Ever since I went public about my story, I have encountered very mixed responses from people of different backgrounds. Particularly, the disagreements or criticisms from the African American community were most salient. Some of them have called me a racist who donned “blackface” to disgrace African Americans (to which I have responded in my blog post), some of them have called me out as having no sympathy for their culture and history, and some of them have jumped right to unsubstantiated personal attacks…
As I have pointed out multiple times on my Twitter, I embrace dissenting views from people who are willing to have a constructive discussion about the important racial issues facing our country. And that’s why I’d like to share with you here the pleasant and rewarding experiences I’ve had being on predominantly African American radio shows.
Not that they agreed with me – they did not.
Each of the hosts had a very different perspective on race relations and affirmative action than I did. I valued their perspective and they seemed to value mine. The hosts responded positively when I talked about the enormous differences in the way that people treated me when I was “just another Indian doctor’s son” compared with after I modified my appearance to appear black. I discussed the daily humiliations that were part of the African American experience including “Driving While Black” and being accused of shoplifting. These were experiences that the hosts and their audience could clearly relate to.
At other times the audience and callers were skeptical but respectful. Many of them expressed frustration about the racism that they have faced. I said they had every right to be angry about racism, but that more racism in the form of Affirmative Action was not the solution. Some agreed with me, many disagreed. When I talked about the negative stereotypes about minority professionals that I think are perpetuated by Affirmative Action, I got a mixed response from the audience. Overall, I think we had a very meaningful and enlightening discussion about race relations and affirmative action on every show.
THE most memorable moment came on the Maya Akai Show, when Maya said, “white people rule the world.” I disagreed, citing the election of President Obama. My response was that anyone, regardless of race, who has the power to convince others of the strength of their ideas could rule the world. I took it a step further, telling Maya that my book and her radio program existed for exactly that reason. She agreed.
[Podcast 4-9-15] Maya Akai Show of WVON 1690 Talk of Chicago, the Only Black Owned and Operated Radio Station in Chicago, and Third Largest in The Nation
[Podcast 4-13-15] Monday Morning Perspective on WYCA Rejoice 102FM Indiana
Other African American shows I have been on for the past month include the Cliff Kelley Show on WVON 1690AM (4-8-15), and the Jesse Lee Peterson Radio Show (4-13-15). I sincerely look forward to coming on other African American radio programs in the future!
