By. Clover HopeSpecial to the NNPA from the Amsterdam News
NEW YORK — A reality show may not be the best place to turn for positive portrayals of African-Americans, at least based on statistics thus far.As a result, Tara Dowdell, a contestant on “The Apprentice 3″ who was fired in a recent episode, was extremely conscious of her behavior going into the show.”I wanted to make sure that when African Americans-in particular women-looked at me on the show, that I was someone they felt they could relate to and look up to,” said Dowdell. “I saw it as a challenge to be one of the people to go on the show and not have drama and controversy.”The cutthroat reality series headed by real estate mogul Donald Trump pits business-minded contestants against one another, with various missions to determine the individual with the qualities to become a successful corporate leader.Dowdell, a 28-year-old senior manager of government and community relations for the Port Commerce Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey-the first African-American to serve in her position-was dismissed after failing to properly execute a task involving a graffiti mural in Harlem.”I knew that the show [“The Apprentice”] did not have the best track record as it relates to African American women,” said Dowdell, referring to former contestants Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth and Stacey J., whom many believed were harmfully depicted.”I did feel some degree of anxiety over even participating,” said Dowdell, adding that the powers of editing can accentuate certain qualities and thus facilitate stereotypes.While some argued that Omarosa was rendered as a mean-spirited individual regardless of her race, Omarosa contended that “The Apprentice” perpetuated negative images of African Americans through the editing process. The show’s executive producer, Mark Burnett, argued that the show had no such agenda and pointed to first season runner-up Kwame Jackson as an example.But Dowdell said the public tends to forget such positive African American faces as Jackson, herself and Kevin Allen from the second season.”What I see is a double standard,” said Dowdell. “I find it very interesting that while Omarosa was vilified for the way she conducted herself on the show, there were a lot of non-African-American women who conducted themselves, to me, much worse but did not receive the same kind of public backlash that Omarosa experienced.”When faced with the task of supervising a Playstation 2 graffiti.advertisement on a wall in Harlem, Dowdell was expected to excel but was later accused of putting her personal goals ahead of the client’s objectives, which ultimately led to her team losing and her ejection from the show.Dowdell admits putting her ambitions for the community over the business objective. “I wasn’t completely comfortable with the idea of putting a graffiti mural in an area of Harlem that was under revitalization,” said Dowdell. “Moreover, putting a graffiti mural encouraging people to buy an expensive game.”After committing to the assignment as project manager, however, Dowdell said her next goal was to ensure that the wall didn’t negatively impact the neighborhood.Since her appearance on “The Apprentice,” Dowdell said she has received numerous lucrative offers, speaking opportunities, and encouraging feedback on her website taradowdell.net.Still, she hopes African Americans get in positions to contain pervasive negative representations on reality shows. “I wish that we as a community would really start to move from putting so much emphasis on being in front of the cameras to being in a position where we control the means of distribution,” said Dowdell. “Until then, we will continue to be negatively portrayed in all media.”
