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Oh Shanti!
The Tribute Gala was a fundraiser for Los Angeles' oldest AIDS Service Organization. L.A. Shanti provides free support groups, counseling, weekend seminars, and education programs for people affected by HIV, AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. Kathy Najimy was honored with the Daniel P. Warner Founders Award in recognition of her continuous support for the AIDS Community and her work in Sister Act, Jeffrey, King of the Hill, The Kathy and Mo Show, and the hit television program, Veronica's Closet. Backstage, the ever-bubbly actress voiced hospitality to her fans in the Latino QV community. "Our differences (in the QV community) are what make us great," she told qvMagazine. "I'm a minority, too, so I can relate to what it means to be categorized into a group. Independent strength and group strength is what makes us great. I love them!" In addition to Najimy's award, Wells Fargo Bank was also given the Heartbeat of Giving Award for its dedication and financial support towards L.A. Shanti and the AIDS community. Racial Images in the Media When we as Latinos see the media, most of us notice that there are only a handful of Latino stars on television, in the movies, and on the news. When we do see ourselves, often times, we are portrayed only as either hired help or criminals. This is so evident, that not only can we as adults see this, but our little hermanos y hermanas notice it, too. A recent survey of kids by the children's advocacy group, Children Now, found that children do take notice of how their race is seen in the media. The national poll of 1,200 children ages 10-17 found that, among other things, only 2 out of 10 Latino kids say that they see people of their race "very often" on television compared to 7 out of 10 white children. When Latino kids were asked to name the television figures who are their favorites, not one Latino actor or character was chosen among the most popular. Instead, Latino children picked Will Smith as their favorite followed by Michael Jordan, Jerry Springer, Moesha, Ricki Lake, and Oprah Winfrey. When Latino and other minority children do see themselves on television, they often see negative portrayals of their race. The kids said that television shows paint a bad picture of minorities, especially African-Americans and Latinos. Among all the kids surveyed, 37% said that Latino characters were shown in a mostly negative way on TV. By contrast, only 6% said white characters were portrayed negatively, 29% said African-American characters were, and 25% said Asian characters were. Not only are fictional television programs showing minorities in a negative light, so too, is the news media, according to the surveyed children. 33% of the kids said Latinos were portrayed negatively on the news, 35% said African-Americans were, 13% said Asians were, and only 9% said whites were. What would the kids change? When kids in focus groups were asked what their ideal TV shows would be like, all pretty much agreed that they want to see shows that were realistic, racially diverse, and non-stereotypical. One Latina participant in the focus group said, "I think the perfect show for me would be a show that had every race. Not a show with only African-Americans or only Latino people, (a show) that will fit everybody." So now we have heard what our little brothers and sisters think about how racial groups are seen in the media. Now what do we, as adult Latinos, think about how we are seen in the media? How often do we see any images of ourselves, and how often are those images positive? What's your reaction to the kids' answers and how do you feel? E-mail your opinions to us at qvmagazine@aol.com, or send them to qvMagazine, 11251 Morrison St., Suite 303, North Hollywood, CA 91601. For more information on the study, you can view it online at www.childrennow.org.
There are more Chingaderas in the print version of qvMagazine!!!
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On May 15, 1998, LA Shanti
celebrated its 15th Anniversary Tribute Awards Gala with a tribute
to the late artist Keith Haring and also bestowed honors on actress
Kathy Najimy. In addition, pop singer Cyndi Lauper was on hand
to entertain the audience by performing three of her hits.
