American Gods Knows What Black People Need
Tags: Media, Equality, Race, Television, Justice

The media company behind “American Gods” is Fremantle Media and this is where we see the first kindling of what is, not appears to be, a problem with race. Diversity is not only about having a show that includes Black people, PoC, disabled people, LGBTQ as that is not the hard part. You can easily hire someone to fill out your “look at out diversity” roster. It’s about treatment. There are many companies that hire outside the privileged spectrum, but treat those newcomers as subpar.

This seems to be the case with Fremantle Media who is also the responsible for “America’s Got Talent” where the misogynoir treatment and dismissal of Gabrielle Union created a social media firestorm only about a month prior. Gabrielle Union was harassed about her hairstyles being too Black and was let go after rightfully being offended by racist jokes from both performers on the show and a guest judge. She requested the issue be reported to HR and rather than that, she was released from the show despite being it’s most popular judge.

This isn’t about popularity, though it likely didn’t help that Union and Jones are considered faves on their respective shows. But it is about what Gabrielle Union aptly characterized as the “happy negroe”. A white person can demand they be treated respectfully, they can push to be paid their value even when they have poor or no experience because, by being white, they have an inherent value in this society that is cashable and bankable. How many directors films bomb, yet they are given 5th and 6th opportunities to helm a blockbuster production?

Photo by Marquise Kamanke on Unsplash

However, if you are not white it is the opposite. You must not push to be paid what you’re worth even if you have the experience to prove your value, and you must be grateful for what little you’ve been given because your Blackness is a strike against you. It screams to white people you got here because you are Black not because you know what you’re doing and you’re constantly challenged according to this sentiment.

Even the most liberal white person expects a Black person to be humble, grateful and without complaint. If you complain about that offhand racist joke then you are a problem. In their mind, you should be happy that you were included and stay silent about any microaggressions or overt racist behavior so that they can prop you up as their model, happy negroe without fear that you will be a problem later.

The ones who are willing to play this role will be trotted out to debunk another Black person’s complaints or claim they never saw or had a problem with any of the people mentioned. It’s hard to fault them, particularly if they are struggling financially.

Image by TeroVesalainen from Pixabay

Supporting the show American Gods is at this point a Catch-22. If it is not supported, the show will end and the Black people and people of color on the job will be unemployed.

But, if the show is supported then we are also culpable because we are still supporting a show that treats our people horrendously. And do we really want to support that? As stated, words of praise from someone who is still financially dependent on the company or group should be taken with a heaping of salt. They have contracts, public relations and a slew of people guiding them so are they saying what they want? Or saying what will secure their income?

The fact that a mediocre white man, Chic Eglee, can boast to a Black man that he writes from a Black male perspective despite his writing credits being for shows where the leads, and often main cast, are not Black people showcases how white people can just say they know how to do something and everyone accepts it. Do they think experience occurs through some form of osmosis? There have been white people who have pretended to be doctors, pilots and scientists. Do you really think skin color did not play a role in lulling the masses into comfort, a warm feeling that they were in good hands?

White people profess abilities of this nature, it means a white interpretation of the Black experience. It’s a white palate they are striving to satiate and often a caricature that does not have the depth that our people exhibit. It’s one dimensional because that is how white people perceive us. That’s why they are typically surprised when our taste and knowledge are outside the facets they presume are the totality of Black experience. The only possible way to write from our perspective is to have someone with our experiences in their working to bring life to our stories.

Unfortunately, as is the case with Orlando Jones, they will almost certainly have their efforts credited to white people and be forced out as soon as they’ve outlived their usefulness, especially if they don’t fully inhabit the “happy negroe” role they are supposed to play.