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9781134588374.Pdf Black Celebrity, Racial Politics, and the Press Shifting understandings and ongoing conversations about race, celebrity, and protest in the twenty-fi rst century call for a closer examination of the evolution of dissent by black celebrities and their reception in the public sphere. This book focuses on the way the mainstream and black press have covered cases of controversial political dissent by African American celeb- rities from Paul Robeson to Kanye West. Jackson considers the following questions: (1) What unique agency is available to celebrities with racialized identities to present critiques of American culture? (2) How have journalists in both the mainstream and black press limited or facilitated this agency through framing? What does this say about the varying role of journalism in American racial politics? (3) How have framing trends regarding these fi gures shifted from the mid-twentieth century to the twenty-fi rst century? Through a series of case studies that also includes Eartha Kitt, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Sister Souljah, and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Jackson illustrates the shifting public narratives and historical moments that both limit and enable African American celebrities in the wake of making public politicized statements that critique the accepted racial, economic, and mili- tary systems in the United States. Sarah J. Jackson is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Northeastern University. Her research examines the construction of social identities in national debates about citizenship, inequality, and social change. Jackson’s research has appeared in The International Journal of Press Poli- tics and Feminist Media Studies. Routledge Transformations in Race and Media Series Editors: Robin R. Means Coleman University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Charlton D. McIlwain New York University 1 Interpreting Tyler Perry 2 Black Celebrity, Racial Politics, Perspectives on Race, Class, and the Press Gender, and Sexuality Framing Dissent Edited by Jamel Santa Cruze Bell Sarah J. Jackson and Ronald L. Jackson II Black Celebrity, Racial Politics, and the Press Framing Dissent By Sarah J. Jackson First published 2014 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Taylor & Francis The right of Sarah J. Jackson to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jackson, Sarah J., 1982– Black celebrity, racial politics, and the press : framing dissent / Sarah J. Jackson. pages cm. — (Routledge transformations in race and media ; 2) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. African American political activists. 2. African American celebrities. 3. Blacks—Race identity. 4. African Americans—Politics and government. I. Title. E185.61.J153 2014 323.1196'073—dc23 2014001670 ISBN: 978-0-415-70707-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-88704-3 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents List of Illustrations vii List of Tables ix Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 1 Paul Robeson at Peekskill, NY, 1949 20 2 Eartha Kitt, the White House, and Vietnam, 1968 45 3 Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the Mexico City Olympics, 1968 67 4 Sister Souljah, Rodney King, and the Future President, 1992 91 5 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” 1996 116 6 Kanye West and Hurricane Katrina, 2005 140 Conclusion: Black Celebrity, Racial Politics, and the Press: Going Forward 165 Appendix 177 Bibliography 179 Index 199 This page intentionally left blank Illustrations 1.1 Paul Robeson fl anked by volunteer bodyguards and two American fl ags performs at the second Peekskill concert to benefi t the Civil Rights Congress. 24 1.2 Peekskill, NY: An effi gy of Paul Robeson hangs from rear of tow truck in Oregon Corners, Peekskill, NY, echoing the sentiments of the town’s residents. 29 2.1 Eartha Kitt chats with Lady Bird Johnson and Katherine Peden at the White House in what the Los Angeles Times described as “smiles before the outburst.” 46 2.2 Anti-Vietnam war protestors outside the White House carrying a sign reading: “Eartha Kitt Speaks for the Women of America.” 55 3.1 In a lesser-known image of the Olympians, Tommie Smith triumphantly crosses the two-hundred-meter fi nish line at the 1968 Mexico City Games. John Carlos came in third after Australia’s Peter Norman. Their later demonstration on the medal stand would become an iconic American image. 68 3.2 Chicago Defender editorial cartoon, “Flag Raising,” October 26, 1968 . 84 4.1 Rap artist Sister Souljah speaks at a conference in New York City on June 16, 1992. Souljah made claims that U.S. Presidential candidate Bill Clinton wasn’t in touch with the problems of Black-America. Hip-hop star Doug E. Fresh is in the background. 94 5.1 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf prays during the national anthem at his fi rst game post-suspension. 117 6.1 Kanye West and Mike Meyers appear on NBC’s “A Concert for Hurricane Relief.” 141 This page intentionally left blank Tables 7.1 Framing Trends and Frequency of Occurrence by Press and Subject 167 A.1 Sources, Dates, and Number of Stories Examined by Subject 178 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements Over the years more people than I will remember to thank here have offered insight to this project. Dr. Catherine R. Squires in particular has been an invaluable mentor, critic, and supporter. Her infl uence on and advocacy for my intellectual work cannot be measured. I would also like to thank Rose M. Brewer, Mark H. Pedelty, Brian G. Southwell, Gilbert B. Rodman, and Kirt H. Wilson, who not only provided immense feedback on this project but also the spaces for me to interrogate black celebrity dissent. Friends and colleagues who have offered support, unique perspectives, and humor to this work include Adrienne Alexander, Carole V. Bell, J. David Cisneros, Greg Goodale, Bethany Iverson, David J. Leonard, R. L’Heureux Lewis- McCoy, Jesica Speed, Suzanna Walters, and Brooke Foucault Welles. My student, Sonia Banaszczyk, played an indispensible role in preparing this volume for publication. I would also like to acknowledge the members of the University of Michi- gan Communication Studies Hurricane Katrina research cluster, where my research into black celebrity dissent began. Thank you to Robin Means Coleman and Charlton McIlwain, whose work inspired mine long before I had the privilege to work with them in this series. Thank you also to the staff at Routlege for the work they have contributed herein, especially editor Felisa Salvago-Keyes and editorial assistant Nancy Chen. And last but very much not least I’d like to thank my mother, Jeanie Shi- pley, for teaching me that dissent is always the way to go. This page intentionally left blank Introduction For a black public person to be both gifted and true to himself is not automatic, or one should say, axiomatic, and it is bound to be sub- versive by extending the scope and expressive range of black human- ity in mainstream culture. 1 What role have black celebrities played in the shaping of public debates around race, inequality, and nation? How much agency for introducing alternative understandings of politics is available to these celebrities at spe- cifi c historical moments? What role do journalists in both the historically white mainstream press and the African American press play in constructing discourses about raced public fi gures and their political interventions? How can answering such questions inform our understanding of the phenomena that is black celebrity in the twenty-fi rst century? Some answers to these questions can be found by exploring news cover- age, from dominant and African American print media, of black athletes and entertainers who inserted themselves into public debates about race and nation at various points in United States history. In this book I focus on journalistic framing at the intersection of national controversy and celebrity while endeavoring to complicate and advance our understanding of how mass media construct political and social dissent by raced fi gures for the public. Contrary to popular contemporary narratives that suggest the visibility of black celebrities refl ects a period of racial enlightenment in which histori- cal boundaries between racialized groups have broken down, I demonstrate that the presence of black celebrities in mainstream media is neither new nor inherently progressive. Rather, I fi nd that black celebrities are subject to incredibly limited conditions for inclusion and acceptance across time. My work reveals how journalistic narratives have contributed to shaping and reifying these conditions and considers the implications for public under- standings of raced public bodies and political dissent. At the same time, I offer an intervention into studies of race and protest that focus solely on how these concepts are framed in dominant cultural narratives by closely con- sidering the ways journalists writing for the black press and for black audi- ences have contributed to public debates about race and national belonging. 2 Black Celebrity, Racial Politics, and the Press While across time changes have certainly occurred in both mainstream and black news coverage of black celebrity dissent, I seek here to locate these changes within specifi c historical moments and national conversa- tions about race and citizenship.
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