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Last week, CNN aired a special entitled “Black In America”, a two-day documentary about the state of Black people in our adopted homeland of America.
And despite my lack of actual expectations in regards to what CNN would actually be able to accomplish, I still found myself to be disappointed. Essentially, CNN aired:
Black People For Dummies.
Dummies = white people.
(And um, not that I think white people are dummies. Naïve? Yes. Dummies? No.)
I found this documentary interesting for a few reasons, and none of them positive. For one, if you actually gained insightful information from this documentary…
…you need to read more. Point blank. Period.
Similarly, I don’t actually understand their point or whom they were actually trying to reach with it. For instance, any white person that actually watched it probably already knew the stuff they were talking about or at least had a clue. Hell, any white person that actually watched it was probably interested enough to care about Black people…so they’re probably empathetic-ish to the Black cause and therefore know that stuff.
With that stuff = being Black can blow ass at times.
For second, most white people probably didn’t watch it anyway. It was on CNN, and what with all the commercials I keep seeing about having to go digital in 2009, much of middle America probably didn’t catch CNN with their bunny-ear antennas. Or better yet…
…most white people probably just didn’t care. I could be wrong on that one.
In fact, I’d actually be happy to be wrong about that but really, I barely watched it and I did only because I didn’t want to be the one Black person who DIDN’T watch it. Basically, I just didn’t want to NOT be apart of the conversation.
And I’m Black.
For third, most Black people don’t have cable so they weren’t exactly watching it though. I do assume that similar to Tyler Perry movies, a lot of churches and stuff had “Black In America” viewing parties…and they did have T.D. Jakes up in there.
Anyway.
Ultimately, I just don’t understand what their point was – if there even was one. It wasn’t enlightening…if anything, they lightly touched on the successes of Black middle America. Even the successful people that were profiled (Asst. Superintendent in Arkansas, Michael Eric Dyson, etc.) weren’t immune from the regular f*cktasticness of the rest of the Black community.
Was it supposed to inspire? Or to shine a light on the failures of Black America? Was I supposed to feel pride in being Black? Probably not because it wasn’t really positive. But after watching it I didn’t even feel anything. Was it depressing? Not really. It wasn’t anything I didn’t already know. But then again, why just put more stuff out there that adds nothing to the conversation.
You can’t actually do justice to the question about being “Black in America” if nobody actually ASKS anybody…
… “what does it mean to you to be Black in America?”
When you just lightly touch on varying issues, desperations, and almost-successes of the Black community what are you actually trying to accomplish?
Maybe I read too much or maybe I expect too much where I shouldn’t expect anything. But for some reason, I expect people (CNN) who decide to undertake something so complex to approach the situation with a little more respect than to merely touch the surface with no real attempt at any depth. Granted, discussing what it means to be “Black in America” would require about 27 years and two weeks to give due diligence to the subject but still…
Perhaps you got the point and I’m just slow. But good people of VSB.com, did you watch Black in America, and if so, what did you get out of it?
By the way, I’ll be talking about this all week…today, I pulled a CNN…I just lightly touched on the topic. Tomorrow, I’m pulling a Panama Muhf*ckin’. I’m digging deep.
-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST
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{ 200 comments… read them below or add one }
i watched this too. and like you Panama, I was not impressed. i felt particularly foolish because i took so much time ‘promoting’ it to my e-friends on facebook only to discover that the overall theme was ‘black in america sucks hot dyck and black females will die alone and single’. i watched part 1 with a friend of mine who happens to be white, and while on one hand it validated some of the debates we’ve had in the past about the significance of race in America and the notion that many Black females feel like they have little or no options, IT ALSO made me feel terribly uncomfortable. at one point i just sort of zoned out and started reading the next day’s post on vsb (ahhhh the west coast time zone advantage…vsb at 9pm PST -sweeeeet!) Anyway, needless to say with all of the focus on Black females being alone and unable to find their ‘match’ I felt a weee bit depressed when the show was over. As I’ve stated on here before I don’t have a problem with dating interacially…but seriously are these statistics right? Are we (Black women) not matched up well with our Black men-ses?? This hurt me in a way I can’t even explain. On one hand, I blamed LA for this. I don’t remember feeling quite the drought and the disparaging gap as I did when I lived in Atlanta, NYC or Pgh…but these women were from all over and they were all singing the same song. Ain’t no brothas out there that I can relate to. So I ask you, am I in the wrong frickin’ town? And again, I leave you with this declaration: EAST COAST 2009!!!
