By Ron Stodghill

In case you haven't noticed, some of the world's biggest brands have recently taken a decidedly public plunge into the unknown.

Google's done it. So have Hertz, MasterCard and Audi. Even Kraft, perennial darling of the American stovetop, has jumped headfirst into the mix.

No, they're not helping BP clean up the Gulf.

Yep, they've changed their logos.

Which brings me to the improbable - and admittedly lower-profile - case of No Grease Inc., our own chain of black-owned barbershops that is clinging to a racially explosive minstrel logo like Trump to his comb-over.

Perhaps you've encountered No Grease's logo, the bug-eyed, black-faced caricature inspired by those dehumanizing minstrel shows of yesteryear.

If logos are measured in second looks, this one ranks right up there with the Golden Arches. Trouble is, like swastikas and Indian mascots, minstrels don't exactly evoke humankind's finest hour - or, for my money, put folks in the mood for a haircut.

Yet since No Grease's founding 13 years ago, the caricature has served as the company's proud signature, the branding behind its three shops, barber school and various promotional events and materials that include a book and DVDs.

For me, here's the rub: I like No Grease as a company and progressive brand. I said as much recently in a column about how Damian and twin brother Jermaine Johnson, who co-own the company, are galvanizing the city's black entrepreneurs to become bigger players in Charlotte's economy, something this city really needs.

And I applaud their fledgling organization, the Urban Business Network, which has blossomed to earn the support of several heavy hitters around town, including Ronald Carter, president of Johnson C. Smith University.

But the logo has got to go.

Jermaine, a graphic designer, created what would become the infamous logo back in high school.

Since launching their company with the logo, the brothers have been offering years of thoughtful, if not strained, rationale for subjecting patrons and passers-by to it.

It goes like this: Symbols possess no real power, and No Grease, through its solid work ethic and entrepreneurial success, embodies the notion that racist stereotypes are no match against the real truth of what we can accomplish.

Hey, I get all that. But it's wishful thinking - and maybe a dose of arrogance - to expect ordinary folks to unravel a tangled logic which suggests a caricature of a cooning black man can become - voila! - a socially redeeming force under the right proprietorship.

A bad idea is a bad idea no matter where it lives.

Pity the white business that one day wants to buy No Grease and invest a few million into a minstrel marketing program or perhaps a stadium sponsorship.

Picture it: The No Grease Dome, with a big rotating minstrel on top.

Guys, you're on the fast track now. The minstrel has served you well. Now, can we finally bid him farewell? There's nothing wrong with a good makeover from time to time.

Ask Aunt Jemima - the woman has never looked happier.
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Ron: 704 358-5928; rstodghill@charlotteobserver.com; blogging at rstodghill.blogspot.com.
 

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