A DIFFERENT LIGHT--- BILLIE HOLLIDAY SINGING "STRANGE FRUIT"

Do you remember our recent conversation about the noose that appears on one of the Duke Chowderhouse Ads...
I wrote a note expressing to DukeTalk duketalk@dukeschowderhouse.com
Here is the response I got Wednesday, April 2

"Joseph, Thank you for the email and your expression of your feelings. The intent of the email was to have fune with the idea of blaming me for the recession and was in no way intended as a connection to anything racist. I have a quirky sense of humor and have always taken a self effacing approach to our advertising and marketing. I love to poke fun at myself. Over the years, I have been applauded for this approach and, even when I have done something controversial, it is with a light heart. The noose was no different. Both white people and black people have been hanged. Some people think it is a symbol for racism, others think it a symbol for those cowboys that stole cattle. There are many interpretations. Fortunately, out of 165,000 emails sent to our data base, we received only two objections similar to yours. I am not discounting your feelings but the comments from a vast majority indicate that found it to be funny and not connected to race. I am hopeful that you can look at this ad in a different light, the one for which it was intended which is to have fun blaming me for the recession."

A DIFFERENT LIGHT...
Recent national and local headlines

Noose costs MBTA worker his job, Camille Roane; University Wire; 03-25-2008
"An MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) supervisor fired for allowing an employee to wear a noose as a Halloween costume cited ignorance of racist symbols as the cause of a misunderstanding leading to his termination."

Another article from the University Wire, Mark Milian, Bill seeks to make hanging nosses in Maryland a crime; 03-28-2008
"When police began investigatin a nosse found hanging from a tree outside the University of Maryland at College Park Nyumburu Cultural Center last September, an incident initially classified as a hate crime, no actual law had been broken.
But if the Maryland General Assembly passes the No Nooses Act, such an incident would be classified a crime. The act bans the placement of a swastika sign or a noose-- a symbol historically representing the lynchings of blacks during the 19th and 20th centuries--on public or private proerties without permission of the owner, said Delegate Victor Ramirez (D-Prince George's), one of the bill's sponsors.
'We cannot have people living in fear,' Ramirez said. 'I heard about the issue directly from a constituent. I belive in it; that's also why I support it.'"



Recently something strange has reared its ugly head in the light of day at Bethel High School... hard words, a noose hanging where students could see it, blows exchanged. Here are some citations from an article printed today on the news tribune website:
Locally, Tacoma News Tribune, Bethel High comes together to talk race, Debby Abe, April 2, 2008
"Community members and civil rights representatives express concerns about the incidents, even if just a few kids are involved.
On Friday, Alton McDonald, president of the National Action Network's Tacoma branch, and a half-dozen black parents and community members held a news conference outside the high school saying the district needs to do more to eliminate racism in schools.
Also on Friday, representatives of the A. Philip Randolph Institute (a black labor group in Tacoma) and a regional labor coalition met with Principal Wanda Riley and district Superintendent Tom Seigel to discuss the incidents and offer assistance."

What do you think... can we afford to quirkly put a rose colored light on images that are causing pain in various parts of our country, including right here?
I and 165,000 emails need to know

Here is a picture of a tree taken Fall, 2007, on Martin Luther King Way, Tacoma,


Are we ready for a new conversation? Can we hope for fresh growth in 2008?

Billie Holliday long ago put a hard, hard light on a lynching she saw

Noose in the news from Duke's Chowder House: will Duke be lynched?

Duke's Chowder House has several locations including one on Ruston Way, in Tacoma. For the past couple of years I have subscribed to receive e-mail announcements and coupon specials from Duke's.

Today I received the offer shown here featuring Duke's deer-in-the-headlights photo with a noose hanging prominently in the picture with the caption "Managers blame Duke for recession." The ad conveys that Duke faces lynching by his restaurant managers. Funny? Comical? Knee-slapping hilarity?

I wrote to Rich Carr, in Duke's marketing department, and expressed revulsion at seeing a noose in their advertising. I did not find it appetizing nor would it entice me to patronize the restaurant. I added that the noose as a symbol would also be especially offensive to African-Americans.

Rich Carr replied with the following statement:

The imagery, the verbiage, the impact of the message were all developed to cut through the clutter of your average email and/or marketing campaign. And, while we acknowledge your viewpoint, we also meant this to be ‘tongue in cheek’ as ALL Duke’s emails are. I don’t see the reference to African-Americans as you state, as the history of the hangman’s noose go back to Colonial America as well as England during the 16th and 18th centuries as a form of capital punishment. Period. Will it be used all the time, certainly not. Is it a powerful image that relates to Duke’s missive, yes. Does it spur people to read more? Certainly.

Most Duke’s Email Club members appreciate his sense of humor, use of imagery, and the text he writes himself. It’s Duke…his approach has never altered in his 30 years in business as the last thing we ever want to be is ‘another’ email, but something people talk about, buzz about, tell their friends about, and realize that humor in all its forms sometimes offends albeit that is certainly not our intention. Again, I appreciate the feedback and will forward directly to Duke should he want to weigh in. However, I feel he’ll echo my comments as these collaborations are just that.

When he wrote, "I don't see the reference to African-Americans..." and continued the defense of the noose (referring to its use in "Colonial America and England in the 16th and 18th Centuries...") underscored how out of touch and insensitive he/they were in the use of the noose as a symbol for their advertising. 400 years of the unspeakable, shameful horrors of slavery and he does not "see the reference to African-Americans?"

Hello?!?

I wrote again and put forth a couple of outrageous, hypothetical scenarios, which I was confident (as a matter of good taste) Duke's would never even consider using in an ad, simply as a means to make the point that African-American people have a profoundly different visceral reaction to the image of a noose anytime or anywhere and that reaction is different from how white people perceive it.

Duke's would be hard-pressed to find a Brit or other white person whose reaction would be the same as an African-American's painful reaction on seeing a noose utilized in an advertising campaign flippantly as if it is or can be an object of amusement.

I challenged Duke's to show the ad to black employees and ask for their gut reaction to it. Does it make them proud to work for Duke’s? They may fear for their jobs, may fear a hostile work environment, so they may not answer truthfully, but I encouraged him to give employees an opportunity anyway to weigh in on it. I suggested that Duke's distribute a simple, anonymous survey card that would only require a check mark as a reply: “Seeing a noose in an ad for Duke’s: a) bothers me, b) doesn’t bother me.”

Rhetorically, I asked if they'd consider putting a "Whites Only" sign at the entrance or if the next ad campaign would feature Duke being "tarred and feathered." Of course not! It would be outrageous. I pointed out those scenarios in an effort to help them 'connect the dots' and see that a noose is every bit as offensive.

Rich Carr replied that:

This is not a racial email, nor will we entertain attempts to take it that direction. Your ideas of ... have obvious racial undertones and in no way reflect anything we’d ever produce or distribute.

That's great news! I appreciate the affirmation.

It's unfortunate that Duke's didn't think through the implications of using lynching and a noose in their current ad before it was distributed.