Girl, I am not even tryin in LA anymore. Seriously. I am trynna be on the ‘East Coast 2009 or Bust’ bandwagon with you!!
cool! can’t wait.
Don’t come to NYC. We don’t need any more single women here …… LOL
‘black in america sucks hot dyck and black females will die alone and single’
This was it in a nutshell.
Love it mayne!
you know Patt-tastic…I am really entertaining an east coast exodus for me and the legacy before he starts “big boy” school…I have even been doing cost of living analysis between here and DMV…the men that I’ve dated in TX that I have actually liked have all bee imports from the east…to I am really thinkin on it…east coast 09 baby??? lol…
As a native Texan…I concur. All the guys dated for any significant amount of time were from outside of TX…one from Michigan and one from New York.
NOOOOO! Stay where you are! Take it from one southern boy who has been stuck in the DMV for 2 years. Come to visit, but don’t stay! I’m getting the hell out of here!
yeah..I heard from somebody that there is a shortage of “good” women in the DMV…have heard it more than once…so supply/demand dictates that a move could be more beneficial for mate selection…or to be selected as it were…but I hear ya Buck…I am thinking on it…but definitely not moving anytime soon…
I have to wonder who put that information into the atmosphere? DMV has all kinds of women…all over…that can read.
Then again, what does “good” woman mean exactly anyway?
@ Pana-man-tastic…I really don’t think there is a definitive “good” woman…it’s completely subjective…just throwing something out there that I had heard one day…but we all say it about where we are, unless of course we have somebody…then we don’t…
LOL I’d say get outta LA with a quickness…it’s easier to deal with the man shortage elsewhere. There still seems to be one but at least mofos actually come up to you and ask you out. :/
‘black in america sucks hot dyck and black females will die alone and single’
LOL…but I ain’t claiming it. I know lots of BF’s that are married to good brothas…despite the media cramming the “statistics” down our throats. Sh*t…if I don’t get married til I’m 50…still not dying alone and single.
“…and black females will die alone and single’.”
try overweight, alone and single.
“try overweight, alone and single.”
No Trudy. That’s overweight, alone, and single with a few kids by different daddies and HIV.
That’s right! I missed a few…
….I was finna say. This is mad generic about the special because I had PLENTY to say about both episodes, and even segments within the episodes.
*woosah*
But I’ll let you go first.
i really liked the roundtable discussions they had after the show with Anderson on his 360 show. soledad got a little more in your face about the issues. i felt like that was real talk right there.
i do agree there. the roundtable seemed more substantive than the actual “documentary” itself.
I didnt catch any of it, and to be honest I had no interest in watching it. I’m black and most of the people I know are black. If I want to know what its like I just think about my own life.
Besides, I figured that it would be more of the same old “edu-mentary” bs: black people struggling, dealing with racism, and a host of statistics that dont really proove a damn thing cuz more of us are going to college but we’re also going to prison in droves. Or the stat that shows fewer black women are getting married but we keep having babie!
Honestly, what the hell am I supposed to do with that type of info? Listening to the rants of the folks who watched the show, I get the feeling I didnt miss much…
You cheated and read the transcript of the show. I know it!
Dom says, “Honestly, what the hell am I supposed to do with that type of info?”
Bingo!! Being fed regurgitated info that you’re already familiar with really serves no purpose.
“Honestly, what the hell am I supposed to do with that type of info?”
nothing. you’re not part of the target demographic
@CHAMP…then who the hell was the target demo? I am not a big TV-er and I don’t have cable…so I haven’t seen it, but I don’t want to…to me it was real Million Man March-ish…good intentions…discussion…followed by inactivity and complacency…thanks but no thanks…I had better ish to do…me and my son and our peeps went outside and played on the slip and slide…
“@CHAMP…then who the hell was the target demo?”
basically, if you’re the type of person who would?could be a regular at vsb, then you weren’t the target audience.
i actually think their target demo was Black people and white people. the very people that watched it, reading ninjas like myself, are exactly who they wanted to watch it. the problem is, reading ninjas like myself do hope to gain something out of it.
they didnt make it for white people. it ended up being for white people or anybody who doesn’t know much about the Black Experience (so-to-speak). they wanted Black people to watch it and feel that it did justice to the plight of Blackness in America. i’m almost sure that was a goal. and i’m sure they feel they did a good job with it.
why else would they find random people to offer quotes like, “CNN’s Black in America was insightful and groundbreaking.”
