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Are Blackface Minstrel Shows OK in Japan?
Back in 2000, filmmaker Spike Lee wrote and directed a satirical film, called Bamboozled, about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the fall-out from...
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Let’s Shut ‘Em Down: Fuji-TV’s Blackface Minstrel Show
※日本語訳は下にあります。 I think Public Enemy said it best! And they are right! Together we can shut ’em down, y’all Already bagged 300 signatures in one day…and we’re just getting started! ****** In case you’re...
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1000+ People Have Spoken: FUJI-TV – The World is Now Watching YOU !
No, my partner Amber and I are not popping champagne…cuz we’ve a long way to go still. But we gotta admit that we’re very gratified to know that in a mere 36 hours… over 1000 people, Japanese and...
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日本人25人が「Blackface」についてこれを書きました / 25 Japanese People Speak their Minds on...
※日本語訳は下にあります。 One of the biggest (and silliest) criticisms of this petition effort (primarily by westerners) is that it is an example of Americans trying to force the overactive sensibilities of their...
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バンザイ！ / Triumphant!
＊＊＊Look Below English for Japanese Version ＊＊＊ Dear Friends: So as you probably know by now, Fuji-TV has, at least for now, joined our team, the #stopblackfacejapan #日本でブラックフェイスやめて team…and it’s a...
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A Minstrel Show Ends and a Black faced Beauty Ascends
My latest column for The Japan Times is up! And it’s literally a beauty! Here’s an excerpt: “Editing out the offending portions of the show saved Japan from the PR equivalent of being thrown like raw...
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On Discussing Race with Baristas at Starbucks in Yokohama
Recently Starbucks has given a directive to its employees to discuss race with customers. If the Starbucks in Yokohama start talking about race with customers, I imagine the convos would go something...
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My Interview with the Reigning Miss Universe Japan
My latest article is up on the Japan Times website, a chat with the reigning Miss Universe Japan, Ariana Miyamoto. Check it out! Here’s an excerpt: Her name has lit up social media like the...
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Touristization
The following convo took place this morning with one of my co-workers. He was showing me pictures of his trip to a famous shrine. Co-worker: …and this is a Japanese shrine. Me: oh, nice! Co-worker:...
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How are these Black Filmmakers Making it Happen in Japan?
This month’s Black Eye is focused on the creativity and accomplishments of 4 black filmmakers plying their art in Japan. Their theories on and paths to success vary and their stories are fascinating...
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Too Old to be Afraid
So, I’m on my way to work, walking down the street, when I see an old woman coming my way. More than the kids and the adults, I love the elderly in Japan. The very elderly, too old to be afraid of...
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This Shyness Business
The premise of “When in Rome…” is that the subject is adapting to the new place by choice, and that there are a number of traits that one willingly and consciously absorbs into their being and...
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What are the Keys to Success for Black / Japanese Couples?
Looking for (at least) four couples who are ok with being featured in a future piece I’m working on for Japan Times about building successful relationships in Japan. Looking for Black Women married...
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How to Avoid Stepping in Pigeonhole Droppings
…or sitting in it, as it were. …or rather avoiding confirming Stereotypes. When planning lessons for my kids these days, I automatically make every effort to avoid or dispel stereotypes and / or...
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Basking in the Afterglow of Normalcy
The other day when I wrote about the old woman who made my morning by being friendly and fear-free (and how that reminded me of the coolest senior on this island, Mrs. Betty), I neglected to mention...
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The Japanese Woman who Influenced Black Eye’s Conception and Inspires its...
It’s been a year since Black Eye hit the streets. In that time, we’ve profiled provocative and accomplished people, tackled complex issues including identity crisis in Japan and the brain drain in...
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How I Got to Spend My Birthday with Miss Universe Japan!
The plan was to spend Saturday 6/27 (my birthday) lecturing at Waseda University (a Japanese Ivy League school). The students were assigned stories I’d written in my books and for the Japan Times about...
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An Open Letter to Japanese People from Black Men (日本人の皆んなさんへの黒人からの手紙)
The following is a guest post from a fellow black man living in Japan who goes by the name of Miles Star. I like what he has to say. I thought, since it’s in Japanese as well, I’d get my Japanese...
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Why is Reducing your Presumptions a Good Thing?
Yesterday I did a workshop at Hosei University in Tokyo on this very subject, and it went very well. The students were engaged, thoughtful and articulate. I want to think the aministration at Hosei...
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Black Women on Japanese Beaus, Biracial Kids and Winning in Japan!
My latest article for Black Eye is out! So many of my friends back home have asked what’s it like for the Sisters over here…well I’ve started a series to answer just that! Here’s PART ONE of my in...
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