Is the New York Times Holiday Gift Guide For People Of Color Offensive?

Do you consider The New York Times' Annual Holiday Gift Guide “Of Color | Stylish Gifts” for people of color racist? Well, there are some who take umbrage to the newspaper's holiday gift guide and are actually saying it's racist. I wouldn't actually go that far, but it could be considered pushing the limits on being offensive. The New York Times has been politically correct on a lot of things, but this seems to be the exception. From the intro to the gift ideas, NYT says:

Somali fashion, do-it-yourself henna kits, children’s books that draw inspiration from the lives of Barack Obama and Sonia Sotomayor: it’s not hard to find gifts created for and by people of color this holiday season. Here are some possibilities. Source:  NY Times

Some of the products that made this gift guide include: ‘Baby Jams,’ by Solange and Matthew Knowles; ‘The Beauty of Color: The Ultimate Guide for Skin of Color by Iman;’‘The Mocha Manual to Military Life: A Savvy Guide for Wives, Girlfriends and Female Service Members’; ‘Wise Latina’ t-shirts; ‘Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope;’‘Asian Faces: The Essential Beauty and Makeup Guide for Asian Women;’ plus some other hair and make-up products designed for people of color, as well as Radio One's plug for a cruise.

I must admit that I am a little amazed that they had to target the gift guide towards people of color, in the New York Times, no less. It can also be considered a little self-serving that they happened to offer products bearing the names and images of President Barack Obama and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Some may wonder how this made it pass the editing team at the NYT is amazing, but I guess it's not unfounded, since newspapers are trying their best to stay afloat in this age of declining ad revenues and readership. Had this appeared in a magazine geared towards African Americans or Latinas, for example, then it would have been entirely appropriate, but to see that the New York Times felt it had to to separate these gifts into a guide based on the color of one's skin is just puzzling, to say the least. It runs completely contrary to the image this newspaper portrays. So, is this much ado about nothing?