A tale of two hoodies: Mark Zuckerberg vs. Trayvon Martin

In my opinion, the following blog post is so significant, it is my hope that every black blogger in the blogosphere will re-post it:

Why not invoke Charles Dickens given the dramatic times in which we are living? Two young men -- one still a minor. Two hoodies. One dies in his hoodie and the other becomes an overnight billionaire.

Trayvon Martin and Mark Zuckerberg both sported the hooded sweatshirts, known as hoodies, that are near-universal gear for those under 30, and beyond. Hey, even I've got a couple and maybe you do, too. People who support George Zimmerman claim that leftists want to make Trayvon Martin's death into a race issue when it is not -- even to the degree of blaming the victim for being killed by Zimmerman because he was wearing an ubiquitous hoodie.

"I think what's far more significant is what Trayvon Martin looked like on that night, Bill. Aside from the fact that he's dressed in that thug wear -- look at the size of him, he's not a little kid."

Geraldo Rivera to Bill O'Reilly Fox News

Never mind that George Zimmerman outweighed his teenage victim Trayvon by about 100 lbs, reportedly. The hoodie made Trayvon look like a hood justifying an attack by a neighborhood vigilante. Yet when Mark Zuckerberg appeared on Wall Street during the roadshow run-up to Facebook's IPO, his choice of a hoodie instead of a stiff suit was lauded as culturally cool.

Sure, Zuck caught some static from Wall Street haters who wear ties, but most saw his casual attire represented via hoodie as a nod to Silicon Valley style where what's in your brain is more important than what you're wearing. Indeed, Zuckerberg's hoodie is standard issue at Facebook's Palo Alto headquarters and bears a special mandala design inside that expresses FB's design construct and flow.

Star Jones recently pointed out the double standard inherent in how two young men wearing hoodies were treated in the public eye by the media. She was dismissed as just another angry black woman by others on the show, and right-leaning bloggers on the 'net.

 

But does Star have a point? Trayvon committed no crime -- he was merely walking home one fateful night after a trip to 7-11 for Skittles -- yet was accosted by a stranger as suspicious in part, it's claimed, because of his hoodie. When Mark Zukerberg wore a hoodie to launch Facebook's public stock offering, he was praised as an icon of a new generation representing the best of American values.

We can see this mirror in law enforcement practices. Study after study shows that young whites are more likely to use marijuana than blacks or Latinos, yet blacks are at least seven times more likely to get arrested for the same offense. Mark Zuckerberg was probably not a victim of New York City's [or Peoria's] terrible "Stop and Frisk" policy during his recent trip to Wall Street's halls of power. But who's the real gangsta here?

Some Wall Street analysts are questioning possible unethical behavior by Facebook's executives and its partner Morgan Stanley in "selective dissemination of information" that gave insider knowledge to some large investors but not others. FB's stock is being called "muppet bait for the masses" who didn't know that Facebook's quarter one earnings estimates had been cut mid-launch. The stock is now sinking like a stone in the NASDAQ stock echange. It's not clear how much Zuckerberg himself knew about the alleged financial shenanigans and shakedowns. But we all must be left wondering -- who would Geraldo name as the hood wearing "thug wear" now?

It's a tale of two hoodies where guilt and innocence are turned upside down, where one young man ends up rich and another ends up dead -- depending on whether you're white or you're black.

Cheryl Contee writes as Jill Tubman for the award-winning & top-ranked black political blog JackAndJillPolitics.com, which she co-founded in 2006. She is also the co-founder of Fission Strategy, which provides innovative social media & mobile services to nonprofits and foundations. Cheryl specializes in online advocacy, engagement, and communications. Follow Cheryl Contee on Twitter at @ch3ryl.

Blogging While Brown 2009 - Using the Web as Agent of Social Change

CHICAGO — Billed as perhaps the largest gathering of African American bloggers and Web users since the election of Barack Obama, last weekend’s second annual Blogging While Brown conference showcased enthusiasm for the potential of social media tools to spur change, bolster entrepreneurship and give unique voices an opportunity to be heard.

One theme that ran through the two-day conference was the hope of many attendees that more members of the black community will embrace the Web in campaigns about important issues.

