Racist spray-painting suspect arrested

San Francisco residents redeemed themselves by altering one of the a racist graffiti.

SAN FRANCISCO'S police department is thanking the public for their help after an arrest was made Tuesday in a vandalism case that is being considered a hate crime. 62-year-old John Schenone of San Francisco has been charged with five counts of felony vandalism and five counts of felony hate crime after it is believed he's the person responsible for spray-painting the words 'NO MORE CHINESE' in multiple locations Monday in the Portola and Bayview districts.

As KRON 4 reported Tuesday, the graffiti raised serious concerns in the neighborhoods "about a growing racial divide in the city."

Per a release from the SFPD:

"On the morning of September 7, 2015... the words “NO MORE CHINESE” ... [were found] sprayed in orange paint at the following 6 locations: Palega Park, Somerset Street/Silver Avenue at a vacant grocery store, University Street/Bacon Street on the fence of a vacant lot, the 100 Block of Brussels Street on a house under construction, the 100 Block of Brussels Street on a house for sale, and the 1300 Block of Silver on an office building. This incident was immediately determined to be hate motivated and investigated by SFPD’s Special Investigations Division Hate Crime Unit. SID investigators were immediately able to identify a vehicle and person of interest. A crime alert was subsequently distributed throughout the department in an effort to identify the suspect in these incidents."

Suspect John Schenone

RELATED: Sign of hate mars neighborhood

Then on Tuesday, September 8, officers spotted an individual and vehicle matching the description from the crime alert, and detained him. Based on evidence they were able to make the arrest, and Schenone was booked in the county jail.

San Francisco Supervisor Julie Christensen issued a statement saying the suspect was arrested on Tuesday night. She credited “the diligent and swift actions of our city staff.” Christensen said, “Disrespect for our fellow residents and visitors, especially based on ethnicity, is not and will not be tolerated in San Francisco.”

This was the latest of a recent series of incidents that could be linked to racist motives.

• On Sept. 1, vandals broke into the Saint Paul Tabernacle Baptist Church, where they covered the walls with what was described as "hate-filled and racist graffiti." The office of the church's pastor, Rev. Greg Valentine, was also vandalized, large mirrors were smashed, and bleach was poured onto every single pew. 

• Less than a month ago, Twitch founder Justin Kan had the phrase "F**k you Gook!" written in black marker on his garage in the up-and-coming Duboce Triangle neighborhood by a white, bearded stranger. The crime was caught on security camera installed by Kan. 

• Also this past August, in the predominantly Latino neighborhood called The Mission District, someone spray painted "White Power" on two Latino-themed murals and a swastika on the nearby McDonalds.

Do you think that some San Francisco residents are starting to feel uncomfortable with being a minority? In fact, they already are. In San Francisco, whites make up about 48% of the population according to the 2010 Census. Asians make up a third of the city; Latinos are 15% and African Americans about 6%.

San Francisco is just a microcosm of the demographic shift that is happening all over California. On July 1, 2014, there were about 14.99 million Latinos living in California, edging out the 14.92 million whites in the state.

RELATED: America's challenge is to learn to live with itself

If whites are feeling edgy now, imagine how they'll feel in 2040 when demographers estimate whites will be less than 50% in the United States.

I may be wrong, but, let's assume that the comparatively benign (compared to cross-burning and beatings) graffiti in San Francisco was done by whites. If that sentiment can arise in tolerant, liberal, diversity-celebrating San Francisco, imagine what can happen in less open-minded parts of our nation. Throw in a political campaign based on racist rhetoric stoking the fears that have thus far been suppressed, it's like lighting a match to leaking gasoline. It all adds up to a dangerous formula for a very heated 14 months ahead of us in the short term; and the potential for a nation divided in the long-term. 

###

REVIEW: Documentary explores the pros and cons of being white in America

Besides plenty of tears, there were plenty of a-ha moments in MTV's "White People."

WHITE PEOPLE,  the MTV-produced documentary by Jose Antonio Vargas created a bit of stir - for a little while, anyway.

There were those that hated it and those who loved it.

Critics said that the 40-minute documentary that explored what it is like to be a white in America, circa 2015 was simplistic in its approach and didn't go far enough.

Those who loved it, loved that the white subjects found themselves in an uncomfortable situation confronting their biases, expectations and the privilege built into our society.

