A Conversation with Businessman Doug Rubenstein
Name: Doug Rubenstein
Age: 30
Facebook: Doug Rubenstein
Twitter: @wildmanjones
What I Do: Commercial Banking Risk Administration Associate and NBA Replay Operator
What does being Black mean to you? What does being a person of color mean to you?
Being Black doesn’t have a “meaning” to me. I’m proud to be Black. I’m proud of my heritage. I have an understanding that because I have more melanin in my skin that things are harder for me than they would be if I had less melanin in my skin. There’s more of a sense of community with being Black because of shared hardships and our ancestors overcoming adversity.
From a negative standpoint, being Black means that I have to be afraid when my son leaves the house. I am afraid of cops. I am afraid of being racially profiled. I am afraid of dying at the hands of a police officer and not receiving justice. That’s a daily fear.
Do you like being a person of color?
I love being Black. I think it’s an honor. I think Black people do things better. We cook better, dance better, Black folk are generally more athletic, I think Black people are more attractive, and we definitely do church better as well. Despite the fear of authority and racism, being Black is dope.
What’s the worst thing you experienced simply for being Black/a person of color?
The worst thing I experienced just for being Black was being racially profiled by cops in New Jersey. They told me I was guilty of a crime I didn’t commit. Apparently I fit the description. This cop chastised me for years. Thank God my parents are active in my life. Who knows what would have happened.
Flashback to 1966: What are you telling others about the progress that will be made by 2016 for us/them as a group? What work still needs to be done?
Total 180 with “progress”. Things are ok now, at least on paper. Laws are generally followed and there aren’t separate water fountains and shit. But you can’t change peoples’ minds just because the laws are changed. Racism is still alive and well, and can be seen under any YouTube video. Look at how Cam Newton is treated compared to Tom Brady. It’s insane. I do think the goals of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60's have been fulfilled. Black folks can do and be who they want. There is integration in schools and the laws are written the same way for everyone.
I believe we are in a new civil rights movement. It’s happening right now with Black Lives Matter. The racists aren’t as overt and there’s a lot more money backing racists now in the form of the NRA, the RNC, etc. I’m not sure that this type of racism will ever end because it’s learned in the home. It’s ingrained in society through institutionalized racism.
I believe the goal of Black Lives Matter needs to be to continue to bring to light the injustices that are happening daily to Black folk. I think white people need to understand and learn their privilege. I believe this sparks empathy and sympathy in peoples minds and leads to better dialogue and better understanding.
What does black history month mean to you?
Black History Month doesn’t mean much to me anymore. Kids don’t even learn real Black history in schools. It’s frustrating. Text books in Texas are eliminating slavery from their school books, which is absurd. It happened. Teach it. History is supposed to be the truth. I think Black History Month does force teachers to teach SOMETHING about blacks in their classrooms, where they otherwise might not have. I guess that’s a benefit.
But teaching that Martin Luther King, Jr. was our non-violent deity, and we all must do what he did and say what he said (which is the majority of what gets taught in schools) isn’t exactly cutting it. Black History Month will be every month in my household. I will teach my son myself about his heritage.
You’ve got the microphone, you’re at Madison Square Garden and every audience member is white. You’ve got 1 minute. What do you want to say?
I’d rather have a mic in Arkansas or Mississippi or Kansas or Missouri–but first things first, black lives matter. That’s being screamed to the high heavens. Secondly, I’m a regular person. Me and all my Black counterparts are people. We want to live with happiness and strive to be happy, just like everyone else. I’d also say that I don’t speak for all Blacks. We all have different stories, just like you. Just because we look different doesn’t mean we are. Treat me and everyone who looks like me, like you would anybody else. I promise we don’t bite.
I’d say that the most important thing is to understand your privilege. Every face is white in the arena, and I’m the only black one, but this happens in many aspects of my life. This happens at my job, this happens at my doctor’s office, this happens at my son’s daycare, this happened in almost every college class I took, and the majority of the places I go around the country that aren’t NYC.
Same scenario except every audience member is black. What do you want to say?
I’d want to make sure to mention that we need to organize better and protest with a purpose. I don’t need to preach what we’re up against, but we need to make sure that our rage is controlled and we’re more organized with our thoughts in protest. Everyone wants to look to the Civil Rights Movement for how to protest, but it doesn’t work like that today. When we scream no justice no peace, we need to mean it. When we say Justice or else, well that or else needs to be followed through, otherwise don’t say it. Next, I’d tell us to stop comparing struggles.
It’s ok to pray for Paris and pray for Nigeria at the same time. Let’s stop having meme protests. It’s wack. I’d also say I love everyone there. Finally I’d say let’s continue to raise our children to the best of our ability. Kids need attention and love. That’s how they become better people.
ACADEMY AWARDS
What bothers you about the Oscar Nominations?
The lack of brown work bothers me about the Oscar Nominations. I don’t necessarily think that Black actors/actresses deserved nominations this year, but I do think that Straight out of Compton deserved a nomination at the very least. I feel ignored.
If you were having coffee with the host of this year’s show, Chris Rock, what would you say?
I have a lot of faith in Chris Rock to be funny and have great zingers. I don’t think he needs advice. I think he will represent the people correctly. So I’d just ask him how I can get on the payroll.
Will you boycott watching the Oscars? Why/why not?
