Me - Black Man, You - Woman!!!!

Ok, I'm sure you guys have seen and heard the talks over this cover and since I'd pretty much echo the sentiments of the article (everything in red), I have nothing else to add except to reverberate the idea of Black Male Athletes taking a personal liking (in the Biblical sense) to white women. I do have a couple of questions at the bottom but first, check out the article.

Vogue announced its April cover starring LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen, the magazine noted with some fanfare that James was the first black man to grace its cover.

But the image is stirring up controversy, with some commentators decrying the photo as perpetuating racial stereotypes. James strikes what some see as a gorilla-like pose, baring his teeth, with one hand dribbling a ball and the other around Bundchen’s tiny waist.
It’s an image some have likened to “King Kong” and Fay Wray.

“It conjures up this idea of a dangerous black man,” said Tamara Walker, 29, of Philadelphia.
Vogue spokesman Patrick O’Connell said the magazine “sought to celebrate two superstars at the top of their game” for the magazine’s annual issue devoted to size and shape.

“We think Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen look beautiful together and we are honored to have them on the cover,” he said.

James told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer he was pleased with the cover, saying he was “just showing a little emotion.”

But magazine analyst Samir Husni believes the photo was deliberately provocative, adding that it “screams King Kong.” Considering Vogue’s influential history, he said, covers are not something that the magazine does in a rush.

“So when you have a cover that reminds people of King Kong and brings those stereotypes to the front, black man wanting white woman, it’s not innocent,” he said.

In a column at ESPN.com, Jemele Hill called the cover “memorable for all the wrong reasons.” But she said in an interview that the image is not unusual — white athletes are generally portrayed smiling or laughing, while black sports figures are given a “beastly sort of vibe.”

For example, former NBA star Charles Barkley was depicted breaking free of neck and wrist shackles on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Dennis Rodman graced the cover of Rolling Stone with horns poking out of his forehead and his red tongue hanging out.
Images of black male athletes as aggressive and threatening “reinforce the criminalization of black men,”

“I didn’t see any kind of racist overtone to it,” she said. “I still don’t. I think there is such a hypersensitivity to race still in this country.”

“If more people of color worked for Vogue in positions of editorial authority, perhaps someone in the room might have been able to read the image the way so many of us are reading it now, and had the power to do something about it,”

QUESTIONS:

1) What do you think about the hypersensitivity to race thought… do you all think there’s an overreaction to race relations or are most cases valid.

2) When predominantly white corporations produce ads with racial undertones should Black (in this case) opinions be considered?