You know, the quotes they used right before the unnecessary poet started spitting his hot fiyah.
“…the unnecessary poet started spitting his hot fiyah.”
talk about it!!!
LOL @ the unnecessary poet
That guy annoyed me all night.
Im with you Dom..i really didnt care to see it..cuz 1. im black..i know how it is to be black duh!
2. im a black female..and thats a struggle in itself.
3. im a female who was the first black woman to ever work my job and it stayed like that for years.. and had to be the “voice” for black america everytime something involving someone black came up in the news..
Being black in america is a very complex issue and who ever thought it would be a good idea to devote a 2 day show to it is..halfway crazy lol ..Hell they could have just shown the Eyes on the Prize Series again and called it a day..lol
I wonder why people feel it’s a burden to be the “voice” of black people when you’re the only black person in some place. If you were the only American working in some company in China, and something went down involving the USA, you wouldn’t be making the same complaint.
Inherent in this is the thought that if things were much better, “white” america would know that “black” people thought without having to ask. Or if there were a lot more black people available, then everyone else would absorb our feelings via osmosis.
I don’t see anything wrong with someone trying to get my (unique to them) perspective on an issue. But then again, I seem to be the weird banana in the bunch.
In fear that my comment may be perceived as negative, I’ll start with the highlight of the show – Soledad O’Brien is fine than a muafugga. That may sound a tad bit shallow, but it is what it is and she’s very easy on the eyes. I’m also a fan of her work by the way.
As far as the other aspects of the show, I was highly disappointed to say the least. I’m not sure was it all the hype and publicity surrounding it or what, but it really left me hanging. I generally enjoy documentaries and expose’s but they usually are beyond merely being informative. Many will at least try to convey some type of emotions to encourage people to do something other than freakin’ talk. If that was CNN’s sole intention then cool, but honestly, that’s all the majority of black folks do ANYWAY – just TALK about our problems and issues. We always have forums on shyt but rarely put things into action to effectively make a difference in improving our situations. Of course I’m not implying that none of us do shyt (I subscribe to Dubois’ Talented Tenth ideology) because I know some of us do, but it’s very small minority. I didn’t see any pertinent solutions offered and I felt it was somewhat a waste of time.
In conversing with a friend who enjoyed the show, she said that it wasn’t intended for US…it was intended for THEM (white folks). I felt it was somewhat geared towards other races, but was it really? I mean the series was advertised all over black radio, black weblogs and print publications, and all the people who sent me emails ‘reminding’ me to tune in we’re black, so how was it NOT meant for black people??
Another thing that irked me was the spoken word artist (I think it was Saul Williams). That just threw me for a loop in the relevance of his purpose in the show. I don’t know, maybe someone somewhere was entertained by it, but it was distracting and annoying IMO.
thank you! first, on your observation about the lack of discussion on ‘solutions’ or at least ‘objectives towards finding a solution’ besides walking away saying ‘damnnnnn’…and secondly on the spoken work b.s. -how bloody cliche can you get? was that saul? did he cut off the locs, because i sure as hell didn’t recognize him.
a lot of what i mean regarding solutions is looked down upon. esp with regards to the education issue…it’s like the age ol’ middle class solution to problems that are often dominated in the impoverished black communities. still i think the objectives are worth at least putting on the table.
I agree Monk
How many “State of the Black Unions”/ The Covenant propaganda/Black In America/Al Sharpton jive turkey talk will we engage in before we get up, turn off the TV and do something about what we see EVERYDAY anyway?
Talk is great if the problems aren’t known. But we know the problems, we know who’s affecting, we have many theories as to why- where are the PLANS of ACTION?
“Black In America” was just a glamorized version of what we catch everyday on the 6 o’clock news. And everbody gets that 365 days of the year. They’ve said it, you’ve said it, I’ve said, she’s said it, he’s said it, we’ve said it. Enough talk. go do it.
