Compared To WHOM?

That’s the first question any journalist should be asking when police officials say they’re looking for a “dark skinned” suspect. The goal is to avoid repeating the huge mistake recently by CNN’s John King, who used an “unofficial” description of an alleged suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. No I’m not calling John King a racist, but I think veteran reporters should know better and press their sources for clarification when these kinds of “facts” are issued or leaked. Example:

Police:  “The suspect we’re looking for is a “dark skinned male!”

Reporter:  “Question, You say “dark skinned”, but compared to whom?”

Police: “What do you mean compared to whom?”

Reporter: “I mean who saw this suspect? Was this witness an extremely white person, or a tanned white person? Or was this witness a light skinned Black or Hispanic person? In other words, was this witness saying the suspect was “dark skinned”, compared to them?”

It’s a legitimate question in today’s America, because people don’t just come in one or two colors and phrases like “dark skinned” are only comparative terms, not definitive ones. This controversy reminds me of the days when selective racial identifications were common in local reporting. If a crime was committed, the newspaper would write: “The suspect, a Negro..” On the other hand, no racial identification always meant the suspect was white and the newspaper chose not to print it. Because of that biased journalism history, some are suspicious today of reports claiming an alleged suspect is “dark-skinned”.  After all couldn’t those be code words to let the world know the suspect is not white?

But the problem goes both ways. When I was a reporter in Denver, there was an ongoing story about a rapist who was preying on women in the Capital Hill area. Police called a news conference to announce a breakthrough in the investigation and our station was there covering it live. The police chief told us they had a new description of the suspect. The man was described as a “light-skinned” black male, 25-40 years old, weighing between 180-230 pounds and about 6’4” tall”. As I was taking notes I realized all of the white reporters were peeking in my direction, because I matched this general description.

I quickly raised my hand on live TV and asked, “Excuse me chief, do you realize that you’ve just made suspects out of nearly half of the Black male population in Denver? I mean, I match this vague description! Can you be more specific, or should I turn myself in for questioning?”

My question left the chief flustered since reporters rarely challenged these vague descriptions of black suspects. It became even more confusing later when the cops solved the case, with the arrest of a very brown-skinned, black man. It turns out the original description came from a “dark skinned” police detective, who interviewed a rape victim. She said she was raped by a man, much lighter than the dark skinned detective, so the detective called the suspect “light skinned”. But the guy they arrested had a skin color somewhere between Denzel Washington and Will Smith, darker than most Caucasians and lighter than most Africans. What we need are more official police sketches of suspects, not someone’s very subjective idea of what is light or dark.    

As this recent controversy over John King’s words was raging, a journalism student named Patrick told me on Facebook he was furious at a white friend who said the “dark skinned” report is no big deal. Patrick replied it is a big deal, because the bombers were NOT “dark skinned” or black at all! But his white friend replied dismissively, “Well the suspects were “dark skinned” by Caucasian standards!” (WOW!)

I’ll tell you what I told Patrick to tell his friend. Those so called “Caucasian standards” are prejudiced and biased and no longer apply in this wide open, diverse world. We’ve lived in a society where white Americans have worshiped their whiteness, while demonizing the color black and connecting it with evil, and inferiority. That mindset is unacceptable now; it will not be tolerated and we’re not going back. It's not our fault that people of color actually have a skin color.

If you think I’m being petty, just answer this question. How would white Americans react if any black journalist described a bombing suspect as, “Lily white, sickly white, or ghastly white?”  I can feel their pain and here’s my advice if it happens. Ask some official to explain one thing:

 “Lily White compared to whom?”