations. I
am assuming that leadership at the level represented did have at least a say in
how Williams emerged as a master of his craft.
Year
|
Project
|
Total # of Producers
|
# of White
Producers
|
Impact of “Whiteness”
|
2006
|
Law & Order
|
45
|
37
|
82%
|
2006
|
Beyond the Break
|
4
|
4
|
100%
|
2008
|
The Sisterhood of
the Traveling Pants 2
|
4
|
2
|
50%
|
2008
|
Greek
|
51
|
51
|
100%
|
2009
|
The Washingtonienne
|
1
|
1
|
100%
|
2009
|
Brooklyn's Finest
|
4
|
4
|
100%
|
2009 – Now
|
Grey’s Anatomy
|
26
|
24
|
92%
|
2012
|
The Cabin in the Woods
|
1
|
1
|
100%
|
2012
|
Question Bridge:
Black Males
|
3
|
0
|
0%
|
2013
|
The Butler
|
5
|
4
|
80%
|
2013
|
Snake and Mongoose
|
1
|
1
|
100%
|
2013
|
They Die By Dawn
|
3
|
0
|
0%
|
2013
|
Sesame Street
|
29
|
26
|
89%
|
OVERALL
|
177
|
155
|
87%
|
|
Associations
|
Total Senior
Leadership
|
White Leaders
|
Whiteness
|
BET
|
Unclear
|
Unclear
|
Unclear
|
The Advancement
Project
|
1 Founder
|
0
|
0%
|
CNN.com
|
6 Executive Board
|
6
|
100%
|
Huffington Post
|
1 President
|
1
|
100%
|
The Situation Room,
Wolf Blitzer
|
6 Exec Board
|
6
|
100%
|
Black Lives Matter
|
3
|
0
|
0%
|
Kenneth Cole
Productions
|
5 Key Executives
|
5
|
100%
|
L. L. Bean
|
4 Leadership
|
4
|
100%
|
Tommy Hilfiger USA
|
6 Executives
|
6
|
100%
|
OVERALL
|
32
|
28
|
87%
|
Does this mean that 87% of his
success was supported by “whiteness”? – Does this mean that 87% of his amassed
wealth is illicit (illegitimate, dishonest, criminal, forbidden, immoral)? If
yes, then would he accept the forced return of that wealth to whites in the
form of reparations?
“Whiteness” is bliss!
Arrogance! – Here is an actor that suggests
it’s impossible that others could honestly and intelligently come to a
conclusion different than his own. He goes out of his way to illustrate the
complexity of the issue, but never stops to consider if others could review the
same evidence and arrive at a different conclusion.
Meanness! – Just because a white
American COULD do something unacceptable to a black American does NOT mean that
a white American actually DID that something.
Dinner’s ready, red herring! – It
comes with a special BS sauce and hate garnish.
False authority! – Let me get this
straight, Mr. Williams. You are a black American. You are an actor; a person
that presents a fraud in a socially acceptable manner for the purpose of
providing entertainment in exchange for money. You want me to agree that you
are the moral expert in “whiteness”.
Speaking for myself, the stench is now so thick that I can
taste it.
Shoveling “Ship High In Transit” Material
As a matter of fair play, I have some questions.
How was the power to speak for
“blacks” (as a category) bestowed to you?
How does your profession qualify
you to speak about racism in absolute, moral terms? – To what moral standard or
code do you ground your principles?
Given your genetic circumstances, how
might you change your mind if you become the victim of anti-whiteness?
If you are willing to harm me as
reprisal for “whiteness”, then are you willing to let me harm you as reprisal
for “blackness”?
If you don’t care about my
heritage, then why should I care about your heritage? – If our heritage paths
cross in any way, then how do you envision segregating commonality?
If you don’t care about my life,
liberty, or property, then why should I care about yours?
When does the carrying out of your
vision become unjust?
Going Forward – A Solution
In my view, there is a fundamental virtue being distorted
for the purpose of supporting vicious intent. That virtue is justice. Justice
is a human good; and, I believe, when pursued in the light of what “is good”
versus what “feels good,” then a unifying outcome (however large or small) will
result.
Injustice anywhere is
a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King
Jr.
For America to achieve unity by justice, in a way
sustainable by the nature of being human, it’s incumbent upon each American
citizen, regardless of their circumstances (transient or fixed, real or
virtual, natural or supernatural), to choose the virtuous path.
Perhaps, this is a good place to start.
What are the American rights not
afforded to black citizens?
Thank you. – Sam Frescoe
Your View
Your thoughts and perspectives
are important. I invite you to tell me what you believe in the comments section
below or at samfrescoe@gmail.com. I
am looking forward to reading your thoughts, ideas, and opinions.
[1]
Huffington Post; Black Voices; Jesse Williams: “Just Because We’re Magic, Does
Not Mean We’re Not Real” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jesse-williams-bet-awards-humanitarian-award_us_57708cebe4b017b379f65077)
(accessed 160627)
[2]
Huffington Post; Black Voices; Jesse Williams: “Just Because We’re Magic, Does
Not Mean We’re Not Real” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jesse-williams-bet-awards-humanitarian-award_us_57708cebe4b017b379f65077)
(accessed 160627)
[4] Bustle;
Entertainment; Mallory Carra; “Transcript Of Jesse Williams' BET Awards Speech
Will Leave You With”; http://www.bustle.com/articles/169240-transcript-of-jesse-williams-bet-awards-speech-will-leave-you-with-chills
(accessed 160627)
[5] Independent;
News, People; Olivia Blair; “Jesse Williams: Read the Grey's Anatomy actor's
BET Awards acceptance speech in full”; http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/jesse-williams-read-bet-2016-acceptance-speech-in-full-a7105121.html
(accessed 160627)
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