The Dred Scott Adidas

The demise of the Jeremy Scott Adidas or what I’m calling the Dred Scott Adidas reminds me of an interesting experience that I had while participating – sitting in the audience really – in a panel discussion on film distribution about 10 or 12 years ago. As is often the case during talks about movie distribution, the conversation turned to diversity or lack there of, and some audience member pointedly asked a distribution representative why they did not distribute more films for the Hispanic market. The distribution guy nodded, appreciating the question of course, and went on to describe the complexity of the market and the difficulty of reaching a niche market with a niche product. By way of illustration, he told the story of distributing a film called ‘Star Maps’ to the Hispanic market. The distribution rep, aware of the dangers of stereotyping, noted that in general their research…

Last week, as rappers Jay Z and Kanye West were about to go onstage and perform their hit single ‘N*ggas in Paris’, actress Gwyneth Paltrow tweeted “N*ggas in Paris for real” and caused a bit of controversy. There’s some debate about whether or not she was announcing the song or saluting her ‘niggas’ or whatever. Regardless, a mediocre actress using the n-word in any context isn’t something we should be losing sleep over, but I was sort of surprised by the hearty defense that she got from some of Hip Hop’s elder statesmen and luminaries. Black women have been attacked in and around the hip hop industry for decades, but I’ve never seen so many prominent artists and spokesman leap to their defense. Dream, Nas, Ice T, Russell Simmons and perhaps more to follow donned their capes, strapped on their Kevlar and dove into the fray, announcing to the world…