As expected, the show generated a lot of response on the Internet. (Here is another article.) As one tweeter-of-color wrote: (I'm paraphrasing) "They were uncomfortable for an hour, I'm uncomfortable all my life."

To watch the entire episode of White People, click here.

Many of the issues addressed in the documentary are familiar to people of color. That's because people of color are always talking about race issues and race relations. The issue of race is woven into their everyday lives and impossible for them to ignore.

Pulitzer Prize winner Jose Antonio Vargas was the "White People" host.

To many of the young white people in documentary, the concept of race was an unfamiliar  topic - something they just didn't talk about much - and they were clearly uncomfortable when confronted with the advantages and privileges that they had never considered.

The show was at its best when it debunked white beliefs of minority advantages.

Katie, a young woman from Scottsdale, Arizona, complained about minorities winning all the scholarships was chagrined when she learned that whites in fact, win 75% of all merit=based scholarships and have a 40% greater chance of getting a scholarship than students of color. 

UPDATE: Jose Antonio Vargas responds to the critics

In another segment, an Italian American family who believed Asians were "taking over" Bensonhurst, a neighborhood in Brooklyn that was once an exclusively Italian enclave, was made to realize that the new immigrants were doing what all their own immigrant forefathers did  - "transitioning" not only neighborhoods, but themselves as well.

The host, Filipino/American Vargas, to his credit, took great pains to not  attack his subjects but only to tell them the facts. 

White People - the show - shouldn't be viewed as a standalone. MTV has provided a website - lookdifferent.org -where one can explore the topic further, what they can do, how to counter one's own biases, listen to the celebrities and personalities express their thoughts on the subject.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the key to the future of America's race relations, is not how people of color or immigrants integrate themselves into society, but how white Americans adjust to being another ethnic group among many. Will the latter be willing to share the benefits that our country offers, or will there be more Trumps, Dylann Roofs and O'Reilly's to rile up the white (soon-to-be) minority.

In a way, White People, is asking that question. And to MTV's credit, they know who their audience is - the young people, teenagers and people in their 20s - the so-called Millennial generation. Even the young people interviewed in the documentary, despite their awkwardness talking about race, seemed to realize the inevitability of the demographic changes that is occurring. 

RELATED: America's challenge is learning to live with itself

Numerous studies have concluded that the Millennials are - despite the Roofs of the world - are more tolerant of different lifestyles, different religions and different races.

White People is far from perfect. There was no way 40 minutes, no matter how well crafted, could convincingly address the complex issue of race relations in the United States., especially from the perspective of European Americans.

Yeah, White People didn't get as complex as some may have wanted and there it would have been easy to get bogged down in the historical, psychological and sociological factors that makes race such a difficult subject to tackle for a single television documentary. What MTV and Vargas did succeed in was to make the topic more accessible to its young target demographic. I hope there are follow-ups especially addressing MTV's audience, (cliche' it may be) who will eventually decide which direction the discussion on race will go; and which direction America will go.

###

Report: Multiracial Americans becoming the new normal

More Americans will be multiracial.

AMERICA'S FUTURE is going to be a lot more colorful, that's for sure.

More and more Americans are identifying themselves as multi-racial, according to a Pew Research Center report released on June 11. "Multiracial Americans are at the cutting edge of social and demographic change in the U.S.—young, proud, tolerant and growing at a rate three times as fast as the population as a whole," says the report.

Multi-racial Americans make up about 7 percent, or 9 million, of the total U.S. population. But with a tendency to marry other multiracial people, that group identity will certainly grow exponentially. In Hawaii, multiracial people make up 20 percent of the population.

Because of the many racial combinations, it is difficult to generalize about this group but the most striking thing that stood out in the report is how socially liberal they are, thus tend to lean Democrat politically. A large number identify as independents. 

Those multiracial individuals who identify more white, along with those who see themselves as American Indian, tend to be more conservative. Those who identify with one of the other groups of color, were more liberal. 

Among multiracial people, the largest group, 50 percent, are made up of the combination of white and American Indian. 

White/Asian is at 4 percent but the demographic trend indicates this will change dramatically in the future. In 2013 majority of mixed-race babies were either biracial white and black (36 percent) or biracial white and Asian (24 percent). Only 11percent were white and American Indian.

