Please, No Dark Skinned Models Need Apply

A former agent of supermodel Naomi Campbell gives a frank assessment of the color prejudice against using dark skin black models in the fashion industry. An article titled, "Is The Fashion Industry Racist? Yes -- And It Goes Right To Its Core," by Liz Jones in the Daily Mail June 13, 2011 gets to the root of the issue.

The age old issue of skin color runs deep in the fashion industry. This is something that deserves to be elevated to the broader public. World wide black people spend plenty buying the designer labels from fashion houses that don't want dark skin models showcasing their clothes. I would hope that some high profile stars pick up the microphone on this and put the fashion industry on blast. We get upset about a Pepsi ad run during the Super Bowl that could be interpreted one way or another regarding the image of black women, but this is in your face from those in the fashion industry.

Some may scoff at what my seem to be a business preference, but in reality it gets to a basic definition of what is presented as normal, beautiful and acceptable as standards in society. This may seem like far less noble of an issue to pursue than the right to vote, eat at a public lunch counter or right to equal education, but is it really?

The fashion industry has a worldwide reach and projects a global view at the cutting edge of what is coming next. If what is coming next is rarely view adorning the body of people of a certain skin tone, then what does that say about them? It says that they don't matter. If they don't matter, then their dollars should not matter.

46% Mississippi Republicans Want Interracial Marriage Illegal

State Flag of Mississippi

It seems that a new poll by Public Policy Polling showed that 46% of Republicans in Mississippi prefer a ban on interracial marriage.

It is closing in on 50 years since interracial marriage was made legal in Mississippi and this shows how long it takes for attitudes to catch up with societal changes. An article titled “46 Percent of Mississippi Republicans Want Interracial Marriage Banned” by Lauren Frayer April 8, 2011 and published in AOL news goes into other details.

Considering other polling that has shown the skew in other views among Republicans by geography regarding issues such as the belief that President Obama was not born in the United States, is this really surprising. President Obama was the product of an interracial marriage and that could make it easier for some that hold negative view on mixed marriages to believe other negative things about the President.

There was also other revealing back ground data in the study. It seems that those that are against interracial marriage, support Sarah Palin more than Mitt Romey. Overall, Haley Barbour had the most support for President. Mike Huckabee was the second choice for President in 2012 with Gingrich and Palin tied for third.

This story is sobering and says a lot about a continuing racial divide among some in this country.