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THE GREENSBORO TIMES


THE GREENSB NNEWS Black Barbers Demand OTES BY SARAH HUGHES - GUARDIAN NEWS America’s biggest new


Blacks in America also have to contend with ugly stereotypes and lazy characterizations about their behavior and how they live. A new report, co-produced by Color Of Change and Family Story, examined America’s media over the course of a year and found pervasive instances of systematic and harmful misrepresentations of Black families during the last election cycle.


''We are demanding an immediate Justice Department full probe,'' said Kevon Gordon, owner of The Hair Shack since 1984.


TV show is a gaudy family saga described as a “black Dy- nasty” by its creator, featuring music by uber-producer Tim- baland and counting Michelle Obama among its numerous celebrity fans.


In the five weeks since


the rise of New York real estate magnate Donald Trump to become the Republican nominee for president and his virulent, overtly racist campaign that scapegoated Blacks, Latinos and other non-Whites. In the aftermath of Mr. Trump’s election, his Republican supporters, as well as a wide swathe of other Whites, have felt more comfortable expressing their racial animus and hostility.


Gordon and other barbers allege that the raids violated their 4th Amendment right of ''probable cause'', undermined their businesses, tar- geted them based on race and threatened to fracture the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology's reputation as a career builder.


helped fuel these feelings. Rashad Robinson of Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, and Nicole Rodgers of Family Story, an organization dedicated to elevating stories of diverse families, say media depictions put Black families in a particularly unfavorable light.


the media’s disturbing and inaccurate portrayal of Black communities,” said Mr. Robinson, executive director of Color Of Change. “The current


Barbers and patrons involved in the raids say a strike team of California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)/Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC) inspectors, city code compliance inspectors and offi- cers from the Moreno Valley Police Department/Riverside County Sheriff burst into their establishments without search warrants under the guise of a BBC-led crackdown on business license and health and safety violators.


According to BBC officials Moreno Valley police initiated the raids ''apparently to shut down drug operations''.


its premiere on Fox, Empire – essentially a mashup be- tween The Lion in Winter and The Godfather and set in the world of hip-hop music – has pulled in 11.5 million viewers and dominated watercooler chat. The internet is awash with memes from the show, while episodes are gleefully discussed on Twitter by view- ers whose jaws appear to be in a state of permanent disloca- tion from the gloriously ripe dialogue.


Its creator, Lee Daniels, the director of films as diverse as Precious


At presstime DCA officials and Moreno Valley city leaders had not responded to formal requests for reaction to the barbers' demands.


''My phone has been ringing off the hook. People are outraged,'' said Gordon. He told the Black Voice News barbers targeted in the raids have been further humiliated by a police and city hall information blackout.


and The Paperboy, wouldn’t have it any other way. “[I wanted audiences] to sit there and go ‘No, this bitch didn’t! Oh my fucking God!’” he admit- ted in the Hollywood Reporter. Yet while Empire relishes its crazier mo- ments, whiplash plot twists and Naomi Campbell appearances, it’s also tackling issues from homophobia to abuse with the sort of uncomfortable honesty rarely seen on network TV.


“The way in which the show balances a sense of authenticity with


''When we called police and code compliance asking for an incident report - we were told ‘there isn't one'.'' Gordon said despite multiple requests for information from the three agencies, he and other barbers targeted in the raids have been ''systematically denied.''


some of the more audacious moments is key to its success,” says Ilene Chaiken, Empire’s executive producer. “Lee has really embraced the idea of it being a black Dynasty but from the beginning I’ve said to him you’re being too modest – this show is so much more than that. There’s an hon- esty to the story we’re telling and audiences have responded to that.”


Empire has increased its ratings in each of its five weeks on air, the


Gordon said the Hair Shack located in a strip mall along busy Sunnymead Boulevard has no prior history of police trouble.


first show to have done so in 20 years, and a Nielsen report suggested that it was watched in 33% of black households. Now critics are wondering if it heralds a new era for television programming. A report in New York Magazine stated that “among African-American women between 35 and 49, the show is literally the equivalent of a Super Bowl” in that the per- centages of those viewers watching “exceeded the ratings of some NFL championship games this century”.


''Incidents like this are not going to be tolerated anymore, and we're going to speak out. This was an attack not just on African-Americans, but all ethnic business establishments.''


Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), his estranged wife Cookie (a magnifi- cent Taraji P Henson) and their three sons, all jostling for control of Em- pire Records, the label Lucious built from the ground up.


It’s easy to see the appeal of this over-the-top tale of ailing mogul Need Health Care?


