I am Jabari (Tumblr)

I did an interview for Steve Stoute’s “Tanning of America” blog about race, hip-hop, and the social climate of today. Check it out:

http://tanningofamerica.com/blog/my-take-on-tanning-jabari-johnson

Age: 24
Race: Black
Occupation: Media Personality/Filmmaker
Where you are from: New York
Twitter: @Jabari

What’s the racial make-up of your friends?
My friends are very diverse. I moved a lot when I was a kid and I always stayed in touch with everybody, which led to a racially and culturally diverse group of close friends. College is also another big reason for that.

What box do you check when asked for race on the census form?
Black/African-American.

What’s your favorite musical mash-up of all time?
Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne hands down. It is an important album for our time and especially for black people because they are showing us this side of “black excellence” that a lot of people haven’t seen before. Not just wealth and superficiality, but actually talking about stopping the nonsense (crime, drugs, etc). I think all of this is displayed in “Murder to Excellence,” where they are creating a new history and giving the young ones something to aspire to. For instance, when Jay says “What up Will (Smith), shout out to O (Oprah), that ain’t enough we gon’ need a million more,” he is giving a call to action for others join him at the top. I love that.

A recent Gallup/USA Today poll found that many Americans feel that Martin Luther King’s dream of racial equity has been achieved. What do you think?
We’ve come a long way, but things are still not equal. We are at the highest level of unemployment for blacks since the ’80s. That is insane! There are a ton of factors on why this is the case but as you can see from the numbers, equality is nowhere where it should be.

What do you think of Jay-Z’s statement that “Hip-hop has done more than any leader, politician, or anyone to improve race relations?”
I think that is a profound statement and I can understand why Jay said that. If you look at a concert today you see how diverse it is. Sure music brings people together but what happens when they go home? The thing with race now is you really can choose who you want to interact with. So if you want to have a group of friends that look the same as you, you can, or if you want a group that looks completely different, you can do that too. There are so many niche groups that make it easy to find people with the same interests as you and it has very little (if anything) to do with race.

What are your musical tastes in terms of genres and artists you listen to and who puts you on to new music?
I love hip-hop but over the past few years my ear has been in the indie rock scene. It’s probably the hipster in me and my friends. I get put on to music from everything from blogs, radio, television commercials, basically anything that plays music.

How important is race to you when it comes to dating or marriage and do you have a preference when it comes to dating or marriage based on race?
I just want to be with someone who has similar interests and values as me. That is the most important thing.

Do your parents care if you date or marry outside your race and do they have a preference in terms of race when it comes to who you date or marry?
I’m sure my parents would like for me to date someone of the same race but they come from a different time. I think they would be open to the person as long as I’m happy with them.

How do you feel about others who date outside their race?
That’s cool. You should be with whoever treats you the best.

Does it bother you when people of a certain ethnicity prefer not to date within their own race? (i.e. African-American guy preferring white girls, Asian-American girl who doesn’t date Asian guys, etc.)”
I think everybody should get a shot at whomever. Race is like the cover of a book. You have to look beyond the person’s skin color to really get a true definition of who they are.

Do you think that the trends of minorities becoming the majority and whites becoming the minority in this country will have a positive or negative impact on race relations?
Positive for sure, I think there are more opportunities for everyone to climb the corporate ladder now. But change is not a quick thing so it’s still going to take a little while for things to get really equal.

In what aspects of your life is race still a factor?
Catching a cab in NYC. Cab drivers still don’t like to stop for black men. I could have on a cardigan and some loafers and it’s still difficult; especially at night. I usually have to tell a female friend to flag it or a white guy.

What’s the most racist thing that’s ever happened to you?
I had some cops detain me in Miami for looking like I committed a crime near by. It was my first night there and I looked like a complete tourist with a button up and khakis on. They had guns pointed at my friend and I and finally realized we were college students on spring break and let us go. I think the only reason that happened was because we were black.

Do you have a problem with non-African-America people who grew up on hip-hop using the n-word?
I used to, but now I really don’t care. I don’t think they should use it because of how many people are uncomfortable with it, but it’s their career that is in jeopardy.

What was your reaction to Barack Obama being elected president?
I was extremely happy because I thought he was the man for the job, not just because he was black. Him being black was like icing on the cake because it showed how far we have come as a nation.

What is your tanning moment?
When I graduated college I started to see how diverse my friends actually were. Going to visit friends in different cities and countries made me realize the thing that links us all is our interests and not our race. I also have a diverse group of people I work with who have became good friends and that is when you really get to see that there really is a common thread that links all of us together. You just have to find it.