Gina McCauley, who writes the blog What About Our Daughters, founded Blogging While Brown last year to build the network of bloggers of color and help them stay at the forefront of the new online frontier.

“There is so much to learn about the Web because it is changing so fast,” McCauley said. “There is so much potential on the Internet that the black community can take advantage of.”

Nearly 100 bloggers came from around the country to attend Blogging While Brown. While the content of their sites ranged from black women’s beauty tips to the latest gossip on black celebrities, many expressed interest in using social media for political engagement.

The use of the popular microblogging tool Twitter to disseminate information about the ongoing protests and unrest following last week’s contested presidential election in Iran have caused many observers to wonder how the technology could impact the way African Americans handle online social movements — as well as the role it could have played in past efforts.

Led by the Web-based activist group Color of Change, the online organizing and fundraising in support of the “Jena Six” — a group of six black teenagers accused of attacking a white teenager following a number of racially-motivated events in the town of Jena, La. — is largely considered the most successful Internet campaign among African Americans. However, some Blogging While Brown attendees wondered if the civil rights movement, the Rwandan genocide and the start of violence in Darfur would have transpired differently if today’s communications tools were available and widely used at the time of those events.

“What if black bloggers protested the Bush administration after [Hurricane] Katrina, like the Iranian protesters are doing now with their government?” asked one attendee. “We can learn a lot from the Iranians.”

While there’s room for growth, the black blogosphere has made significant strides. Cheryl Contee, a social media strategist and blogger at Jack and Jill Politics, said that the online activism of the black blogosphere helped propel Obama to the Oval Office.

More and more, the impact of black blogs is being noticed by those in power. Contee and her fellow Jack & Jill blogger Baratunde Thurston were credentialed to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, as well as the Inauguration Day activities earlier this year.

The popularity of the blog has made Thurston and Contee sought-after personalities. Contee recalled being invited to the G20 summit in London last March, where she mingled with world leaders and celebrities — including musician Bob Geldof, organizer of the famed benefit concert Live Aid, who said he was a fan of her work. “Our blogs are read all over the world,” Contee told attendees. “You would be amazed by who is reading you.”

There was also discussion at the conference on how the black blogosphere will hold Obama and other black politicians accountable on domestic and international issues, such as education, the war on terror, environmental justice, drug and criminal reform, and still-rising unemployment.

While a variety of concerns were debated, many suggested that the next digital battle might focus on ensuring Internet accessibility to all.

According to Megan Tady of the media reform group Free Press, only 40 percent of Americans have broadband Internet access. Statistics compiled by market research analysis firm eMarketer show that 55 percent of African Americans are online. Mobile technology is a widely used tool in this demographic, and text messaging was used by Katrina survivors after the storm.

The conference also touched on major upheaval in the world of professional journalism caused by the online explosion. Veteran journalist and blogger Monroe Anderson said he was first exposed to the Internet when he was still a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. Now a contributing columnist at, the daily online magazine from the publishers of Ebony and Jet, Anderson said he is excited about to potential uses of social media by journalists.

“Journalists usually write the first draft of history, and the Internet presents more opportunities to tell stories,” he said. However, many conference attendees criticized news outlets that have been slow to embrace social media — especially the black press.

Eric Easter, chief of digital strategy for the Johnson Publishing Company, which publishes Ebony and Jet magazines and operates, received heavy criticism from some attendees for what they say are a lack of relevant topics and social media engagement on the site. Easter said the Web site is still a work-in-progress, adding that in producing both Web and print content for the two venerable publications, the changing financial landscape in the media has to be taken into consideration.

“I think there is still room for print, but the business model has changed,” he said. “Newspapers and magazines have to think of a new way to attract readers.” The project may have a long road ahead. When Contee asked the audience how many of them read the Ebony/Jet Web site, no one raised their hands. As the debate over how old media outlets can stay relevant continues, leaders of color in new media keep building their community and taking advantage of the moment — one blog post, tweet and YouTube clip at a time.

“It’s important that black bloggers work together,” Contee said. “There really is power in numbers and diversity.”

From the BayState Banner.