...Robbie Tolan Dec. 31, 2008

Where was Rev. AL Sharpton when this happened? I maintain, he doesn't generate the media buzz (the majority of the time), he follows it.... If the mass media isn't talking about it, it seems as though he doesn't care.

This was a classic case of racial profiling, and it takes place everyday. A serious problem for a lot of minorities. While most instances do not end in this manner, it is still a major problem that should be discussed and explored.

I took the Implicit Association Test, or I.A.T. (select "I wish to proceed" then select the Race IAT..follow instructions from there), a while ago, and I was somewhat amazed by the results because it showed that I viewed African Americans in a negative light. My first thought was, "Why?". Once I thought about it, it was clear that media depictions had helped to form my views...against my own race. Think about it. In music, movies, TV, the news, etc. African Americans tend to get a bad wrap. Yes, I know that there are examples in these formats of African Americans doing well, but I think that the negative dominates the characterization. I also know that this is not necessarily a racist stance, because America loves violence and drama, and it may be due the fact that there are so relatively few of us in the U.S. Nevertheless, it's not right. There were people who feared for their lives because Obama sought and ultimately won the presidency. It was because the images of people of color had not been positive, and they apparently never met any that dispelled what they saw and heard from new sources and entertainment.

I was prompted to write this after speaking to a friend and learning of the piece done on Real Sports (Clip 1, Clip 2), and wanted to speak on it. I hope people will make the term "open-minded" a verb instead of just an adjective. And you know what I mean....(People like Bill O'Reilly who claim to be open-minded, but yet are surprised when they see black people in a restaurant using utensils and speaking and acting like people and not animals...) Being open-minded is about accepting & respecting people for who they are and not judging them based on what they look like or how they're dressed.