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The Afro-American, June 4, 2016 - June 4, 2016
June 4, 2016 - June 10, 2016, The Afro-American
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Racist Ad
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her, she grabs a pouch of Qiaobi cleaning liquid and forces it into the man’s mouth, before she pushes him over and tumbles him into the washing machine. After a cycle of muffled screams, she opens the lid and a grinning Asian man climbs out. He winks at the viewer before the slogan flashes up on screen: “Change begins with Qiaobi.” The commercial had apparently aired for months without generating much debate, until a flicker of online discontent was picked up by an English website. It posted a link to the ad and within hours, it had gone viral, sparking a global conversation about racism in a country that is officially home to 56 ethnic minorities but is dominated by Han Chinese, and can feel very mono-cultural, according to a press release that addresses the situation. “We did this for some sensational effect,” Xu Chunyan, an agent for the Qiaobi company, told the New York Times. “If we just show laundry like all the other advertisements, ours will not stand out.”
However, Morgan State University advertising major Jonas Dandy disagrees. “Shoving detergent in a Black man’s mouth, forcing him into a washing machine, and having him turn into an Asian man is in no
social media posts and protests, a small contingency of viewers found the ad comical and a means to open dialogue about race. “The content will definitely make some people of color feel as though they are the butt of a joke
“The truth of the matter is that the world is not ready – even in 2016 – to deal with race as true satire because it dredges up too many hurt feelings and stereotypes.” – Torcy Beauchamps way innovative; it is racist,” he told the AFRO. “In addition to being culturally insensitive, globally it hits a nerve because it suggests that Black men are somehow primitive and need to be changed in order to be acceptable.” And while Dandy’s sentiments were shared by millions of people worldwide through
or that they are being told that their skin needs to be changed. The reality is that different cultures view things differently and often without malicious intent,” television critic and blogger Torcy Beauchamps told the AFRO. “There is an Italian commercial from which this one is derived that puts this exhibition
into context. When that is viewed next to this one, it all comes up laughter.” In the Italian version, a comely, puny white male comes to the doorway in much of the same manner, is forced into the wash with a packet of detergent and comes out as a muscular, handsome Black man. Because this product is for coloring clothes rather than bleaching them, the slogan at the end reads: “Coloured is better.” “The truth of the matter is that the world is not ready – even in 2016 – to deal with race as true satire because it dredges up too many hurt feelings and stereotypes,” said Beauchamps, who acknowledges China’s long history of racist ads, including Darkie toothpaste, which was only renamed Darlie in 1989 by the American company Colgate-Palmolive, which owns it. “I thought the commercials were great for opening up dialogue about race, but it has to be a conversation built on learning, rather than accusations. We’re just not there yet.”
Actor Convicted Continued from A1
Mokayef told jurors the actor was waiting for his wife, shot her in the back and taunted her before shooting each of her legs. Jace’s 10-year-old son testified that he heard his father say, “’If you like running, then run to heaven,’” before firing the second time. Savoy Brown, an adult son of April Jace, said the family was pleased with the verdict. He said watching Michael Jace has been difficult for the family, and he is hoping the actor, who bit his bottom lip when the verdict was read but showed no other emotion, will show his feelings when he is sentenced. “I’d just like to see the sadness on his face, that he realized it because it seems every now and then, there’s moments of sadness and there’s moments of not,” Brown said after the verdict. “And those moments of not really get me questioning, you know, how can you go that far? How can you say those words? How can you do that?” Mokayef said the potential sentence would be 40 years to life in prison when Jace is sentenced on June 10. She said during the trial that the actor was upset that his wife wanted a divorce and believed she was having an affair, although no evidence was presented during the trial that she was cheating. Jace’s attorney, Jamon Hicks, said his client is remorseful
AP Photo/Anthony McCartney)
Michael Jace, who played a police officer on the TV series, “The Shield,” appears in court with his attorney, attorney Jason Sias, left, during his trial at Los Angeles County Superior in Los Angeles.
Black Activists Continued from A1
change in the criminal justice system will require action both inside and outside the courtroom, including pushing for new laws and reforms in police procedures. “You don’t judge a war by winning or losing battles,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, a longtime civil rights leader. “We’re not prosecutors; we’re activists. If you gauge (the 1960s) by one case, it’s depressing. If you look at the bills that came out of it, you understand the big picture.” Gray died just over a year ago after suffering a broken neck in the back of a police van while he was handcuffed and shackled but not buckled in. His death triggered the worst riots in decades in Baltimore and added his name to the list of unarmed black people in the U.S. who have died in confrontations with police. Baltimore’s top prosecutor swiftly filed charges against six officers, two of whom have gone to trial. One case ended with the jury deadlocked; that officer will be retried in the fall. The other case ended May 23 with a judge acquitting an officer of assault and other charges.
“The policies related to policing almost guarantee that police officers will never be held criminally responsible for their actions,” said Baltimore activist DeRay Mckesson, who launched his activism in the wake of the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. “Most of these verdicts merely confirm that understanding.” At the same time, he and other civil rights activists noted that there are still five trials ahead, including that of the van driver, who faces the most serious charge of all, second-degree murder. And some said seeing police officers put on trial is itself a sign of progress, regardless of the outcome. Across the country, demands for accountability in the deaths of unarmed Blacks in recent years have met with mixed results. Prosecutors declined to indict the officers involved in the Ferguson case, the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland or the chokehold death of Eric Garner in New York. On the other side of the ledger, Michael Slager, a former police officer in North
Charleston, South Carolina, will face trial in the killing of Walter Scott, who was gunned down as he ran away. “No trial is going to bring back a stolen life,” said Ashley Green, an organizer in Tampa, Florida, with the Dream Defenders. “But don’t insult us by not even taking the step to ask the question of whether this person deserved to die. That’s what we’re really asking for when we demand a trial.” Adam Jackson, founder of the Baltimore group Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, said the outcome of the Baltimore trials so far reveals fundamental and systemic flaws in the criminal justice system. “We weren’t expecting much,” he said. “I think people are going to keep being frustrated and being angry about the results, but our argument the whole time is that the system is designed to protect law enforcement officials.” Activists point out that they managed to change the system in other ways, outside the courtroom, in some of the cities roiled by killings. They mobilized to defeat prosecutors at the ballot box in Cleveland and Chicago, while in Ferguson the police chief and a judge resigned, organizers worked to register more Black voters, and more Blacks got elected to the City Council. The unrest in Baltimore resulted in the firing of the police commissioner, Anthony Batts. Additionally, the U.S. Justice Department has launched investigations into several police departments, including Ferguson and
Baltimore. And police reform has become part of the conversation in the 2016 presidential election, something that was not on the radar in recent cycles. Activists are also pushing to attack what they see as some of the root causes of violence, including inadequate housing, education and job opportunities. “We know that accountability will require a change in laws and it will require pressure from the courts, just as it has required pressure from the streets,” said Mckesson, who cofounded Campaign Zero, an advocacy group aimed at police reform. “It’s all of these things working in concert, never just one.”
for killing his wife. The actor may speak during his sentencing hearing to express his remorse, but he wants to be respectful of April Jace’s family, the lawyer said. Hicks previously told jurors the actor accepted responsibility for killing his wife, but he should be convicted of voluntary manslaughter because he shot her in the heat of passion. Jace turned himself in to police after the shooting and has been jailed since. April Jace, 40, was a financial aid counselor at Biola University. She was married to Michael Jace for nine years and they had two sons, who were 8 and 5 at the time of her death. Michael Jace had small roles in films such as “Planet of the Apes,” ‘’Boogie Nights” and “Forrest Gump.”