same 'race' partners

[Level 2 Diagnostic]

I do want to point out something I read about Avery Brooks in this regard. I believe he insisted that any romantic partners he was with be of African-American descent. Hence, not only Jennifer, but Fenna and Cassidy Yates were of that "persuasion." I believe his philosophy behind it was to show healthy relations between African-American characters as role models, as there are some negative connotations behind interracial relations in the U.S., as well as positive ones. And I believe it was also his way to combat the stereotype of the broken family in his community.

Quoting because I think this is the answer the OP was looking for. It was a deliberate decision to only pair off Sisko with black actresses. (Eriq La Salle did a similar thing on ER. Supposedly he didn't like the idea that the only stable relationship his character had was with a white woman.)

Is this racist? I dunno. Going by the logic in this thread, it seems just acknowledging that people are different races, and this affects how people perceive them is racist in and of itself. You do have to ask: if Trek is supposed to be all about looking past race, why did Brooks make race an issue at all?

I'm not saying he's racist, but simply dismissing the original question with "who cares what race a person is" is ducking a lot of important issues that people should be thinking about.

And I do think the case could be made that white Trek captains were deliberately only paired off with white romantic interests, too.

 

[Sci]

I do want to point out something I read about Avery Brooks in this regard. I believe he insisted that any romantic partners he was with be of African-American descent. Hence, not only Jennifer, but Fenna and Cassidy Yates were of that "persuasion." I believe his philosophy behind it was to show healthy relations between African-American characters as role models, as there are some negative connotations behind interracial relations in the U.S., as well as positive ones. And I believe it was also his way to combat the stereotype of the broken family in his community.

Quoting because I think this is the answer the OP was looking for. It was a deliberate decision to only pair off Sisko with black actresses. (Eriq La Salle did a similar thing on ER. Supposedly he didn't like the idea that the only stable relationship his character had was with a white woman.)

Is this racist?

No, because it is a deliberate attempt to combat the stereotype of the African-American who's incapable of healthy relationships with other African-Americans. It would, in point of fact, be more racist to perpetuate that stereotype by having Sisko's healthy relationships be with whites.

 

[NKemp3]

There are plenty of inter-racial relationships, both real (in the human sense) and fictional. Worf springs to mind immediately.

I hate when people count Worf. He's a darn Klingon, not a black man. Its actually interspieces relationship when he's involved.


My main objection is that in "The Visitor" we got the first black Bajoran on screen who said a word of dialogue and of course (IMO) the casting decision was made because TPTB was race conscious when thinking about choosing an actress to play Jake's wife. That stinks. What's even worse was that TPTB of the DS9 books decided to bring that character into the storyline to play Jake's mate as well. I would have preferred if they had used a Bajoran like Marta who actually did physically exist in the DS9 timeline and had history with Jake. The people behind the books though went the cowardly route with the black woman from the alternative future timeline.

Also one more thing...folks on this board have to stop suggesting that all the decisions regarding Sisko's personal life and his outlook of culture was based upon Avery Brook's desires and input. I've mentioned this a few times in the past that there's absolutely no evidence to support this theory of Brooks benidng the writers/producers to his will. People are simply making up their own conclusions. A good example is when people keep writing that Brooks was the one who suggested that Sisko would object to paticipating in a holosuite simulation in 1950s/1960s Vegas in "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bing." The truth though is that Behr had pointed out more than once that that objection by Sisko was his idea and his idea alone. The only known time that Brooks ever insisted on challenging something that was happening to his character was when TPTB let him know of their plans to "kill" Sisko in the final episode. That is it. But the myth nonetheless is perpetuated that Brooks made all these suggestions to TPTB throughout the run of the show. Nonsense. And this one theory people are using in this thread to explain why Sisko exclusively hooked up with black women? That is simply insulting.

 

[NKemp3]

No, because it is a deliberate attempt to combat the stereotype of the African-American who's incapable of healthy relationships with other African-Americans. It would, in point of fact, be more racist to perpetuate that stereotype by having Sisko's healthy relationships be with whites.

Actually it would be silly for any fan to think that race should matter in this choice when the characters involved are 24th century human beings. At least that's how I feel. I look at modern sci fi on TV and I see a bunch of black and white hookups. Of course, typically, they almost al involve white men and black women. Do producers, actors or fans wonder if its anything wrong to "perpetuate a stereotype" that the black members of those IR couples find healthy relationships with whites? Of course not. This is only a burden when a black male character is involved it seems. White male characters, especially in sci fi it seems, get to be paired with women from all colors of the rainbow without complaint.

