Unintentionally Racist (or just plain truth)?
The NY Times put together a graphic map of people who were raised in NYC housing projects and grew to become influential in their respective fields. This immediately struck me as mildly racist. Of the 20 people mentioned, 12 are black. Of those 12, four are in sports (e.g. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) — a full 20% of the list. One is a boxer (Mike Tyson), another a musician (fellow Stuy non-graduate Thelonious Monk), five more in entertainment (actor or singer or entertainer) — and only one, Ursula Burns, is noted for her influence in industry.
Of the eight non-black people mentioned, only one is an actor (Erik Estrada) and one a baseball player (former Met, John Franco). The rest are as follows:
Pedro Espada Jr. — State Senator
Sonia Sotomayor — Judge (and Supreme Court nominee)
Gary Ackerman — Congressman
Lloyd C. Blankfein — Chief Executive, Goldman Sachs
Hubert Selby Jr. — Novelist
Richard Price — Novelist
It’s as if the NY Times is saying: “anyone from the ghetto can make it in New York, but if you happen to be black, you should learn how to sing or dance or run real fast.”