Source: WENN / WENN
This weekend an African American woman went into a Trader Joe’s in Clifton, New Jersey and saw Geoffrey Owens aka Elvin Tibideaux from the Cosby Show working at the store. Elvin played Sandra’s husband, Cliff and Claire’s oldest daughter on the hit 90’s series. The women posted the photo on social media. The photo went viral and was picked up by FOX news and the Daily Mail. Now, everyone is mad at FOX news for referring to him as a “grocery bagger.” I am not mad at FOX. I am mad at US. See, I too am Geoffrey Owens.
In 2014, I was living out my radio dreams. I was the Program Director of a hip hop radio station. We were a young, new station making a name for ourselves. We had some of the BIGGEST interviews in hip hop and r&b go national that year. The afternoon drive host was a guy known to many as Q Deezy. He had conducted at least half of those major interviews. Things were looking promising and then it happened, that thing that happens to everyone once or twice in the music business, I got fired.
After a year of soul searching, working out every day (I was the best looking unemployed person you ever saw!) and waiting for my industry “friends” to call me with job leads or job offers, I decided to go back to school and get my Master’s in my 2nd love-Sports. I graduated #1 in my class in an aggressive Master’s program. My first job was a seasonal job working for the Washington Washington Football Team. Seasonal means you only work the home games and occasionally during the week if needed. I was so EXCITED. I didn’t care about the hourly wage. I was excited that I was able to pursue my 2nd love of Sports, a very white, male dominated field. The position was behind the scenes in the office learning game day operations. I remember getting an occasional call from an “industry friend” asking me what I was doing and I would share my excitement and I would be met with “oh”–the “oh” that really says, “that’s it?” or the “oh” that says, “that’s cute.”
After the football season was over, I was hired to work for the Washington Nationals baseball team. Another amazing job and great resume builder. The only thing about this job was I was IN the public eye. I literally feared running into anyone I knew. Not because I was ashamed of the work I was doing but because I did not want them to steal my joy with, “oh.” Not even 2 months into the job I was called back to the Washington Football Team for a full time job. Life was good and I was happy. I decided to deactivate my social media accounts because I be damned if after all that money I spent in additional student loans if I was going to let “friends” shame me. I was making new friends and life was good.
Not even 6 months later I get another call, to produce the Quincy Harris Morning Show. Remember, I use to be his boss and he was my afternoon drive host. Now my judgmental phone starts ringing again, “don’t you think that would be weird to produce him when you were his boss before?” “don’t you think that position is demeaning for you?” All of this and I had not swiped my key card into FedExField yet! All these people all of a sudden CARE but didn’t seem to care 3 years ago! Yup, I had been out of radio for 3 years and now my “friends” seemed so concerned. And that’s what got me about Geoffrey Owens, WE always seem to care what OTHERS think. How about we care bout these bills and these student loans? How bout we care that since I took any and all contracted jobs I owed the IRS because contracted jobs don’t take out taxes? How bout we care about this teenage niece of mine who was in high school and needed both basic necessities and not so basic necessities like homecoming dresses and school photos? See, just because the fancy job goes away does not mean the bills go away. I remember calling my student loan provider to get my loan deferred. I explained I was not working and she all but said to me, “and?” The whole time I was unemployed/working part time I never missed that $240 payment each month!
Just remember that at anytime, anyone of us could be Geoffrey Owens. You never know what life may throw at you. And when you see me wearing my Washington Football Team gear, it is absolutely no disrespect to Philly and the Eagles. It has a much deeper meaning to me. Besides, twice a year we root for each other when we play against those annoying Cowboys lol
Producer Sarah is the Producer of the Quincy Harris Morning Show.
