Essay 102

More Monday MultiCultClassics Minutes…

• More signs of progress in the industry: Anheuser-Busch created two ethnic marketing positions, electing Henry Dominguez and Johnny Furr Jr. as vice presidents overseeing Hispanic and African American efforts, respectively. There’s new diversity in the castle of the King of Beers.

• More proof the proverbial 15 minutes of fame can be significantly extended via a reality TV series: The Bravo network is adding two more episodes of Being Bobby Brown.

• More evidence that reality is more bizarre than reality TV: A teen featured in the reality TV Brat Camp series was charged with spray-painting racial slurs on the home of a Black teacher. The ABC program shows troubled kids attending a special school allegedly successful at improving bad behavior. Don’t count on an Emmy nomination for this performance.

• More drama for Michael Jackson: Two jurors from Jacko’s trial now regret their decision to set the King of Pop free. Of course, all the details will be available for public consumption in their upcoming books. In this case, the sequined glove did fit — but they opted to acquit.

• More news from the Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu (see Essay Ninety-Seven and the accompanying comments for more details): About 15,000 folks marched to protest the recent federal court ruling that deemed the schools’ Hawaiians-only admissions policy illegal. It appears the Hawaiian people may actually be the true victims in this scenario — especially considering the schools aren’t even federally funded. Do a Google Search for more details. Where’s Jack Lord when you need him? Oops. According to a Google Search, he died in 1998.

• More serious news of a passing legend: Media tycoon John Johnson died Monday at the age of 87. Johnson launched Ebony and Jet, setting the standard for publishing — as well as debunking stereotypes, fighting for civil rights and pioneering in every way imaginable.