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For starters it’s exceedingly quotable, most notably when Henson’s


The barbers stopped short of publicizing their demands saving the details for an upcoming news conference. Gordon confirmed he has contacted civil rights and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorneys.


Gordon and barber Ron Jones were cited for what BBC inspectors call 11 The show pulls as few punches as its ferocious leading lady. A plot-


Cookie strides onto the screen. “The streets ain’t made for everybody, that’s why they made sidewalks,” she spat memorably in a recent episode, with other zingers including “Just ‘cos I asked Jesus to forgive you doesn’t mean I do” and “We don’t have time for you to be having some mental artsy block brain fart, whatever you’re having.”


336-790-9787 We Accept: Self-pay - Medical Insurance – Medicaid – Medicare Negative media depictions of Blacks as individuals and families “Millions of Americans form their opinions of Black families through Ms. Rodgers agreed. That time period, January 2015 to December 2016, encompasses


by Chris Levister Special to the NNPA from BlackVoiceNews.com


BY BARRINGTON M. SALMON For much of the sojourn of Africans in America, neither the United


States government, nor most of its citizens, have quite figured how to reconcile America’s original sin—slavery—or the place formerly enslaved Africans and people of color fit in the United States.


Blacks and Whites continue to live in an uneasy peace. In addition to facing racism, discrimination


and prejudice,


MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (NNPA) - Making a point of the historical importance of the barbershop and beauty parlor in Black communities, a group of barbers, church leaders and community activists across the Inland region and the nation has demanded a federal investigation into the raids targeting six mostly Black-owned Moreno Valley business establishments early this month.


Empire: the outrageous b family drama that’s chan the look of US TV


Study: Mainstream pushes false, damaging stereotypes about Black families


Audaciously honest on black issues, Lee Daniels’s family saga has won a hu had long ignored – and a big fan in the White House


Moreno underm barbers nities m


''From M Counci Berry G


mess threatens to rock


media landscape is shaped by decision makers who continue to inaccurately depict Black fathers as absent, Black mothers as bad decision makers and Black families as destabilizing forces in society.”


“We see these distortions and inaccuracies not only in right-wing


outlets like Breitbart, but in unexpected places like the New York Times and like Meet the Press—and they have grave consequences. Not only are these systemic patterns in news coverage simply inaccurate, but they also harm American families by justifying federal and state policies that will doom American families for generations to come.”


Black Families > page 3


The Butlers whose busi ity by taping a copy of t raids on the shops' fron


''We want our patrons to back and allow anyone asking customers if the doesn't happen again,''


A scene from the hit TV show Empire created by Lee Daniels. Photograph: / 20thCentFox


Former patron James W bershop, it's not one pl is taking place in mino now is, we're speaking


the show; in a recent radio interview the presid it but his wife was “really into it”.


She’s not the only one. In addition to C


TheHBCUAdvocate.com College Scholarships from A-Z


Adding insult to injury Gordon says several customers have expressed concern over bringing their loved ones to his shop. ''My reputation and livelihood of 24 years has been damaged. Collectively we intend to fight back.''


mistress, there have been appearances from C Sidibe and Gladys Knight; coming episodes a Ora, Jennifer Hudson, Snoop Dogg, Patti LaB Courtney Love will play a hard-living rock sta Daniels took to Instagram last week to sugg Washington for a role, fans almost expired w recognised it was probably a passing joke betw


Word of the raids sprea nation barbers activists Gordon said barbers, la neys and patrons in S Diego counties have ca


Behind the screen the talent is equally


rected by John Singleton of Boyz n the Hood includes Orange prize-nominated crime writer anticipated third novel, Pleasantville, is out th how many talented people have wanted to ge and behind the camera,” says Chaiken. “I thin of a game-changer this really is. There’s a re this world on screen and taking risks, allowi badly and make mistakes.”


''As customers we have come to get my hair cu warrant check on me wi be to a civil rights attor Reginald Richard.


''Moreno Valley today barber college graduate in Atlanta and Chicago ''Brothers, what the hel


Yet, for all the excitement now, critics w


pire’s potential. Musical dramas are often a ris involvement of Timbaland meant that this ha and there was some doubt over whether audie with a predominantly black cast. The doubts sense that Empire has tapped into a market tha long ignored. In 2013 a Nielsen report sugge more TV than any other US demographic, yet supporting roles and bit parts.


Moreno Valley contra Sheriffs Department. S Black Voice News requ demand for an investig for review.


''This kind of affront se have worked hard to st mate practices. It sends


Still Gordon who says h admits the controversy brought us together. Th


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