Time Out New York celebrated Time Out’s 40th anniversary (Time Out as a whole, TONY is only 13), by selecting the “The New York 40“— 40 influential residents who have made an impact in the last 13 years.
Only three people of color made the cut.
Yep. TONY is secure in its knowledge that among the top 40 movers and shakers in New York City, 37 of them are white. (This is the part where you go: Are you f*cking kidding me? ‘Cause no, I’m not.)
Editor Michael Friedson was kind enough to attempt to explain their choices:
We did consider the racial balance, but in the end, we picked people based on talent, influence and their impact over the past 13 years. And a great many of the city’s innovators were left out—black and white….We stand by the picks. Whether we’re thrilled with the outcome is a different question because, for better or worse, that list is also a reflection of New York in the past dozen years—a city whose cultural elite have been mainly white.
Okay. Let me get this straight. You thought about the fact that you had selected only three people of color (I mean, not even three black people, three people who weren’t 100 percent white! (For the record, they picked Jay-Z, Derek Jeter and Junot Díaz.) And then you decided that since you had selected them, it must be an accurate representation?
Would it have killed you to think about the fact that maybe this isn’t an accurate representation? That maybe it’s a representation that reflects your biases? That maybe when you realized you “weren’t happy with the outcome,” you should have rethought your processes?
I know, I know. Lists are subjective, but this is coming from a group that, by their own admission, crossed off Russell Simmons and Spike Lee because they weren’t relevant enough. Less relevant than the MetroCard, apparently.
They didn’t even consider Tyra Banks. (Double whammy, black AND female. Women only made up 25 percent of their movers and shakers. I guess women in general just aren’t culturally elite. And while this might make you vomit a little, Freidson had the balls to say that there were “a ton of women and gays” on the list. STFU.)
(Disgraced, rich, white) Eliot Spitzer made the grade, but the current Governor (the first black Gov of New York) David Patterson didn’t make the cut.
And they couldn’t have crossed out Joe Torre when he moved to LA? That would have freed up a spot. If they were looking to represent the borough, South Bronx dynamo (and MacArthur Genius Grant winner) Majora Carter could have had it.
Friedson ends his little “explanation” with the words, “think about what this list says about this city and its recent history. And hope for a more colorful Top 50, come 10 years from now.”
Um… You know what, TONY? I think that this list says a whole lot more about you than it does about the City you proport to cover. ‘Cause my New York is pretty damn colorful. Right here, right now.
Tags: cultural, movers and shakers, racism, time out, tony