That being said I do not object to Jennifer or Kassidy being black. I do though have issue with the black actress (Salli Richardson) being cast for "Second Sight." I really don't see Brooks pulling an Eric LaSalle (whose move at ER I always belived was not only idiotic but also ruined an important oportunity for the first successful coupling of black man and a white woman on a hit drmatic TV show as well as led to the breakup of one of ER's most successful couplings) just to get a black actress to play that one-time, throw-away role.

Last of all I do not recall TPTB of Trek casting same race actors/actresses whenever needing to pair any of their Asian/Hispanic/Native American/ characters romantically (that includes Bashir who some see as Arabic and others as Indian). Nope TPTB be pair those characters with white partners without fail. So if they aren't being race conscious why did they not always do the same for black charcaters, especially post TNG? Its not that I wanted the black characters to never have a black love interest or anything; I'm just curious. I'm also curious over why none of the non-black "minority" characters of Trek also were never paired with charactes played by black performers. Why not give Bashir or Torres a black love interest? When you look at it closely there's seems to be a sort of segregation involving black folk's personal lives that reflect the fact that in modern America black people date outside their race less than any other racial group (according to data compiled). But of course Trek was supposed to be about a far distant future, not the modern day USA

 

[Sci]

My main objection is that in "The Visitor" we got the first black Bajoran on screen who said a word of dialogue and of course (IMO) the casting decision was made because TPTB was race conscious when thinking about choosing an actress to play Jake's wife. That stinks. What's even worse was that TPTB of the DS9 books decided to bring that character into the storyline to play Jake's mate as well. I would have preferred if they had used a Bajoran like Marta who actually did physically exist in the DS9 timeline and had history with Jake. The people behind the books though went the cowardly route with the black woman from the alternative future timeline.

Wow, there. Hold on a second. Just because they chose that character does not make them cowardly. They could have had any number of reasons for choosing that character, and there is no reason to assume that they did so just because they wanted to hook Jake up with a woman with dark brown skin.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Travis Mayweather and this reporter/spy chick from ENT yet.

 

[NKemp3]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Travis Mayweather and this reporter/spy chick from ENT yet.

Because not many fans stayed around long enough to finish the series and actually realize this.

Seriously I knew of this relationship myself but it took so long for the show to give the guy any personal life that it almost doesn't register. I mean this occurred in the last four hours or so of the show I believe.

 

[NKemp3]

My main objection is that in "The Visitor" we got the first black Bajoran on screen who said a word of dialogue and of course (IMO) the casting decision was made because TPTB was race conscious when thinking about choosing an actress to play Jake's wife. That stinks. What's even worse was that TPTB of the DS9 books decided to bring that character into the storyline to play Jake's mate as well. I would have preferred if they had used a Bajoran like Marta who actually did physically exist in the DS9 timeline and had history with Jake. The people behind the books though went the cowardly route with the black woman from the alternative future timeline.

Wow, there. Hold on a second. Just because they chose that character does not make them cowardly. They could have had any number of reasons for choosing that character, and there is no reason to assume that they did so just because they wanted to hook Jake up with a woman with dark brown skin.

Fair enough. I don't have proof. But its how I feel on the issue based upon a life expereince of observations. Doesn't mean I'm right of course.

 

[Triskelion]

I'm not saying he's racist, but simply dismissing the original question with "who cares what race a person is" is ducking a lot of important issues that people should be thinking about.

[ I agree, but I also disagree, depending on the context. Let me expand on this statement as an example but don't take it as a refutal of this poster].

While I agree that these issues should not be ducked, I also think summarily dismissing egalitarian-minded people is not entirely fair. (Putting aside show policy for a moment), the statement that race should not matter, i.e., should not be discriminated against in personal relationships is not being in denial of cultural differences. With that kind of blindness or denial, one could hardly be in an adult relationship at all.

To clarify, in my opinion people pay too much attention to labels and the social significances of personal relationships, when in fact a personal relationship is not necessarily a political statement. And people do not serve the society in having to rationalize their personal choices. In fact it's nobody's business at all who people like to hook up with. As someone in a social minority outgroup in a biracial relationship with a member of the majority ingroup, I can attest that the political significance is all a lot of people care about. Am I surprised when the sight of us elicits exaggerated expectorations and accusatory glaring? Nope. Am I surprised when people are more interested in the "beautiful" color of our baby's skin than in her bicultural implications? Nope. Am I moved by either of these reactions? Nope. Ahem: it's nobody's damned business no matter how much they try to co-opt it into their little social constructs.

