Loyal readers, we’re going to need a bit more time for our make-over/relaunch of Mixed Media Watch. Stay tuned…we are hoping that we will just be a day delayed. Thanks for your patience! We want to make sure that all is just right before unveiling. Thanks!

MIXED RACE STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM

Appropriately enough for back-to-school season, Jen wrote an article offering advice for teachers who have mixed race students in their classroom:

“What I am suggesting is that teachers acknowledge mixed identity in their classrooms. I am not suggesting that you give mixed students special treatment. I am also not recommending that you go overboard by trying to pinpoint all of the mixed students in your class so that you can rush to talk to all of them about how it is to be mixed. Not only will you scare a few by this method, but you are also bound to make a mistake…”

HURRICANE KATRINA AND RACE

We also discussed the way media coverage of Hurricane Katrina underscored America’s race problem:

“Everyone’s been talking about the “looting” vs. “finding” controversy, where blacks were labeled by the media as looting food, while whites simply “find” it… Oh, and guess what Condee has been doing all this time? Shopping for shoes at Ferragamo. That’s right. And when an angry shopper confronted her on her bad timing, she actually had her PHYSICALLY REMOVED from the store…”

CRAP ON TV
September 2005 was a good month for sensationalistic garbage on TV when it came to race issues. Not only did Dr. Phil interview a white man who disowned his daughter for becoming pregnant with a black man’s child, but Dateline did a followup story on the infamous Dutch twins of “different races:”

“Dr. Phil has a plan to make Charlie unlearn his history and relearn the truth in a loving and open way … Will Charlie be up for it? Oooh! Any minute? Perhaps they will convince her to give birth right there on stage so that they can force her dad to make up his mind up about whether or not to accept his mixed grandchild…for all to see!! I hate talk shows…”

“…Using in-vitro fertilization, the mother got pregnant by the sperm of two different men. One white (her husband, I presume), one black. Hence, two sons — one white, the other labeled “black,” although he is really mixed since their mother is white…”

THE INTERROBANG (NO IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK)

Jen gets all excited about a new punctuation mark: one that mixes (get it? get it?) an exclamation mark and a question mark:

“…OK. This may only be exciting to me, but I just needed to share. My brother, Dave, the fabulous graphic designer, just introduced me to the interrobang. Not only is it exciting to me because it’s a MIXED punctuation mark , but also because I always use question marks and exclamation marks together!?! SEE!?!…”

Elise Neal’s Assorted Flavors - Brown Sista

Ugh… sometime actress Elise Neal (”All of Us”) has formed a new girl group a la Pussycat Dolls. And what did she name it? “Assorted Flavors.” Thanks for reducing women to items on a menu. Cause you know, we don’t get that enough already.

Jackie Chan: Overexposed - Tripmaster Monkey

“At least his name isn’t Jackie Hung. Chop-socky breakthrough star Jackie Chan, whose rubbery mug helped endear Westerners to the idea of a heavily accented Asian as a Hollywood leading man, exposed more than his face in a 1975 porn movie, he recently

Media-Deathmatch: Danyel Smith’s Vibe vs. Jon VanMeter’s Vibe - jimi izrael.com

Hip hip journalist Jimi Izrael takes us on a brief history of Vibe magazine, examining how it evolved under the editorships of Jon VanMeter, Danyel Smith, Emil Wilbikin and Mimi Valdes. He also does a “deathmatch” between the very first issue and the late

Diversity in the blogosphere - Lynne d Johnson

“Overall, bloggers tend to be white and male… Feminist and Sex blogs are primarily written about by women… The largest percentages of black/african (as termed by his study) bloggers primarily blog about gossip, fashion, and music…”

Could a Photo ID Law Hurt Representation at Polls? - NPR News & Notes

The House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill that could require photo identification at the ballot box. Would it curb fraud or disenfranchise thousands? Tony Cox discusses the issue with Spencer Overton…and Mark “Thor” Hearne…

Who to Contact About “Survivor” - blackprof.com

Want to speak out against ‘Survivor?’ Blackprof has assembled a great list of contacts at CBS, the Federal Communications Commission (which renews broadcast licenses), and advertisers of the television show.

Video of the Day - New Dance or Old Cooning? - Dr. Marc Lamont Hill

“…the video and accompanying “Chicken Noodle Soup” dance is sweeping the nation… Am I getting old or is this dance, with all of the shuffling and light footing, nothing more than new-school minstrelsy?…”

Finger-Lickin’ Racism? - Best Week Ever

Racial gaffe on the part of UK’s Music of Black Origin Awards: “…instead of serving up a gourmet three-course meal, as any attendant would naturally expect, organizers are instead serving a poultry meal made of of £3.95 chicken wings and Krispy Kreme d

Well, Dorothy emailed us tonight to share her love of Grey’s Anatomy too. We have definitely showed our appreciation for the show in the past — it is one of the popular ones out there that doesn’t submit to racial typecasting, and has a pretty diverse cast. We also love that Cristina Yang, Sandra Oh’s character, is a Jewish character, but a multidimensional one (as Dorothy mentioned, “read: not only white”). She talked about being Jewish in tonight’s episode in a very nonchalant way, in order to explain the concept of sitting Shiva. One particular thing that I liked is that there was that subtle moment of Cristina needing to explain to her friend that she was Jewish — the assumption is always that you can’t be SOMETHING + Jewish. Unless that something is white. Right? Wrong. I liked that they included that interaction. It resonated with me, as it’s something that happens quite often, even amongst people who I assume know that about me.

Here’s the front of today’s Independent (UK), guest-designed by Giorgio Armani. We’ve very little to add, save to say that putting Kate Moss in blackface makes it much easier to see the coke you’re cutting on the cover.