….I think the poet’s name is Jon Goode.
Yeah, it was Jon Goode. Guess that shows how familiar I am with cats like that…lol.
In conversing with a friend who enjoyed the show, she said that it wasn’t intended for US…it was intended for THEM (white folks).
I agree with your friend.
Another thing that irked me was the spoken word artist (I think it was Saul Williams).
Not Saul Williams—but he was also was getting on my nerves as well.
Even when written for “them=white people” a lot of them were left disappointed because the media already portrays Blacks in a negative light so the show didn’t show them anything they either didn’t already know or perceive about us.
I saw the show and it was very disappointing. Unfortunately I don’t think it showed the full spectrum of “Being Black in America.” I know it was only a 2 day/2 hour show and it couldn’t cover all of the issues (good or bad). One angle I was hoping to see on the show was how it was to be Black and in a corporate environment.
In my opinion, I think the media portrays Blacks in such a way that most people think we all live in poverty, we all come from one parent households, and other negative examples I can give, but won’t…but it’s not true. I would like to see a show where it shows more of the positive or at the very least – a balance.
We’re no different than other races. We as Americans all want the same thing—a fair chance, we love our families and our country and we work hard to make it whether we’re pulling 6 figures or 4 figures.
“We’re no different than other races. We as Americans all want the same thing—a fair chance, we love our families and our country and we work hard to make it whether we’re pulling 6 figures or 4 figures
For me…that’s it in a nutshell.
ok..we are NOT going to act like that about a spitter spitting…but I am upset that threw a poet in for good measure…I mean they may as well have had kids eating watermelon too…again…I didn’t see either of the specials…but it sounds lke they “squoze” every Negor-stereotype they could think of into a casserole of hot mess that we already knew…reading this…I am SO glad I didn’t see it!
yeah, my beef with the poet was two-fold…1) why b/c its blackness do we automatically get a cat rhyming as the leadin…but moreso than that…if we MUST have one (i really could go either way) why can’t we get somebody who’s actually hot at that shit…
why not get the folks from New York’s Slam team or something…perhaps that fellow is actually really good and his time constraints prohibited him from being any type of real addition to the quality of the show…i just didnt think it added anything or was necessary, which just made it seem like they threw a poet in there because black people tend to rhyme…all the time…
Truth be told, I had to ask myself if he was “cooning” 2008 style.
*I don’t think I’ve ever used that word before*
the series should have been re-titled…”Is there any hope for Black folk in America?” smh.
I watched this CNN special and the whole time I kept thinking. “I cannot identify.” I have never had a black male in my family that had a record. My parents have been married for 35 years. My grandparent married for over 60 years, my aunts the same way. Both parent are professionals (mom now a home maker). I went to college, my sister is in college. All are married to black productive people. My significant other does not have a record, he is educated, no children. We are waiting for marriage. Why can’t I identify?
Why are we being boxed in and told this is what we are? Im single, mid-twenties, not married and here is the shocker…. I do not have 50-11 babies by 50-11 baby daddies. It is expected that I’m part of the 70% of us to not be married. But to CNN it’s because my black man does not possess the ability to commit to his family, cause Pookie n ‘em got Boomquisha and 6 other baby mommas he does not support nor even make an effort to see the kids. The reason Pookie is like that, its because this is all Pookie knows. His daddy did it, his grandpappy did it. So he cannot help himself.
There so many commited black fathers and mothers. So many successful black families. So many positive black children accomplishing many wonderful things in our communities. Why are we always represented to the world in our press by the bottom of the stock. Did they really have to pick a family with a son who goes around shooting folks? All of the non-felons in the world and they had to show that.
Yes, I cannot identify. But I have to be concerned because this is the standards that I’m held against by other races. I’m now judged by Pookie and Boomquisha’s situation.
also, did anyone see Michael Eric Dyson about to get to the light skin-Dark skin (& opportunity) discussion before it was quickly changed/shut down??