This said, the issue in media certainly merits discussion. Avery Brooks had a good reason for preferring to show healthy relationships for people of his own heritage (if that in fact happened). There is also a sound argument to be made that, barring that opportunity, other opportunities could be had to feature biracial relationships of other races too. One doesn't necessarily negate the other.

It takes intelligence to see people beyond our assumptions of their surfaces. Some people choose not to look beyond their own personal definitions of others. It's a pity.

I would humbly submit that Star Trek is a business and as such is limited in how it may represent We the People. In fact no choice about character relationships could be free of racial critique.

I remember in a book I once read, some advice. Judge not lest ye be judged. Regardless of that Divine judgment, I think another interpretation could be, that in judging we in fact reveal the failings of our own limited perspectives.

Rant over!

 

[Oso Blanco]

Generally, this is true. In my case, I'm just attracted to women, period. I'm an equal opportunity dater!

Me too.

Although I'm a European who is slightly more attracted to Asian girls ... does that make me a racist?

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I guess I fall into the camp of those wondering why we are even asking the question.

No one is wondering about the white characters and their choices in this regard.

I certainly would have had no objection to Sisko hooking up with a white woman or a woman of any other race. But clearly, Avery Brooks wanted to make his own (quite valid) statement...and I feel it was a good justification for what they did.

 

[Ezri]

I do not see a Problem with Sisko with his wives or the wives of his father. The evidence of inter species mating trumps Sisko wives and the wives of his father and the wife of an alternate timeline of his son.

What I would find to be groundbreaking with Star Trek, is the first same sex marriage. It may be best if that did happen, if it was a species other than human. When Jadzia Dax was thinking of rejoining and being banned from Trill society: it is the most open door possibility that Trill society does accept same sex marriage. The reason I say this, I do not see Jadzia Dax would support having a relationship that could not end in a marriage.

 

[Red Ranger]

There are plenty of inter-racial relationships, both real (in the human sense) and fictional. Worf springs to mind immediately.

My main objection is that in "The Visitor" we got the first black Bajoran on screen who said a word of dialogue and of course (IMO) the casting decision was made because TPTB was race conscious when thinking about choosing an actress to play Jake's wife. That stinks. What's even worse was that TPTB of the DS9 books decided to bring that character into the storyline to play Jake's mate as well. I would have preferred if they had used a Bajoran like Marta who actually did physically exist in the DS9 timeline and had history with Jake. The people behind the books though went the cowardly route with the black woman from the alternative future timeline.

Also one more thing...folks on this board have to stop suggesting that all the decisions regarding Sisko's personal life and his outlook of culture was based upon Avery Brook's desires and input. I've mentioned this a few times in the past that there's absolutely no evidence to support this theory of Brooks benidng the writers/producers to his will. People are simply making up their own conclusions. A good example is when people keep writing that Brooks was the one who suggested that Sisko would object to paticipating in a holosuite simulation in 1950s/1960s Vegas in "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bing." The truth though is that Behr had pointed out more than once that that objection by Sisko was his idea and his idea alone. The only known time that Brooks ever insisted on challenging something that was happening to his character was when TPTB let him know of their plans to "kill" Sisko in the final episode. That is it. But the myth nonetheless is perpetuated that Brooks made all
these suggestions to TPTB throughout the run of the show. Nonsense. And this one theory people are using in this thread to explain why Sisko exclusively hooked up with black women? That is simply insulting.

Nkemp:

To your second point: Where is your proof that Brooks didn't do this? Especially since you're so vehemently dismissing what other posters have said about Brooks' input.

And as others have pointed out, casting primarily caucasians as the love interests of all the other caucasian captains doeesn't seem to be a big deal. Why is casting darker-skinned actresses for potential mates for Ben Sisko and Jake Sisko such a big deal for you? Could it be the myth of being color-blind, perhaps? Hmmm!

Red Ranger

 

[Red Ranger]

I do want to point out something I read about Avery Brooks in this regard. I believe he insisted that any romantic partners he was with be of African-American descent. Hence, not only Jennifer, but Fenna and Cassidy Yates were of that "persuasion." I believe his philosophy behind it was to show healthy relations between African-American characters as role models, as there are some negative connotations behind interracial relations in the U.S., as well as positive ones. And I believe it was also his way to combat the stereotype of the broken family in his community.

Quoting because I think this is the answer the OP was looking for. It was a deliberate decision to only pair off Sisko with black actresses. (Eriq La Salle did a similar thing on ER. Supposedly he didn't like the idea that the only stable relationship his character had was with a white woman.)

Is this racist?

No, because it is a deliberate attempt to combat the stereotype of the African-American who's incapable of healthy relationships with other African-Americans. It would, in point of fact, be more racist to perpetuate that stereotype by having Sisko's healthy relationships be with whites.

Sci:

Thanks for helping clarify the point I tried to make earlier. The only time I recall this being tackled in mainstream films recently was in Jungle Fever and
Something New with Sanaa Lathan.

For Latinos, the track record has been only marginally better, with shows like The George Lopez Show being notable for depicting a stable pan-Latino family, where the father was Mexican and the mother Cuban.

Red Ranger

 

[Moocey]

I don't think it's been explicitly stated, but my understanding is that 24th century humans are 'superior' to us, in that they are not bigoted (not homophobic, sexist or racist etc.). But it strikes me as odd that both Ben Sisko's wives are black/mulatto, and so is Fenna, his love interest in 'Second Sight' (although she's 'Halanan'). Both of his father's wives were black/mulatto also. And in 'The Visitor', Jake's future wife is also black/mulatto (althought she's 'Bajoran').
Furthermore, (although this is outside the scope of this forum) Tuvok's wife is also black. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but it seems like it was a conscious decision by the writers, not just coincidence.
What gives? The Sisko men seem to be only attracted to women of the same 'race'.

So being sexually attracted to people of your own race is bigoted?

If the writers really wanted to be accurate, they would cast mostly Asians, Africans, Mulattoes, and maybe a token white person. The way things are headed, that is would be a more accurate demographic several hundred years into the future.

 

[NKemp3]

Nkemp:

To your second point: Where is your proof that Brooks didn't do this? Especially since you're so vehemently dismissing what other posters have said about Brooks' input.


Red Ranger

Dude, the burden of proof is on you to prove that Brooks insisted upon this. Don't you get that?

Let me be frank and say something that will likley get me in trouble with moderators....I don't trust any of these unfounded whack-job rumors by posters on these sites. For years I have read on this forum stuff by folks who suggest Brooks insisted upon this and insisted upon that when it came to anything dealing with race. It boggles my mind. As a guy who was so into DS9 that I purchased every magazine that featured the show (articles, behind the scenes stuff, whatever....I have well over 100 magazines fitting this description from the year 1992 up to 2000), purchased every cheaply produced and rushed soft cover book that was published that had anything to do with the show, did my best to tape any TV interview or feature that dealt with DS9 (including the old Sci Fi Channel series "Vortex"), abused my privlidges in my campus computer room by printing out probably a 1000 pages of all online material dealing with the series during its run (interviews, behind-the-scenes stuff, Q&A with actors and directors and writers and producers, reviews, etc), as well as, like most fans, eventually purchasing all DS9 DVDs which included more interviews with the people behind the show. Yes, I was pretty geeked up about the show back during the time. During long trips home from school or work via public transportation I would read and reread and reread all this info I could get my hands on. I don't claim to be the grestest DS9 fan but I feel confident that my archive of material on the show, especially during its initial run, can match just about anybody. In other words my resources on the making of the show during its seven season run is pretty vast if I can say so myself.

And I bring this up because I have never, never read anything about Brooks insisting who the race of his onscreen romances would be. Never. Folks who amke such claims are merely speculating. At the very best (or maybe the very worst) they are spouting nonsense such as "oh, I think I may have read that somewhere, blah, blah, blah." In other words....no evidence. And yet they, like yourself, want to insist its true. The same mistake was made concerning "Baddabing, Baddabing." Ira Steven Behr made it clear in his post DS9 interview in both Cinefantastique and Star Trek Magazine that it was his idea that Sisko would not want to participate in the Las Vegas holosuite adventure. And yet folks here came up with this theory that Avery Brooks was the one who forced that idea upon TPTB. And they do so without a shred of evidence. Was Behr lying? Was he covering for Brooks as if it was some evil secret or something? Even if that was the case (which I doubt) I would still at least need Behr to admit to that before it can be accepted as a fact. Until that great revelation occurs I have to settle for taking Behr for his word.

In the TV Guide interview with the whole DS9 cast post fourth season, they asked the actors what storylines they would like to see. You know what Brooks' response was? He wanted the crew to travel back in time to Victorian England! Boy, talk about a place and time for racial tolerance!! Why would Brooks want Sisko and the gang to go there if he didn't want them to go to frackin' Las Vegas? And why woudn't Brooks choose something like during the time of construction of Timbuktu? That would be more up his alley considering his passion for the African continent and people of African descent. But maybe, just maybe Mr Brooks was able to mostly keep down any impulsive suggestions to TPTB to make Sisko more like himself. Hmmmm? Is that possible?

We know for a fact that Brooks had trouble with Sisko's fate in the final episode of the series. We know for a fact that Brooks had asked TPTB for years to shave his head (finally getting his wish in season 4) for the role since that's the look he normally wore when he wasn't being Sisko. These issues are documented through interviews and articles. The stuff you are suggesting about his racial prefernce for onscreen mates is not. And until you come up with legit sources of information to tell us otherwise you are simply just talking out your...you know what.

Now I know that just around the 3rd season the writing staff of the show caught Brook's one-man show of Paul Robeson to get a better grip on the dynamic he could bring to the show that possibly wasn't being explored. I also know that TPTB would at times sit down with the Trek actors (between seasons mostly) and ask them about suggestions for their characters and what they liked and disliked. Nana and Armin were known to give TPTB an earful. Is it possible Brooks himself could have made such suggestions or insisted on certain things? Yes, it is. Again, I'm not saying it wasn't possible or wasn't likely. What I'm saying is that there is no proof out there that tells us for sure or even hints at it. And because of that I don't jump to conclusions and make statements declaring gut instincts to be facts without nothing to back it up. If you can pull together the resources and show me quotes by TPTB, Brooks, felow cast members, etc that Brooks demanded or even asked for black women to be his love interests then I will concede that you are indeed right. Until that time I would consider you just another person on the internet who can hide behind his keyboard knowing he won't be held accountable for any rumor he tosses around. How impressive.

For all I know Brooks could have been a demanding jerk who acted like a diva and threw tantrums at every turn. But if I wrote that without any source to back up such a claim would it be as easily accepted as these posst that support a theory that Brooks took over the casting? Don't think so. (And by the way how did Casting Director Brooks ever let that white girl get cast as Jake's dabo-girl love interest in "Abandoned?". An episode that Mr Brooks I believe directed.). Now, if I wrote that Brooks was very serious while in front of the camera and therefore set a serious tone to such an extent that there wasn't much fooling around and laughter during a DS9 ep shoot as there were were on the other modern Trek shows, that would be a fact because it has been written about and talked about on numerous occassions. You see the difference?

Seriously if every time this subject comes up will people here keep acting as if the person who bought it up is stating an undeniable fact? Or will someone other than myself point out there is no proof to back up the assertions? I know this is just a harmless Trek board and that the suggestions of what Brooks may have asked for is not a serious offense or anything, but can we still have some accountability on this site?

 

[Sci]

Nkemp:

To your second point: Where is your proof that Brooks didn't do this? Especially since you're so vehemently dismissing what other posters have said about Brooks' input.


Red Ranger

Dude, the burden of proof is on you to prove that Brooks insisted upon this. Don't you get that?

Let me be frank and say something that will likley get me in trouble with moderators....I don't trust any of these unfounded whack-job rumors by posters on these sites. For years I have read on this forum stuff by folks who suggest Brooks insisted upon this and insisted upon that when it came to anything dealing with race. It boggles my mind. As a guy who was so into DS9 that I purchased every magazine that featured the show (articles, behind the scenes stuff, whatever....I have well over 100 magazines fitting this description from the year 1992 up to 2000), purchased every cheaply produced and rushed soft cover book that was published that had anything to do with the show, did my best to tape any TV interview or feature that dealt with DS9 (including the old Sci Fi Channel series "Vortex"), abused my privlidges in my campus computer room by printing out probably a 1000 pages of all online material dealing with the series during its run (interviews, behind-the-scenes stuff, Q&A with actors and directors and writers and producers, reviews, etc), as well as, like most fans, eventually purchasing all DS9 DVDs which included more interviews with the people behind the show. Yes, I was pretty geeked up about the show back during the time. During long trips home from school or work via public transportation I would read and reread and reread all this info I could get my hands on. I don't claim to be the grestest DS9 fan but I feel confident that my archive of material on the show, especially during its initial run, can match just about anybody. In other words my resources on the making of the show during its seven season run is pretty vast if I can say so myself.

And I bring this up because I have never, never read anything about Brooks insisting who the race of his onscreen romances would be. Never. Folks who amke such claims are merely speculating. At the very best (or maybe the very worst) they are spouting nonsense such as "oh, I think I may have read that somewhere, blah, blah, blah." In other words....no evidence. And yet they, like yourself, want to insist its true. The same mistake was made concerning "Baddabing, Baddabing." Ira Steven Behr made it clear in his post DS9 interview in both Cinefantastique and Star Trek Magazine that it was his idea that Sisko would not want to participate in the Las Vegas holosuite adventure. And yet folks here came up with this theory that Avery Brooks was the one who forced that idea upon TPTB. And they do so without a shred of evidence. Was Behr lying? Was he covering for Brooks as if it was some evil secret or something? Even if that was the case (which I doubt) I would still at least need Behr to admit to that before it can be accepted as a fact. Until that great revelation occurs I have to settle for taking Behr for his word.

In the TV Guide interview with the whole DS9 cast post fourth season, they asked the actors what storylines they would like to see. You know what Brooks' response was? He wanted the crew to travel back in time to Victorian England! Boy, talk about a place and time for racial tolerance!! Why would Brooks want Sisko and the gang to go there if he didn't want them to go to frackin' Las Vegas? And why woudn't Brooks choose something like during the time of construction of Timbuktu? That would be more up his alley considering his passion for the African continent and people of African descent. But maybe, just maybe Mr Brooks was able to mostly keep down any impulsive suggestions to TPTB to make Sisko more like himself. Hmmmm? Is that possible?

We know for a fact that Brooks had trouble with Sisko's fate in the final episode of the series. We know for a fact that Brooks had asked TPTB for years to shave his head (finally getting his wish in season 4) for the role since that's the look he normally wore when he wasn't being Sisko. These issues are documented through interviews and articles. The stuff you are suggesting about his racial prefernce for onscreen mates is not. And until you come up with legit sources of information to tell us otherwise you are simply just talking out your...you know what.

Now I know that just around the 3rd season the writing staff of the show caught Brook's one-man show of Paul Robeson to get a better grip on the dynamic he could bring to the show that possibly wasn't being explored. I also know that TPTB would at times sit down with the Trek actors (between seasons mostly) and ask them about suggestions for their characters and what they liked and disliked. Nana and Armin were known to give TPTB an earful. Is it possible Brooks himself could have made such suggestions or insisted on certain things? Yes, it is. Again, I'm not saying it wasn't possible or wasn't likely. What I'm saying is that there is no proof out there that tells us for sure or even hints at it. And because of that I don't jump to conclusions and make statements declaring gut instincts to be facts without nothing to back it up. If you can pull together the resources and show me quotes by TPTB, Brooks, felow cast members, etc that Brooks demanded or even asked for black women to be his love interests then I will concede that you are indeed right. Until that time I would consider you just another person on the internet who can hide behind his keyboard knowing he won't be held accountable for any rumor he tosses around. How impressive.

For all I know Brooks could have been a demanding jerk who acted like a diva and threw tantrums at every turn. But if I wrote that without any source to back up such a claim would it be as easily accepted as these posst that support a theory that Brooks took over the casting? Don't think so. (And by the way how did Casting Director Brooks ever let that white girl get cast as Jake's dabo-girl love interest in "Abandoned?". An episode that Mr Brooks I believe directed.). Now, if I wrote that Brooks was very serious while in front of the camera and therefore set a serious tone to such an extent that there wasn't much fooling around and laughter during a DS9 ep shoot as there were were on the other modern Trek shows, that would be a fact because it has been written about and talked about on numerous occassions. You see the difference?

Seriously if every time this subject comes up will people here keep acting as if the person who bought it up is stating an undeniable fact? Or will someone other than myself point out there is no proof to back up the assertions? I know this is just a harmless Trek board and that the suggestions of what Brooks may have asked for is not a serious offense or anything, but can we still have some accountability on this site?

But... But... Brooks must have been the one to insist upon same-race relationships and on Sisko having a problem with 1960s' racism! After all, he's *stage whispers* black. You know that only black people think racism is a problem!!!

No, seriously, well-said. I would contend that if Brooks was behind Sisko's relationships being same-race, that this means nothing since it would, indeed, constitute an attempt to combat harmful stereotypes of blacks unable to maintain healthy relationships, but you make an excellent point by noting that there's no actual evidence for this and by calling out the sublimated racism inherent in presuming that any time race came into play on DS9, Brooks must have been the driving force.