re: NAACP ask festival poster artist to apologize

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I still don't understand how it's offensive.

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The artist was double you aych eye tee ee.

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Seriously, the Facebook comments are funny but sad as hell. At least I do see a few black people agreeing with the artist.

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Jessica Thorne Its not like it was a watermelon fest. I could see if that were the case.... Like · Reply · 8 · 56 mins

Jennifer Pilet Ray I totally laughed out loud. Like · 2 · 51 mins

Chuck Driver Or a chicken fest...LOL Like · 2 · 20 mins

Cindy Bernadas lol Like · 14 mins

Brent A Miller I almost spit my lunch on my co workers lmao Like · 8 mins

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The NAACP said if these agreements are not all followed, they will call for a boycott. They said they have gotten every request addressed except the artist apology

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Is African American support large at the strawberry festival? Are they a target customer? If not and their financial contribution is small, who the hell cares. boycott away.

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My initial reaction was to quote the writer of the humor blog "Awesomely Luvvie." When she saw a picture of the strangely light Bobby Jindal painting that's hanging at his Louisiana Capitol office, she wrote, "Was brown paint busy?"

Does Siekkinen believe that black people are actually black - like midnight and tar and panthers and cauldrons and crude oil and car tires and soot?

Would the white people Siekkinen paints be the color of clouds and milk and cotton bolls and incisors and eggshells and baby powder? Would their lips look as red as pomegranates?

And in a country with a history of white people exaggerating the darkness of black people's skin to market (among other things) soap and washing powder and a frozen dessert called "Picaninny Freeze," it would be foolishly naïve not to at least pause and question Siekkinen's painting.

And black people are justified in asking why white artists would choose to portray black people in such a way? What is the appeal? Do they find black skin beautiful? Or is it just adorable?

Is part of the attraction of such paintings the whiteness of the artists? Could a black artist get the same attention, demand the same price, for similar artwork?

Those who say that there would be no controversy if a black artist had submitted Siekkinen's image for the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival ought to ask if the festival would choose -- if the festival has ever chosen - the work of a black artist for its annual poster. If so, how many.

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LINK

An insight into what's "offensive" about it.

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Is African American support large at the strawberry festival? Are they a target customer? If not and their financial contribution is small, who the hell cares. boycott away.

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I grew up in Ponchatoula. The target customer is most certainly not blacks, but it has its appeals for everyone. I'm not trying to be racist, but that's the truth.

This is assuming nothing has changed. I haven't been for a couple of years.

Someone posted this and then asked the NAACP if they could still use the poster.

Probably acceptable to them

Yup. If I went to their HQ and started calling everyone "colored", they'd be extremely pissed and probably try to sue me for using the exact word their organization is named

I'd send this letter to them:



Dear NAACP,

Go get fricked.

Sincerely,
Strawberry artist.

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Id tell them to go jump off a bridge.

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I had something to add to this, but as it would probably get me banned, I'll say instead that I hope they all live happy and productive lives.