Jesse Williams speech at BET Awards (1 Viewer)

[eoMMan]

This was well received last night and now by the media. I don't know. Seems kind of racist, no?

http://www.etonline.com/news/191968_jesse_williams_delivers_impassioned_speech_at_the_bet_awards_calling_for_justice_and_equality/

"We’ve been floating this country on credit for centuries, and we're done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us," Williams said. "Burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil. Black gold. Ghettoizing and demeaning our creations, then stealing them, gentrifying our genius, then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit. The thing is though, just because we're magic doesn’t mean we're not real."

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Who is Jesse Williams?

 

[jon_mx]

Jesse Williams is an American actor and model who has a net worth of $4 million dollars.  Nice Ghetto. 

 

[jon_mx]

Who is Jesse Williams?

According to Google, he is in Grey's Anatomy. I guess he thinks he should be a billionaire.  

 

[Andy Dufresne]

"Set Trope Generator to 'Haywire'!"

 

[Insein]

Is he the half black half white guy or the all black guy on GA?

 

[Andy Dufresne]

“If you have a critique for the resistance, for our resistance, then you better have an established record of critique of our oppression,” he said. “If you have no interest in equal rights for black people, then do not make suggestions to those who do. Sit down.”

So he's an idiot? Move along.

 

[Jackstraw]

This the "you better know your place" thread?.  

 

[Parrothead]

who?

 

[Andy Dufresne]

This the "you better know your place" thread?.  

According to Jesse, yes.

 

[Uwe Blab]

He can't be racist.  Its like the law or something....

 

[timschochet]

His speech, especially the "strange fruit" reference (it's a Billie Holiday song about lynching) all sounds like he could be living in 1946 rather than 2016. 

 

[Peyton Marino]

so who won the BET award?

 

[Cjw_55106]

My first thought is, just because he's done well, doesn't mean his points aren't true. However, this day and age, there are plenty of African Americans who have enough money to fund "black projects" if they deem them worthy. I believe African Americans still have a tougher road than whites in the "real world", but in entertainment? Its hardly worth my time to care about. 

 

[avoiding injuries]

Is he the half black half white guy or the all black guy on GA?

Let's hope he's the all black one, otherwise, he lost half his credibility. 

 

[doowain]

Williams graduated from Temple University with a double major in African American Studies and Film and Media Arts.[3][6] Following in the footsteps of his parents, he taught high school in the Philadelphia public school system for six years, where he used his degree earned at Temple to teach American Studies, African Studies, and English.

He's not just another actor popping off at the mouth.  At least he has some credibility.

 

[Al Czervik]

Who is Jesse Williams?

Was he the guy who held the mirror for Morris Day?  Or was that Jerome?

 

[eoMMan]

Let's hope he's the all black one, otherwise, he lost half his credibility. 

His mother is Swedish.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Williams_(actor)

 

[Andy Dufresne]

What's the thing about being "magic"?

 

[mr. furley]

His mother is Swedish.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Williams_(actor)

so it's a really awkward space to occupy sometimes

he has black skin but he's half white and at least some native american. he's somewhat speaking from experience but not entirely. he has the right to his opinions but he's also somewhat hypocritical. 

to be half white and criticizing white people.. to be half black and speaking for the black community. 

somewhat interesting how well received this has been considering how he isn't really "one of them". black america has its own troubled history with "light skin" vs "dark skin" blacks.. curious why this guy, who is mixed race, is able to say this and so far no criticism from the usual corners.

 

[McGarnicle]

I guess somewhere in there is the attack on the entertainment industry's treatment of blacks, lack of roles & recognition etc. -- the same stuff we heard during the Oscars. But the phrase "this invention called whiteness" is extremely bigoted and offensive and undermines whatever message he was trying to convey. He should apologize and possibly should lose his TV gig which we all know is what would happen if a white actor made similar remarks about blacks. I won't hold my breath.

 

[Joe Summer]

All I know is that they ran the show on Comedy Central so I missed out on my South Park reruns.

 

[Uwe Blab]

I guess somewhere in there is the attack on the entertainment industry's treatment of blacks, lack of roles & recognition etc. -- the same stuff we heard during the Oscars. But the phrase "this invention called whiteness" is extremely bigoted and offensive and undermines whatever message he was trying to convey. He should apologize and possibly should lose his TV gig which we all know is what would happen if a white actor made similar remarks about blacks. I won't hold my breath.

Oh great.  Now Jackstraw is going to have to get ahold of Jessie Williams and the BET audience to apologize for you.  Wonderful.

 

[mr. furley]

I guess somewhere in there is the attack on the entertainment industry's treatment of blacks, lack of roles & recognition etc. -- the same stuff we heard during the Oscars. But the phrase "this invention called whiteness" is extremely bigoted and offensive and undermines whatever message he was trying to convey. He should apologize and possibly should lose his TV gig which we all know is what would happen if a white actor made similar remarks about blacks. I won't hold my breath.

the idea of color/race as an imaginary construct isn't new to this guy and not "racist".

it's similar to the argument people are making now that there's no such thing as gender.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Arguments today don't need to be logical to be praiseworthy. They simply need to have high levels of snark.

