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Uncomfortable moment on this morning's Fox26 news - Houston

B

bhayes1016

They were doing a "MyTechGuy" segment on a website that allows people whose ancestors came through Ellis Island to track their ancestry.

Presumably, "MyTechGuy" is a live segment that rotates among all Fox O&Os, with the guy doing his segments out of a studio somewhere (like Kurt the Cyberguy on the Tribune stations). So he wraps up the segment by telling the female co-anchor, "and Melinda, perhaps you could find some of your ancestors". She stammers for a few seconds, and he adds, "well, there were quite a few Spauldings through Ellis Island". They quickly wrap up the segment.

The female co-anchor, Melinda Spaulding....

...is African-American.
 
Ohhhhh OMG, priceless moment! I wonder how many people picked this up? To bad I don't receive Fox all the way out here.
 
BTW, I stand corrected, the Tech Guy segments do originate at Fox26, they just stick him in the corner of the newsroom for some reason.

...Which makes his blunder even more idiotic. ;D
 
If she has some English in her ancestory, perhaps they did come through Ellis Island. My ex-wife, who happens to be black, tracked some of her relatives to England. I do not know Ms. Spauding's background, however what nobody is considering is the amount of black people who came to the United States well after the civil war. We are making a lot of assumptions here.
 
Of course, it's too bad that the anchor didn't have a snappy comeback along the lines of: "Well, I don't think many of MY relatives came through Ellis Island. Thanks for the report,xxx! Weather's next, when we come back!" :D :D

Seriously, though, most African-Americans are racially mixed because of slavery.
 
How do we know she's African-American?

When did we start assuming that all people with black skin are African-American?There are other places in the world where peoples' skins are just as black as those from Africa.

My point is that not all the blacks in this country are descended from African slaves. A lot of blacks came here as free people with verifiable ancestries and geneologies going back many generations.
 
Conversely, there happen to be MANY, MANY white people that are true African-Americans as well.

Titles, so fun, ain't they? ???
 
America's obsession with race gets ridiculous at times. Some years back, a friend from South Africa -- who is white, and descended from the Dutch who settled there centuries ago -- moved from Cape Town to Houston and later became a naturalized American citizen.

When he tried to enroll at the University of Houston, he listed himself as "African-American", and applied for financial aid the university makes available for that group. The admissions office went ballistic, and it took months for things to calm down. He had to threaten all manner of legal action to get the financial aid.

He told me they just couldn't get their heads around the clear and obvious fact that someone from Africa who becomes an American citizen is -- by definition -- "African-American", even if they're white.

Also, my doctor for many years is a white guy from South Africa. He told me he has always enjoyed telling people he's African-American and watching their reactions.
 
Thats why my son Trey refers to himself as an American. He told me thats too many hyphens. I don't blame him, imagine African-English-German-Polish-Czech-French-Cherokee-(and no telling what else)American.
 
FilioScotia said:
America's obsession with race gets ridiculous at times. Some years back, a friend from South Africa -- who is white, and descended from the Dutch who settled there centuries ago -- moved from Cape Town to Houston and later became a naturalized American citizen.

When he tried to enroll at the University of Houston, he listed himself as "African-American", and applied for financial aid the university makes available for that group. The admissions office went ballistic, and it took months for things to calm down. He had to threaten all manner of legal action to get the financial aid.

He told me they just couldn't get their heads around the clear and obvious fact that someone from Africa who becomes an American citizen is -- by definition -- "African-American", even if they're white.

Also, my doctor for many years is a white guy from South Africa. He told me he has always enjoyed telling people he's African-American and watching their reactions.
Click to expand...

With all due respect, South Africa would not be my first choice in making a point about racial relations in the US. It is very clear that South Africa saw the American racism in the early and mid-20th century and took it to a whole NEW level. Sadly, it will take decades for that country to heal from the severe racism imposed upon many of its people.

As a visitor, it was VERY clear to me that racial distinctions are prominent in South Africa -- even more so than the US.
 
You missed my point by several miles. I wasn't using South Africa as an example of anything.

I was using the experience of at least two white South Africans to point up America's obsession with race and racial labels, and the ridiculous situations it can lead to.
 
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