In the history of bad ideas, there is this:
Crisis expert Mike Paul, aka "The Reputation Doctor," offers up some advice for Paula Deen on how to save her brand: "I'd have her reach out to a historically black college and have a historically black college professor [specializing in] anthropology or history take her through a scared-straight [educational] slave experience." This would apparently allow Deen to say, "I can now authentically say I get it." [Ad Age,previously]
If you have some free time this morning, call up history and anthropology depts at your favorite HBCU pretending to be from Paula Deen's peopleand see if they can rustle up an historically black college professor to take her through a a "scared-straight [educational] slave experience." The mind reels, especially in the context of the recent Paula Deen porn speculation.
More seriously, this "Reputation Doctor" is terrible at his job -- his notion suggests Magical Negro thinking taken to its logical extreme. Using Powers, a kindly Negro professor can help Paula Deen put her life back together by teaching her not to be a racist?
The Cod's first higher ed gig was at an HBCU, so I may be dwelling on this more than otherwise, but how would this look in a tenure file. "This year I wrote two articles, presented at three conferences, and built a replica slave ship so disgraced food personality Paula Deen could grasp the horrors of the Middle Passage."
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