BWB questions

September 22th, 2013

1. Russell Simmons actually apologize for allowing the video to go public and be produced. The video itself wasn't what he was trying to get through to people, it was to show that even 162 years later there is still injustice happening. Jamilah Lamieux thought that the video was led more towards the disrespect of African American women. Also, she was really surprised/speechless about the territory the video makers crossed, talking about Harriett Tubman, Sojourner Truth and Coretta Scott King giving them that negative image. Jeff Johnson seemed very pissed about the video. He accused Russell Simmons of lying about what  he said he did not know what was being published. Basically, admitting that he allowed it or that someone forced him. He claimed that Russell does not have any idea of our historical context.

2. William Dunlap discovered Sarah Baartman and decided to display her as a freak at an exhibit in London.  After her death, her body was made out of plaster and her body parts were displayed at the Musee de l'Homme in Paris. 160 years later, he parts were removed and sent back home were they belonged in January of 2002. Her nickname was "Hottentot Venus" given to people with cattle.

3. There was uproar because Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth cut a cake of an African American woman and people thought that was a sign of racism. The cake was apart of the World Art Day exhibit, it was illustrating the degrading stereotypes of black people through history. Comments: "I was invited to speak at the World Art Day about the freedom of art and its right to provoke. And then they wanted me to cut into the cake. I don't review art, but I can very well understand that this whole situation was Misunderstood". I think that people made this bigger than it should've been. The lady just cut cake, there should've have been any racist act involved.

4. One similarity is that their is a girl on a table covered in cake and that there are unclothed women in both. What makes it different is that in the 2 chains video women are being degraded un like the article, the article is trying to show us home women were degraded back in the day and how wrong it was.