by Carmen Van Kerckhove, originally published at CNN.com

I got a call yesterday morning from a radio show producer asking if I thought it hypocritical for African-Americans to celebrate Michael Jackson as a black man, since it seems to many people that he spent most of his life turning himself white.

She stopped short of calling Jackson a race traitor, but the implication was clear. And it did get me thinking about the strange role that race played — and didn’t play — in Jackson’s life and career.

Race is never simple, especially when it comes to a complex artist like Michael Jackson.

Jackson often expressed in his music a hopefulness — “It don’t matter if you’re black or white” — about race relations that many found naïve. And yet had no qualms about using anti-Semitic lyrics in his song “They Don’t Care About Us” — “Jew me/Sue me/Everybody do me/Kick me/Kike me.”

We will never know what drove Jackson to alter his appearance so drastically during his adult life. Jackson said that he suffered from vitiligo, a condition that eliminates pigment from skin leaving white blotches. His dermatologist and others close to Jackson, including Deepak Chopra, have also said he had vitiligo, even though many people have expressed doubt about it, fueling debate over whether Jackson was “trying to be white.”

But what about the plastic surgery, the nose, the hair, and other obviously altered aspects of his appearance? On our blog Racialicious, Readers have been speculating about whether he was driven by internalized racism or something else: an extreme form of artistic expression, an obsessive desire to fix one’s appearance called “body dysmorphic disorder,” or a desire to erase any resemblance to Joe Jackson, his abusive father.

One of the best insights we have into Jackson’s emotional life is a television interview he did with Oprah Winfrey in 1993. He admitted then to being a perfectionist and added, “I’m never pleased with myself. No, I try not to look in the mirror.”

Whatever drove this apparent self-loathing, I don’t believe we can separate race from the equation. Race cannot be separated with precision from body dysmorphic disorder, hatred of his tyrannical father, or any potentially relevant theory being discussed right now.

Why?

Because if he hated his body, he was hating a black man’s body. If he hated his father, he was hating a black man. Race ran through it all; we cannot and should not dismiss its effect. » Continue reading “Michael Jackson on race – and who he saw in the mirror”

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

What is it about the combination of race and sex that makes it so explosive? How is race getting in the way of your relationships without you even knowing it? What racial dynamics are driving the unconscious choices you’re making when it comes to your relationships?

I’m going to share that and much more on a FREE CALL happening THIS Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 1:00 pm Eastern time.

“Love and Sex:
What’s Race Got to Do With It?”

Sign up to reserve your line for this FREE call today

On this lively, information-packed 60-minute call, you’ll learn:

• What “racial scripts” are and how they influence your interactions with others.
• Why an increase in the numbers of interracial couples is NOT evidence that racism is declining.
• What assumptions people are making about you right now based on the race of your partner.
• How these assumptions can interfere with everything from the friendships you form to your career prospects.
• Hidden influences you may not even be aware of and what to do about them.

Reserve your line for this FREE teleseminar now

Limited lines are available for this call, so you’ll want to make sure you reserve your spot right away.

Just click the link above, enter your information in the boxes on the page, and you’ll receive the complete call details via email.

We will record the call, but only people who have registered will receive instructions on how to download the audio recording. So even if you’re not sure if you can make the call live, register now!

This call is a content-rich preview to an exciting new program I’m launching called The Racialicious Experience. If you’re a fan of our sister blog, you won’t want to miss it!

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Addicted to Race is New Demographic’s podcast about America’s obsession with race. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:

We dedicate this episode to the memory of Michael Jackson and explore the role that race played in his life and career. In what ways did his music break racial barriers? What did the changes in his physical appearance say about his relationship to his racial identity? Carmen Van Kerckhove and Arturo Garcia discuss.

Click here to never miss an episode by subscribing to us in iTunes
or
click here to play it immediately

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

A few years ago I was at a conference to deliver a workshop. During the break, a man came up to me and asked me what topic I’d be speaking on.

“Interracial relationships,” I replied.

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, his whole manner changed.

He started leering, and asked me in a low, suggestive tone, “Is this based on personal experience?”

Actually my workshop was all about debunking sexual myths and destroying racial stereotypes. But the minute he heard me say the word “interracial,” all he could think about was sex.

What is it about the combination of race and sex that makes it so explosive? How is race getting in the way of your relationships without you even knowing it? What racial dynamics are driving the unconscious choices you’re making when it comes to your relationships?

I’m going to share that and much more on a FREE CALL happening on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 1:00 pm Eastern time.

“Love and Sex:
What’s Race Got to Do With It?”

Sign up to reserve your line for this FREE call today

On this lively, information-packed 60-minute call, you’ll learn:

• What “racial scripts” are and how they influence your interactions with others.
• Why an increase in the numbers of interracial couples is NOT evidence that racism is declining.
• What assumptions people are making about you right now based on the race of your partner.
• How these assumptions can interfere with everything from the friendships you form to your career prospects.
• Hidden influences you may not even be aware of and what to do about them.