YES!!!! I was like WTF? In the LAST 90 seconds of this tired special they get to the good stuff and then it’s time to wrap it up?? *throws shoe at CNN*
“also, did anyone see Michael Eric Dyson about to get to the light skin-Dark skin (& opportunity) discussion before it was quickly changed/shut down??”
uh yeh, i peeped that ish. also, they did have that one super successful family who all went to college and daddy and momma were present. that was cool. sadly however, i did relate to pookie & boomquisha (i’m so mad at you for the names- LOL!) i’ve got a few of those in my fam.
but i hear you…it would have been nice to see a wider variety. i’ve give them this, they sure as hell didn’t gloss over that shyt. soledad put his a$$ on the spot a few times. i loved it when the pookie character said ‘yeh, but i’m gonna flip it’ (i’m paraphrasing). in reference to how he was gonna break the cycle. soledad just furrowed her eyebrows and let the camera fade to black. she’s great.
“also, did anyone see Michael Eric Dyson about to get to the light skin-Dark skin (& opportunity) discussion before it was quickly changed/shut down??”
I caught that. It was shut down with the quickness. That’s why they gave him the last 10 minutes of the segment. You ain’t slick CNN.
“also, they did have that one super successful family who all went to college and daddy and momma were present. that was cool.”
the interesting thing about that part was that the successful folks they did show seemed to be highlighted as more the exception than the rule, which may be true, but when trying to highlight the black experience, i do think that you need to take a more expanded view to include more than one successful family (on the first day).
the more i think about it, i just dont think CNN had the tools or knowhow to approach this type of endeavor…the problem is, they don’t know they dont know how to approach this type of endeavor.
“the more i think about it, i just dont think CNN had the tools or knowhow to approach this type of endeavor…the problem is, they don’t know they dont know how to approach this type of endeavor.”
i think hbo would have been much better, mainly because of the non commercial thing and the fact that they have the latitude to take it much deeper
“I have never had a black male in my family that had a record.”
Um. Wow. I’m slightly amazed by this. Hell, I need both hands and feet to count the number of men i KNOW of in my family with records.
hayle…ONE friggin’ male in my family without a record…sad i tell ya…
For the record, my nickname has been Pookie since college and i have no kids, no jail record and both my parents and grandparents are still married.
i have to co-sign with many of the previous posts that the show sucked. Why, does the Media [Multi-Ethnic-Destruction-In-Amerikkka(tm-Professor Griff)] feel that the only Black experience in America worth talking about is the urban one? Ish ain’t sweet for us brothers and sisters who grew up in the suburbs either. Or what about my cousins down south who live out in the country? Not all Black people live in the city and those that do are amply represented in movies, rap songs, and the 6 o’clock news. Overall, i thought the whole thing was redundant, with no coherent theme to the entire exercise in shoddy journalism. 4 hours isn’t nearly enough time to cover even a portion and it didn’t help that they seemed to cut to commercial every 5 minutes. That poet guy got on my nerves too.
Those that are making the comments that this was all negative didn’t watch both shows. There was plenty of positive there from the superintendent and his sons and their success to what the the professor was doing with the young kids and even the doctor at the end. Even with that this really was nothing but a for your information piece for other cultures (hello white folks!) to understand black america. Although I’ll add some of the stories were interesting. I was really wanting to here more of the story of the DA having to deal with his own brother wrapped up in the system. Interesting irony. The story of the marketing exec was the most interesting to me because it relates to me a little. I wanted to hear more of that, which points to the biggest problem with the doc the fact that it was sooo broad. I wasn’t able to catch the panel discussions afterward or before.
“There was plenty of positive there from the superintendent and his sons and their success to what the the professor was doing with the young kids and even the doctor at the end. Even with that this really was nothing but a for your information piece for other cultures (hello white folks!) to understand black america”
in a nutshell
I don’t think all the content was negative, I just had a negative/bleek reaction to it all because it lacked in so many areas and didn’t live up to the hype.
i think for me this speaks to a larger point, when attempting to discuss the true state of being Black in America…how do you approach it?
do you focus on the fact that Black people are still struggling in leagues?? or do you attempt to highlight the positives that are out there? there has to be some sort of balance, and i don’t think there was much of it. there were some positives, but overwhelmingly, the positives were largely overshadowed by the negatives.
and maybe thats my own hangup. but i don’t need all my pictures to be rosy. i don’t mind the truth…but if you’re going for the truth angle, don’t distort the truth in a way that feeds right back into the stereotypes that the truth is supposed to address.
unless, of course, the stereotype is the truth. and are we ready to make that statement?