I am going to watch the Oscars. I like the Oscars. I am excited to see what Chris Rock is going to say. I also want to see if Leo will finally get one. He deserves it. However, if I was an actor in Hollywood, I’d boycott. Rappers boycotted the Grammys in ‘89, and it worked. The next year, the rap category was televised. Who knows what can happen if Chris Rock is up there speaking to an all white audience? It might spark a change. I think that would be a good thing. The way I see it, a boycott would be less about individual recognition and more about collective recognition. Viola Davis said (ironically, as she was receiving an Emmy for playing a terrible person), that in order to be recognized for roles, the roles have to be available. You never know how Hollywood will respond to a boycott that gets national attention. But best believe that if this ends up getting positive traction, the white filmmakers will start to write films with Black leads.
I believe that seeing Black and brown faces doing normal jobs and in lead roles helps society. If kids are seeing their heroes on screen more often and black extras in hospitals and as workers and Black IT guys rather than always seeing the black hood dude, it’s a great message . These types of messages get ingrained in a psyche.
Stacey Dash has said that the BET Awards are racist and we should get rid of Black History Month since they are forms of segregation. What do you say to that?
Stacey Dash is an idiot. First of all, white people win BET awards. She’s a BET entertainer, she should be better learned on the issue. Secondly, Black History Month, and BET aren’t forms of segregation, they’re tools for acknowledgement. Black folks struggle for acknowledgement. It’s important that everyone has a platform to be able to share their story. They’re not necessarily pushing the door down for blacks to get their just due. Thirdly, she can shut the fuck up. If I never heard her voice again, I’d be ok with that.
History is generally written by the winners. White folks often win.
Flint, Michigan + Oregon
How is it possible that in 2015/2016 an entire U.S. city can be exposed to poisonous water? Is it possible because of the demographic of Flint (largely black and disproportionately poor) Is this a form of racism?
Let’s get this out there: this is genocide. This water issue is an absolute crime and the government officials need to do jail time. I doubt they will, because the majority are white and thus, have protection, but they need to do jail time. But Flint has been an unfortunate city well before the government poisoned the water. There’s no pride for the government officials there so fuck ‘em. I’m not gonna call it racist outright, but there’s a hint of prejudice. It’s an all around fucked-up situation. I can’t fully wrap my head around if , so I’ll leave it at that.
Flint is the bottom, according to the government, so their city is forgotten about. I bet anything those white government officials wouldn’t take that risk if their kids and kids’ friends were in that city.
If this occurred in say, South Bend, Indiana (a city comparable in population) where Notre Dame college is located, would the coverage of this catastrophe be any different?
This happening at Notre Dame? Lmaoooo FOH. That’d be twitpic’d and IG’d to death and it would be over before it stared.
College kids are privileged though. They have things. They have avenues to get their story told and time to be able make sure it’s told. The struggling folks of Flint don’t have that same liberty.
White, heavily-armed militiamen have taken over a federal building in Oregon and have threatened to shoot any law enforcement that approaches. Yet having an object that resembles a weapon gets you instantly shot and killed if you are black. What would the media look like if this group had been 150 black individuals? Is the scenario playing out in Oregon (a state founded as a racist utopia) a form of racism?
Maaaaan, if that was 150 black folks armed taking over that rural piece of land, you’d have the military there in seconds killing A LOT of them. The narrative has been established.
Blacks that MIGHT have guns are thugs and whites with guns in the open are protecting their freedoms. This was personified in Oregon.
How do black kids stop getting killed? How do you walk the streets and not to get killed?
It’s happening all too often. I actually wrote a blog on it after Walter Scott got killed. He ran and people say that’s why he got killed. Well, it seems like you can’t avoid it, so why not run? At least you have a chance.
So how to not get shot by cops? Well, I heard if you run in a zig zag it’s harder to get hit. How do Black folks not get shot by cops? Be white. Duh.
What about black on black crime, violence, and murder as glorified by some rap music and exemplified in Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq? How do we stop killing each other in the streets?
Black on Black crime happens because people live on top of each other. Crime sucks, but it happens. You usually commit crimes against the people that live close to you. 84% of white crime happens to white people. Let’s stop that, too. As far as stopping crime, I believe there needs to be better community investment. Let’s raise taxes across the board and really invest in children. Let’s bring back community centers and after-school programs so that parents have the ability to work enough hours to ensure their kids aren’t hungry at night. When kids are fed, they learn better, they act better, they become better people. That baseline investment (which will also be a job creator for the workers of these programs and centers), I believe, would immediately decrease crime.
When you’re working, it’s hard to commit crime. Unless you’re an executive on Wall Street. But that’s another story, isn’t it?
How do blacks become empowered so future generations have a better way of life?
Blacks are empowered through family. Raise your kids. Continue to strive to become better. This is where I believe that a whole lot of individual efforts create a collective win. I don’t know the numbers, but I do know that there’s a correlation between getting a college degrees and having successful kids.
The better we become in striving within our careers and education, the better chance our kids will have.
How do you create a world that is going to be better for you son than what was created by your parents?
I’m just teaching my son to be a good person. The world is getting better. Just because there are new and important problems doesn’t mean that this world isn’t better than when our parents were growing up. I was born during Reaganomics and crack popularity. My son isn’t dealing with that.
As long as my son is a good and hard-working person and surrounds himself with like-minded people, then it’s all good.
Being black has taught me…
Nothing. I don’t know what it’s like to be anything else. So being born taught me all my lessons in life.
Being Black isn’t easy, but I wouldn’t trade it.
Advice for other black millennials…
Any Black millennial reading this is already ahead of the curve. It means you care. So my only advice would be to reach out to those who might not care. Give yourself. Stay informed. Vote. If you want your voice to be heard, speak. Don’t be afraid of making a change. And most importantly, travel this world. Go explore. Nothing gave me a better understanding of life than travelling internationally.
We are all servants on this earth. Nothing feels better than to help others.