 

[Smack Tripper]

Just another blue eyed devil exploiting the black man

 

[Joe Summer]

My first thought was "Jerry Orbach must be rolling over in his grave".

 

[avoiding injuries]

Karate Kid, Annie... how much more does he want. 

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

What's the thing about being "magic"?

It's a literary device, where the black person, generally the only black person in the story, has some knowledge necessary for the protagonist. The "magical black person" knows voodoo, or some ancient knowledge, or the shining, etc. and their function in the story is to impart this knowledge onto the protagonist.

 

[RUSF18]

NYT: "How Jesse Williams Stole BET Awards"

Such racists. 

 

[Andy Dufresne]

NYT: "How Jesse Williams Stole BET Awards"

Such racists. 

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

NYT: "How Jesse Williams Stole BET Awards"

Such racists. 

they should've gone with "Looted" maybe?

 

[AAABatteries]

Maybe I'm being naive but I still think race relations are getting better.  I think we are more accepting of others now than pretty much any time in human history.  I have no idea if Williams is correct in what he's asserting (to be honest, I'm not sure I understand what his point is) but I would say that today is better than the past.  Improvement still needs to be made with equality but I think we are trending up (even if it's not as fast as we would want).

 

[Smack Tripper]

Karate Kid, Annie... how much more does he want. 

Trying to get the Philip Michael Thomas biopic green lit but "so called" focus groups wanted more crockettCrockett

 

[jon_mx]

Maybe I'm being naive but I still think race relations are getting better.  I think we are more accepting of others now than pretty much any time in human history.  I have no idea if Williams is correct in what he's asserting (to be honest, I'm not sure I understand what his point is) but I would say that today is better than the past.  Improvement still needs to be made with equality but I think we are trending up (even if it's not as fast as we would want).

His point was kind of obvious.  His white half is holding his black half down. 

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

Maybe I'm being naive but I still think race relations are getting better.  I think we are more accepting of others now than pretty much any time in human history.  I have no idea if Williams is correct in what he's asserting (to be honest, I'm not sure I understand what his point is) but I would say that today is better than the past.  Improvement still needs to be made with equality but I think we are trending up (even if it's not as fast as we would want).

Growing up, I saw color, still do.

My kids do not. It doesn't register for them.

 

[Gustavo Fring]

It's all the white man's fault, I tell ya.  The white man is out to get me! 

Meanwhile, blacks continue to kill blacks in record amounts in some of the our nations largest urban areas.  

 

[Gary Coal Man]

Growing up, I saw color, still do.

My kids do not. It doesn't register for them.

I'll assume that you and your kids are white.  I've never heard a non-white person say, "I don't see color."

By the way, "I don't see color", is the new racism.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

I'll assume that you and your kids are white.  I've never heard a non-white person say, "I don't see color."

By the way, "I don't see color", is the new racism.

Yes, that is exactly what I was saying, my kids are racist.

 

[need2know]

Wtf is this guy talking about

 

[Man in the yellow hat]

This guy went to a high school that costs $33k per year. Then graduated from Temple University. I don't know about any of you, but he had a way better head start than I did. 

 

[Sconch]

so it's a really awkward space to occupy sometimes

he has black skin but he's half white and at least some native american. he's somewhat speaking from experience but not entirely. he has the right to his opinions but he's also somewhat hypocritical. 

to be half white and criticizing white people.. to be half black and speaking for the black community. 

somewhat interesting how well received this has been considering how he isn't really "one of them". black america has its own troubled history with "light skin" vs "dark skin" blacks.. curious why this guy, who is mixed race, is able to say this and so far no criticism from the usual corners.

I only read half of this.

 

[TripItUp]

The police brutality stuff is pretty bad...I thought it was an appropriate forum to raise awareness.

That being said, I prefer the MLK approach to the Malcolm X approach. 

 

[Gary Coal Man]

Yes, that is exactly what I was saying, my kids are racist.

No, that's not what I'm saying.  

I'm suggesting that no matter which approach your kids take to race and no matter how well-intentioned they are, there will be some people calling them racist because they're white and, in certain circles, that's the fashionable thing to do these days.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

No, that's not what I'm saying.  

I'm suggesting that no matter which approach your kids take to race and no matter how well-intentioned they are, there will be some people calling them racist because they're white and, in certain circles, that's the fashionable thing to do these days.

Ah, I get it. So to some groups, no progress is enough as just being white makes a person inherently racist? That is an old song. Same tune different lyrics.

 

[Hov34]

Karate Kid, Annie... how much more does he want. 

We'll throw in an awful "Uncle Buck", but that's it.

 

[irish eyes]

Wow, this dope really went into some groundbreaking territory. Black person on the BLACK entertainment network blaming whites...shocker. From his background sounds like he has really had it tough hahaha

 

[Eephus]

This thread is a pretty good example of why Williams said "if you have no interest in equal rights for black people, then do not make suggestions to those that do"

 

[avoiding injuries]

I don't really care about this guy or his speech, but now they're turning on Justin Timberlake and that's where I draw the line. He's the coolest guy we got.  

 

[mr. furley]

I only read half of this.

:golfclap: