George Lucas Getting His Swirl On

Angela Winters writes about the billionaire filmmaker's relationship with millionaire Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Capital Management (a black-owned investment management firm based in Chicago) and financial advisor for ABC News. Tongues have been wagging and the black blogosphere has been putting in its two cents after the couple attended the recent Academy Awards. The black moderate blogger opines about the union: "I don't know why I'm so interested in these two, but I guess it's another example of a bright, Ivy League, hugely successful, attractive black woman going to the dark side (for those of you who aren't geeks - this is a reference to him because he created Star Wars). I'm just kidding. I'm fine with the swirl. Especially for black women like Mellody who have such a time of it finding black men that can deal. But it seems like all these black women (including educated & professional friends of my own) are going this way and all these black men (educated & professional) are doing the same. So the only black people getting married to each other are the losers like me?"

She continues: "I told you earlier this week that I just don't see Mellody & George Lucas together, but you never know where love will find you. Page Six is all up on this. I didn't even think he ever came down from that secluded compound he has Lucas Films at. I realize he is a billionaire (Forbes 400 has him worth $3.1 billion), but she is knee deep in $$ of her own. Besides, he looks like someone's boring & kind of nerdy father. Now that the relationship has been confirmed (sightings at the Oscars & The Kennedy Center Honors & Shopping in NY), I'm bored and ready to move on to the next couple."

My response: With his reputation as a recluse, George Lucas going out in public is gonna raise some talk on its own. Mr. Lucas going out on the town with a young, beautiful, black woman is gonna set it off. So Mr. Lucas has gone to the "dark side" (sorry, I couldn't resist). Because Ms. Hobson is from Chicago, the local media has been on this story. One question: are there no black men who Ms. Hobson could date? And Mr. Lucas must be about 25 years older than Ms. Hobson. I hope that highly successful black women are not now trying to "trade up" with a white accessory on their arm, like so many of their black male peers do. Another question: why do successful black men who date black women overwhelming go for light-skinned black women - yes, I know the answer to that question - while successful white men who date black women overwhelmingly go for brown-skinned ones? I say the former is looking for someone as close to the white standard as possible, while the latter seeks what is presumed to be an "authentic" black woman. Foulness in both scenarios though.