My Take On Tanning: Combat Jack

Name: Reggie Osse 

Age: 40s
Occupation: Attorney, Author, Blogger, Internet Radio Personality, Tastemaker

Race: First generation American by way of Haiti
Where you are from: Brooklyn, New York

Twitter: @Combat_Jack

What’s the racial make-up of your friends?
Extremely diverse. My wife is biracial (Chinese and black). My mother-in-law is Chinese. My friends are composed of African-Americans, West Indians, Asian, Hispanic, white, Jewish, Irish, Italian, as well.

What box do you check when asked for race on the census form?
Last racial box I checked (this very morning) was Asian. Really. Don’t put people in a box.

What’s your favorite musical mash-up of all time?
Favorite mash up is The Dub Side Of The Moon by the Reggae All Stars. It’s a complete reggae cover of the entire Pink Floyd classic, The Dark Side Of The Moon.

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?
Racial equality HAS NOT BEEN ACHIEVED. As long as we continue to live in a white supremist culture where Santa Claus, Jesus, and God are white, and in which blacks continue to be treated adversely in employment, economics, education, healthcare, police brutality, and the ever increasing reach of the prison industrial complex—racial equality has not been achieved. Are they fucking kidding me?!?

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 somewhat agree with Jay-Z’s statement. I’d hate to take away from others outside of hip-hop who have contributed to improved race relations.

What are your musical tastes in terms of genres and artists you listen to and who puts you on to new music?
My primary music tastes remain hip-hop, but I embrace pop, jazz, blues, rock, reggae—most forms of 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?
Race is very important with regards to whom I date and/or am married to. The black family is damn near close to being extinct and I feel a personal responsibility to counterbalance this.

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?
My mother doesn’t care about my racial relationships. My father, a Haitian, was wholly against me mingling with black Americans when he was alive. That’s that good old global brainwashing in full effect, B.

How do you feel about others who date outside their race?
I don’t care who dates who, but I do give a bit of side-eye as to reasons why blacks specifically date outside of their race. 

Does it bother you when people of a certain ethnicity prefer not to date within their own race?
It bothers me when blacks refuse to date blacks. Also, I have Asians in my extended family. I’m concerned when they refuse to date Asian.

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?
Maybe. Hopefully.

Have you ever felt offended by an advertisement targeting a specific demographic? Which ad and why?
Sure. A lot of HIV ads feature black men. Rarely do I see white men featured in HIV ads. Also, there are too many smiling happy negroes dancing on TV for McDonalds and whatever fried chicken of the day. A lot of ads portraying those on welfare also feature black faces. GTFOH.

Have you ever identified with an advertisement targeting your specific demographic? Which ad and why?
Not many brands that I cater to embrace my demo, unfortunately. 

In what aspects of your life is race still a factor?
As a darker skinned “threatening” black man, I feel almost every aspect of my daily life is still affected by race.

What’s the most racist thing that’s ever happened to you?
I was chased by a white mob in Boston as a child and called “nigger.” My white guidance counselor in high school strongly tried to steer me to apply solely to Howard University. They were against me applying to Syracuse as it was “beyond my reach” and then was very upset when I got accepted to Cornell Univeristy. All while I had a 95 average. 

Do you have a problem with non-African-America people who grew up on hip-hop using the n-word?
If you’re not black, don’t use “nigger.” That applies to Hispanics as well.

There’s been a lot of debate in the press and on Twitter about just how much of the interest in Jeremy Lin has to do with race rather than talent. What do you think and why have so many people, including non-basketball fans, taken such an interest in him?
Jeremy Lin is the perfect underdog story. An Asian Harvard grad who was benched and became a media darling. I’m good with that. The Asian thing is in my family.

What was your reaction to Barack Obama being elected president?
I cried when Obama was elected.

Now that Obama has become the first African-American president, do you think race is a bigger or smaller factor in the upcoming Presidential election?
Race has become an even hotter issue. White folks are losing their minds as their entire narrative has been challenged by the emergence of a black president.

What is your tanning moment?
Hearing the subtle usage of urban black vernacular in mainstream media.

Combat Jack hosts The Combat Jack Show with Dallas Penn every Wednesday at 10PM on PNCRadio.fm.

If you’d like to be interviewed for “My Take On Tanning,” please email sophie@tanningofamerica.com