“unless, of course, the stereotype is the truth. and are we ready to make that statement?”
i dont think anybody (myself included) is truly ready to have that discussion
“unless, of course, the stereotype is the truth. and are we ready to make that statement?”
i dont think anybody (myself included) is truly ready to have that discussion
Unless we want to continue to be where we are as a race do we really have a choice not to? We have to be honest with ourselves. I really think in these type of discussions are where you start to find fuctional solutions. These type of disscussions are so over due that we are at the point that anything else seems pointless like this show.
like fulaniGirl said it might have been better to name the series is there any hope for black america. seriously cnn wtf?!?!? everything was way to broad. it seems like they were trying to throw everything into four hours which we all know isnt possible. why not have it a week long series touching on more issues.
and while i had alot of pet peeves on the special my biggest may have been about them having mcdonalds as a sponsor. i dont know how you can have a whole segment about health problems then have commercials about fast food and then have them “black themed” except they come off as mocking black america.
i dont know how you can have a whole segment about health problems then have commercials about fast food and then have them “black themed” except they come off as mocking black america.
I caught that too.
“i dont know how you can have a whole segment about health problems then have commercials about fast food and then have them “black themed” except they come off as mocking black america.”
Great Observation!!
It reminds me of one time I was watching the 6 o’clock news and they did a story exposing LA Weightloss as being fraudulent. They had hidden cameras and everything exposing the lies that they were telling people. When the commercial break came, it was a freakin’ LA WEIGHTLOSS commercial!! WTF?
“it seems like they were trying to throw everything into four hours which we all know isnt possible. ”
i agree with this. its like they tried to make “higher learning” or “she hate me”. and we all know both of those movies were doing too much and by default didn’t really do much at all.
entertaining as they may have been in their f*ckery.
though let me say i at least understand why higher learning tried to do EVERYTHING at once due to the college campus-ism.
I wanted to watch, but the cosmos didn’t work it out for me. My kids and I had a prior engagement Wednesday evening and by the time we got in and settled it was over. I just knew we were going to watch the 2nd part but after getting home from dinner, the boyfriend said he already knew what it was like being black in America and didn’t want to watch it. I remembered too late that I have a DVR.
I haven’t heard a whole lot of positive things about it, and I don’t know any white people that watched it. But then again, I don’t know a whole lot of white folks.
I’m going to see if I can’t find the eps on the internet somewhere and view it. Thing is, us whities can watch an episode a day for everyday we are alive on what it is like to be black in America … and we will still never know what its like to be black in America.
They’ve replayed it a couple of times, but if a great deal of people you associate with are Black, it may be a waste of time.
@Cheryl…listen to the BF girl…you associate with Blacks…you have a Black BF… you have Blacks kids…that show isn[‘t going ot shed any light…reveal an epiphany or any other such f*ck’ree…you can watch it if you want to, but that’s time you will never get back…you coud be outside playing with the kids or sumn…
Well I DVR’d it and was going to watch it tonight, but now I guess there really is no reason to. Guess I’ll catch up on America’s Best Dance Crew…
But good people of VSB.com, did you watch Black in America, and if so, what did you get out of it?
I only watched the 1st part and this took effort, as ya girl is too cheap to pay for cable. So I went over to my homegirls and we watched it.
I mean, I understand what maybe CNN was trying to do which is to shed some light to others (non-Blacks) about issues that are prevalent is Black America. To most Black people (unless you’re freakin’ deatched from reality) already know the issues that are in our communities. It was no newsflash to me that Black women are staying single in higher numbers, hell I’m part of that club. They glossed over alot (I only watched the 1st episode, so I’m not sure if that was the issue in the 2nd). It seemed kinda scatterbrained and didn’t flow well. Like you said it would have taken about 2 weeks total for them to tell the WHOLE story. I give them a sideways thumb on this one.
Did ya’ll check out the CNN comments on the series? That’s some hate for ya azz over there. I read about 10 comments and had to close my browser, cause I was getting heated.
“Essentially, CNN aired: Black People For Dummies.
Dummies = white people…”
Why did my friends and I say the same thing (i.e. who was the intended audience?)