If current trends continue—and evidence suggests they may accelerate—the Census Bureau projects that the U.S.'s multiracial population will triple by 2060. In other words, about 1 in 5 Americans will identify themselves as multiracial.

A festival celebrating being multiracial

The timing of the Pew center's report couldn't be more timely. On June 13, multiracial artists, writers, comedians, musicians, multiracial and multicultural families—are expected to gather at the Mixed Remixed Festival at the Japanese American National Museumin in Los Angeles, to celebrate the stories and lives of multiracial people and families. 

Related: 'Hapa-palooza' Celebrates Canada's Mixed-Heritage Residents

"Our goal is to raise awareness that the mixed race experience is very much the American experience," Mixed Remixed Festival Founder and Executive Producer Heidi Durrow, told NBC News. "The festival isn't about mixed-race pride. It's about breaking the silences we have about the complexities of racial and cultural identity."

Actress Sharon Leal is half-Filipina

If pop culture is any indication about the future of our country, producers and marketers seem to be preferring racially ambiguous characters in its television commercials and magazine fashion ads.

In the entertainment industry, the abundance of multiracial entertainers abound: Beyonce,  Hallie Barry, Norah Jones, Keanu Reeves, Enrique Iglesias, Sharon Leal, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and the list goes on and on. Lest we forget to mention: the current occupant of the White House is biracial.

The prominence of multiracial celebrities in our society makes it easier to have an environment of acceptance and tolerance towards people of different races. How could someone be bigoted against someone they may be related to? At least in these terms, the future looks brighter.

How will America react to this trend? That's the only negative possibility - acts of bigotry may actually rise as the last gasp of that group that has traditionally been in power, i.e. white males. In the 1950s, whites were 85 percent of the U.S. population. When conservatives talk about the "good old days," that is what they are talking about. When they say they want "to take America back," what they are saying is they don't want to share the abundance of this country.

As white people lose their power and dominance, certain elements may feel cornered and will do all they can - including inducing fear of the nonwhites - to maintain the status quo. Look how Obama's election brought the rise of repressed racism out into the open and into the courts and state legislatures and onto the streets.

We shouldn't be afraid of the future. Instead, as the races continue to blend and the American spirit is reinvigorated by immigrants eager to take advantage of the opportunities this country provides, the American dream will continue to act as a lure for the best, bravest, brightest and most ambitious people from throughout the world. As the immigrants who came before them, they will meet each other, fall in love and have multiracial babies.

###

  

Let's continue the legacy of Martin Luther King

MTV devotes

 a day's

 programming 

talking 

about race

KUDOS to MTV for devoting today, the Martin Luther King Holiday, to a conversation about race. The station is devoting 12 hours of programming starting at 9 a.m. EST and PST. Link here to join in. It is MTV's attempt to get Millennials and other young people involved on the topic of race, race relations and how to perhaps resolve some of the issues.

“Underlying some of the blindness around bias and prejudice is a lack of understanding of the history – of why we are where we are today,” MTV President Stephen Friedman told The Huffington Post.

“That’s why Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is so critical. It’s a day when we’re immersed in the history and his great legacy, and we can look back at how far we’ve come and, very importantly, look ahead at how far we still need to go.”

According to a recent MTV study, 73% of 14 to 24-year-olds believe that having more open, constructive conversations about bias will help people become less prejudiced, yet only 10% report having those conversations often.

Although in Black & White, let's remember that The Talk needs to be widened to include Latinos and Asians. The Talk is more complicated than the old black and white paradigm, in should now include brown, yellow and red and all the shades in-between.

For you new immigrants, the short-lived Asian American civil rights movement of the 70's owes itself to the strides made African Americans.

There's an excellent article by author Eric Liu on the CNN website where he states:

"As a Chinese American, I am an inheritor of what white people wrote in the Constitution and what they did to subvert it. I am the beneficiary of what black people and people of every color have done to redeem the Constitution. I am sometimes the object of a presumption that yellow people are presumed foreign until proven otherwise. 

"I own the good, the bad and the ugly of this country. None of this is neat. None of it is colorblind either."

If you're uncomfortable talking about race, clicking here might help.

MTV wants you to be part of conversation. Share your story using the hashtag, #TheTalk. Your tweet may appear on-air, or on MTVNews.com

###