Reserve your line for this FREE teleseminar now

Limited lines are available for this call, so you’ll want to make sure you reserve your spot right away.

Just click the link above, enter your information in the boxes on the page, and you’ll receive the complete call details via email.

We will record the call, but only people who have registered will receive instructions on how to download the audio recording. So even if you’re not sure if you can make the call live, register now!

This call is a content-rich preview to an exciting new program I’m launching called The Racialicious Experience. If you’re a fan of our sister blog, you won’t want to miss it!

by Carmen Van Kerckhove, originally published at TPMCafe on April 3, 2008

As I follow the discussion we’re having here at TPMCafe, I keep thinking about The Mother Teresa Effect, a concept based on her quote: “If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will.”

Jae Ran Kim explains:

In 2004, Carnegie Mellon University conducted an experiment to see if this quote held true in real life. They gave participants five $1 bills to participate in a fictional survey, then presented half of the participants with a fact sheet about starving children in Africa along with an envelope for a donation. The other half of the participants received the same envelope, but instead of a fact sheet, they were given a photo of a young girl named Rokia and a paragraph about how her life would benefit from the participant’s donation.

As you might expect, those with the picture of Rokia gave more than twice as much as those with just the fact sheet.

The researchers tried the experiment again, this time giving one group the fact sheet and the story about Rokia and the other group just the story about Rokia. Again, those with just the story of Rokia donated more than the group with both the story and the facts.

In other words, not only are we more likely to do something to help an individual than an abstract problem, the inclusion of factual evidence actually reduces our ability to empathize and take action. » Continue reading “What Is the Human Cost of Racism?”

Once a month, I answer a reader-submitted question about navigating the intricacies of race in the workplace. If you have a question for me, email team@newdemographic.com and write “Ask Carmen” in the subject line.

I can’t guarantee that I’ll answer your question, but you always have a better shot by making your question relevant to other readers, and making sure it’s one I haven’t answered in the past.

By Carmen Van Kerckhove

Q: I was recently asked to chair a languishing diversity committee at my medium-sized nonprofit. Despite the obvious challenge of having to find ways to re-energize the group, I’m excited about taking on the project and have loads of questions for you.

What are some good starting goals for diversity committees, both short and longer term? How should a diversity committee fit into the larger whole of an organization? What recommendations can you make for building relationships that will integrate diversity into the larger work of an organization or company?
Anna in Minnesota

A: Sounds like you have quite a challenge ahead of you! Here are some general principles to keep in mind as you get started.

1. Understand the limitations of the committee
Before you try to take on anything, determine the power of your committee. Can it authorize initiatives, or only recommend them? If it can recommend only, who in the organization will be the person to make the final decision? Before you invest time and energy in spearheading initiatives, it’s important to know whether or not you actually have the power to green-light them. » Continue reading “How to Start a Diversity Committee: Best Practices Every Organization Should Know”

One of the biggest problems faced by diversity professionals is that of isolation. There are few pre-existing spaces for them to gather and meet each other, especially across different industries. To help combat this, every month I will profile a different diversity professional. In the course of the interview, you’ll not only get to hear about the kind of work this person is doing, you’ll also be able to benefit from the resources, strategies, and tips they share with you.

By Carmen Van Kerckhove

Name:
Natalie Gross

Title:
Director of Diversity and Campus Engagement

Organization:
Sarah Lawrence College

1. Can you give us a broad overview of your organization and what it does?

Sarah Lawrence College is a small Liberal Arts college in Westchester County, New York, predominantly female. Rather than having majors, students have concentrations. A student may take dance, photography and math one year and writing and an effects studies course the next. Basically, they take whatever their hearts desire; we’re all about individualized education, in essence. There are no prerequisites. We’re also a writing-intensive school. In most cases, students prepare research papers pertaining to whatever they’re studying, so they basically create their own education curriculum based on what they want to study and within whatever guidelines they create.

It’s also a school that promotes the idea that students should challenge and question everything they hear, read and learn. They’re expected to participate fully in every class and not just regurgitate the texts they’ve read or the information they’ve been told. They’re expected to bring something to the table, to contribute. We have small classrooms with a 6:1 student-to-teacher ratio so that each student is fully engaged in what’s out there and is becoming an independent thinker and activist within their communities to bring about change and to require it. » Continue reading “Natalie Gross from Sarah Lawrence College”

By Carmen Van Kerckhove
 
Diversity training is practically useless when it comes to helping companies diversify their management ranks, according to a recent study by Harvard University sociologist Frank Dobbin.

After poring through 30 years of data from more than 700 corporations, Dobbin concluded that the most successful programs were those that established direct accountability for diversity. Networking and mentoring programs also had a modest positive effect. But diversity training was by far the least effective initiative at increasing the number of white women, black women, and black men in management.

Frankly, I’m not surprised by Dobbin’s findings.

From what I’ve seen, diversity training rarely succeeds at reducing stereotyping and bias within organizations.

Why? Because many diversity trainers actually teach people to hide their racism. » Continue reading “Diversity Training Is About Protecting the Company, Not Educating You”