Dat Baby Looks Like a White Tyra Banks

As I was driving home yesterday, I was flipping through radio stations trying to find something I liked. Yes, I am the loser that still has regular old radio, no satellite and no built-in iPod player. I have a CD player, but the CD that I had sucked. So I was trying to find something to settle on. 107.5 was playing "Stronger" by Kanye West. I don't care for Kanye, but I do like this particular song. However, as I'm listening to the words, he says "You can be my black Kate Moss tonight." Clever, and I know what he meant, but the more I thought about it, the more agitated I became. Kanye can say "black Kate Moss", but I can't say "white Tyra Banks" without getting someone's panties in a bunch.

I then turned the station to 107.1 (yes, I listen) and Lil' John's new song "Dat Baby" comes on. Now this song is the epitome is what is wrong with American family life. Lil' John raps about how "dat baby" don't look like him while clips from Maury Povich play in the background. I like the beat, and it makes me laugh in a "this is pathetic" kind of way, but it's just sad. He runs through a list of other rappers that could be this baby's daddy, and reasons why. He claims "Naw mayne I can't claim him I'm light skinned that baby black like Akon." Lil' John can say that a black person is really black, but I can't.

My friend teaches at a charter city school in Memphis. The stories she shares are appalling. The other day she was telling me how her kids refer to each other as different kinds of n*ggers. (Please note: I do not use this word. I am only repeating what the students were saying.) Some are yard n*ggers, which means their skin is really dark, and some are house n*ggers, which means they are light skinned. This all dates back to the slave era, but I don't understand why they are still using it. I can only imagine what would happen if I called Kanye and Lil' John yard n*ggers.

Memphis is a notoriously race-driven city. It's one of the few places where whites and blacks still can't manage to live together, and the racial divide is breaking the city. Growing up my mom always told me that Memphis was a different place. I didn't realize that until I moved to Indiana for college - she was right. As much as I love this city, I can't wait to move.

But it's obvious that racism is everywhere - including the radio - and that it goes both ways. But what do I know, I don't know what it's like to be black. Maybe I should ask the "white Tyra Banks".