RACE and RACISM - some notes and observations . . . . 

Shawn Corey Carter "Jay Zee"

So on one music blog I visit I stated that I thought Jay Z (Shawn Corey Carter?) husband of Beyoncé, was ugly and someone said "Well that's just racist!" and I said 'why?' and they said 'well it suggests you don't understand what stands as handsome or good looks outside your own white race and the wide nose and thick lips of the black person is beyond your frame of reference'

Sidney Poitier

Harry Belafonte

So I said 'what, you mean I can find people like Harry Belfonte or Sidney Poiter handsome but if I say that Jay Z is ugly that's racist?!' so he said that's the typical white man's reply they always say Belafonte or Poitier it's a cliche, so who else? '

Jay Z

Stepn Fetchit

Denzel Washington

So I said, you mean like 'Dorothy Dandridge? . .  I liked her. Gorgeous!   Or Hattie McDaniel from Gone with The Wind , the dancer Josephine Baker? I have always enjoyed the work (and appearance if you will) of Scatman Cruthers, or do you know the comedy character of Stepn Fetchit, a more contentious figure I grant you. But let's say Furry Lewis, JellyRoll Morton or Blind Willie McTell, If I think of early music? Actors of today, say Morgan Freeman, Samuel L Jackson I admire very much although I haven't found Lawrence Fishbourne quite so handsome, he is a good actor I think but in terms of good looks it would have to be the wonderful Denzil Washington.

Dorothy Dandridge

Pam Grier

What about 'Jackie Brown' actor Pam Grier who I adore or more contemporary say Sophie Okenedo and Jaye Griffiths

Jaye Griffiths

both British actors I have enjoyed.  Adrian Lester too if you are looking for handsome British black men I like. Fine fine actor. I am very fond for example of the work of (and appearance of) breathtakingly beautiful Thandie Newton, the stunning Lisa Bonnet, Halle Berry, Rhianna, the glamour model Sylvia Bayo is very nice naked and has a wonderful figure, some sportswoman like Denise Lewis I have always thought her gorgeous and now there is the lovely Jessica Ennis Hill, I like her!  But perhaps I have found women of colour more interesting than men maybe but that is gender preference rather than race if I found Tracy Chapman, Tina Turner, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keyes, Mary J Blige, Tanita Tikarem ( and her brother Ramon), attractive. 

Thandie Newton

Lisa Bonnet

Ramon Tikarem

Adrian Lester

Pauline Black

For more menfolk of colour there's Jimi Hendrix say or Bob Marley who maybe go without saying but what about Mighty Sparrow, Peter Tosh, Ken Boothe, or Shaggy, Buju Banton or the awesome Lauren Hill, Pauline Black I had a massive crush on as a youngster.

Idris Elba

Jimmy Cliff, Toots Hibbert, let's go back a bit to some blues musicians yes? Josh White was a great early influence a very handsome man as were Big Bill Broonzy, John Lee Hooker or Leadbelly quite scary but a strong face, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee not exactly handsome men but one of them is blind and they are both great musicians of great character revealed in their faces, Mississippi John Hurt another early favourite, Taj Mahal too. Nearly forgot the legendary Chiwetel Ejiofor, Idris Elba
and David Harewood (all British also BTW) How about Keb Mo, Robert Cray or Lenny Kravitz all fantastically handsome and talented men but I can go back to Little Richard, Allen Toussaint, Little Willie John, and more up to date with Prince, Michael Jackson (paradoxically, perhaps ironically here, only when he was black?!) and Quincy Jones, or the members of New Orleans band of brothers the Neville Brothers and the Meters and Professor Longhair though not conventionally handsome had a character that belied his looks, all of them are or were better looking than Shawn Carter!!!!

Norah Jones

'Shall I keep going?' I might have to put my thinking cap on if we are to be truly 'racist' and find even more people of colour I have admired! I haven't touched on artists yet like John Michel Basquiat or even Asians like Anish Kapoor, actors like Nitin Ganatra or Himesh Patel, Meera Syal, Sanjeev Bhaskar,  Sunetra Sarker who I think is lovely. Not to mention musicians like the incandescently beautiful daughters of Ravi Shankar, Anoushka or Norah Jones. 

Chiwetel Ejiofor

 

Norah Jones

Prof Longhair

The only snag with coming up with more than the 70+ people of colour I have found attractive I have mentioned here without breaking sweat and not yet yet resorting to Google is that it is a bit racist to think like this and I have the eyes of a child in this regard and view people as to whether I am attracted to them, admire them or worship them (Marley, Hendrix, Longhair) irrespective of the colour of their skin!

Mr James Marshall Hendrix

As Captain Beefheart always said . . . . . "Everybody's coloured  . . . . otherwise you wouldn't be able to see 'em"

John Lee Hooker

P.S I realise this is somewhat crass and doesn't include the struggle of the black people to face inherent racism from slavery right through to the struggles of today but it is just one man's observations that I acknowledge there are great black people working in the arts and music today and I like/love and enjoy loads of them. Am I a racist? -  the answer is, according to my black friends, that because I am white I must be . . . . . . . . . . . 

Henry Roeland Byrd - 'Professor Longhair' the MASTER