Not the Column I Intended to Write - Part 1.

This column is still about virtual reality but it39s the virtual reality in which many of us have been living The one that is so different from the reality that African Americans have beenThe events of the past few weeks have driven me as it has for many of us to look inwards at our attitudes and personal history when it comes to how we relate to the Black community I have been thinking about my childhood and those who influenced me specifically as a child growing up in the South Dallas TX in the 1970sI very fondly remember my weekend visits to my father and grandfather39s restaurant equipment store in what is now the hip club area of downtown Dallas known as Deep Ellum In those days Deep Ellum was Elm Street a dilapidated industrial zone with sheet metal shops pawn shops and for some reason a popcorn store I can see my grandfather in his office working the receipts and accounting only taking a break if a customer came in or to grab an ice cold Coke apologies to my former Pepsi clients but it was Texas from one of the many refrigerators that he sold I love my grandfather and miss him every single day He was good honest caring person However when speaking about his workers who were African American he regularly used the quotNWordquot or the Yiddish equivalent To be clear he did not say it in a manner of hatred or superiority It was even in the 70s common vernacular among older generations in the South and it was clearly hateful and despicable languageLike many children of working parents we had a housekeeper Roselle Wilson who became like a second mother to me She was an important part of my life from nearly the day I was born until I left for college When I was sick she would give me ginger ale and take care of me I can still smell the mint flavored gum she would chew I remember the Mario Andretti poster she gave me for my birthday one year She introduced me to my lifelong guilty pleasure General Hospital oh c39mon Those were the Luke and Laura years Unfortunately we never talked in depth about her background I wish we had I wish I could have better understood her culture For the first twentyfive years of my life she was the only black person that I would know in any real way She was family and I also miss herI have been thinking about the events of the past few weeks that have illuminated the pain of the Black community I have been delving into the myriad of other stories that I have been listening to on the radio watching on TV and engaging in VR as I try to better understand and formulate a plan to find meaning in George Floyd39s murder and so many others at the hands of those who are meant quotto protect and to servequot To be sure there are many many brave honest and good police officers of every ethnicity I believe that for those people who put their lives on the line every day we owe the utmost respect Yet I also know that on a macrolevel we have a problem that must be addressedI believe that I have tried to look at the world without color I have tried to conduct myself both professionally and personally with respect to humanity I am positive there are times that I have fallen short However now at this moment it is time for all of us no matter how we have conducted ourselves in the past to act To help those who clearly are in painBut Wait That39s Not AllIn the hit OffBroadway hit offcolor Muppet show quotAvenue Qquot there is a song quotEveryone is a little bit Racistquot that is as outrageously funny as it is true There is a bridge in that song that the whole cast sings that is appropriate for the moment quotIf we all could just admit That we are racist a little bit Even though we all know its wrong Maybe it would help us get alongquotIn part two we bring this back to how virtual reality the most powerful empathydriving medium ever has helped me in my journey to begin to understand the Black experience today and what actions we the Advertising and Marketing industry can take to make substantive permanent improvement to Black livesClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Not the Column I Intended to Write - Part 1.

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Jeff Minsky

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