By Bob Parks ——Bio and Archives--March 28, 2008
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The usual suspects are saying the April "Shape Issue" of Vogue, with the Cleveland Cavalier superstar LeBron James and model Gisele Bundchen cover pic, is racist.
It's one thing to have an athlete in that kind of pose and with that kind of expression on a court after he or she has done something miraculous. It's another thing to couple it with someone who is of an entirely different ilk and gender. That turns it into a racially charged image. – Jason Rosenfeld, art professor, Marymount Manhattan College
I was just having fun with it, I was just showing a little emotion. We had a few looks and that was the best one we had. Everything my name is on is going to be criticized, in a good way or a bad way. Who cares, honestly, at the end of the day. I am happy with it, absolutely. – LeBron James, on his shoot with photographer Annie LeibovitzI thought they told us health care and Iraq troop withdrawals and global warming and voter disenfranchisement were the issues that were important to the American people? It's a MAGAZINE COVER, dammit! Get over yourself. And let's look at it this way: If LeBron was passed over for Richard Gere or George Clooney and we later saw this very picture, those screaming racism now because of the cover would be screaming racism because James was passed over because of the cover. What's next? Are they going to stage a boycott against Volvo for that "I Adore You" commercial with the blonde chick feeling up a black S80? It never ends.
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Bob Parks is a is a member/writer of the National Advisory Council of Project 21. Bob’s websites are Black & Right and youtube.com/BlackAndRight