I can not begin to express the disappointment that I felt while watching the shows (especially the first part. “Marry yo Baby Daddy Day”… seriously?!?!) The thing that hurt me most was to hear Black people respond negatively to the problems that were portrayed.
Actually about the people that had the issues, saying things like “… she should find someplace else to live, should have made a plan NOT to be in that situation…” referring to the lady in NY who had to travel extreme distances just to get a tomato.
I’m not saying that things can’t be handled in a better way, but there are somethings that are common sense to some people that are not so common to others. Some people are simply miss informed. Some people just don’t know (and like Chris Rock said, some people LOVE to not know)…
I’m just rambling but my conclusion is that we do need to be more active in the affected communities in one form or another to reach and teach the people that are willing to accept the help.
(especially the first part. “Marry yo Baby Daddy Day”… seriously?!?!)
When I first read about this “charity” a year ago I cringed. I did the same thing on Wednesday.
Sad!!!
“(especially the first part. “Marry yo Baby Daddy Day”… seriously?!?!)
When I first read about this “charity” a year ago I cringed. I did the same thing on Wednesday.
Sad!!!”
taking away the cringe-worthy name of the organization, i think what shes doing is a great thing. instead of sitting around and complaining about the overwhelmingly disproportionate amount of kids born out of wedlock in our community, she took action and is actually marrying people.
i really don’t understand why anyone would have a problem with this
“taking away the cringe-worthy name of the organization, i think what shes doing is a great thing. instead of sitting around and complaining about the overwhelmingly disproportionate amount of kids born out of wedlock in our community, she took action and is actually marrying people”
The name is atrocious. I guess I have a problem with someone having to tell you to do the right thing. She’s doing something decent, I commend her for that.
I’m gonna pop out of few kids so I can get a free wedding.
I would really like to see if these couples are STILL married in 5-10 years. Marriage is a complex decision and something you choose to participate in, for better or worse, for the rest of your life- I don’t see how offering folks 3 weeks of classes and a free gown from David’s Bridal contributes to their success.
“I would really like to see if these couples are STILL married in 5-10 years.”
Exactly. I am not one to think that all women should marry their child’s father just because you had a baby with him… There are a lot of different things that need to be addressed before people decide to get married. Just because you have a child together should not be the reason.
I don’t see anything wrong with her program either(especially since they provide marriage counseling). I think it would be very interesting to see how many of these marriages actually last and how many are ‘happily’ married several years after.
Marriage is one of those things that if you REALLY wanna do it, you’ll just DO it without relying on a “Marry Your Baby Daddy Day” as the opportunity. Even if you can’t afford a dream wedding, if your desire to be married is strong enough, wouldn’t you just go down to City Hall or something?
Marriage is one of those things that if you REALLY wanna do it, you’ll just DO it without relying on a “Marry Your Baby Daddy Day” as the opportunity. Even if you can’t afford a dream wedding, if your desire to be married is strong enough, wouldn’t you just go down to City Hall or something?
I agree.
I actually know at least 5 couples that have kids together and are waiting until they can afford a wedding. Something always comes up and they seem to put it off. They’d probably participate in this program if it wasn’t for the name. lol
The good aspect about the program is the wedding is free and they offer marital support and counseling before and after the wedding.
again though, i think alot of us need to start living in the “is” world instead of the “should” lands. of course, the optimum situation should be for people to not need any extra motivation to get married, and that its typically more difficult to raise a child with one parent in the household instead of two, but the reality is that these facts arent on alot of our radars, especially if you’re surrounded by single parent families.
I thought that the MYBDD was a great idea, (in spite of the terrible name), I thought it inspired taking real responsibility for your life decisions. Part of this was reinforced by the intense pre-marital classes they have to take (i didn’t get the impression they married just any ol’ couple- they have a rigorous selection process too) and since so many couples don’t know the first thing about a successful marriage, I was glad they did have intervention as opposed to getting married on their own without the guidance. Sh*t i would need these tools too!
taking away the cringe-worthy name of the organization, i think what shes doing is a great thing. instead of sitting around and complaining about the overwhelmingly disproportionate amount of kids born out of wedlock in our community, she took action and is actually marrying people.
i really don’t understand why anyone would have a problem with this
@CHAMP…my perception (aside from that gawtawful name) is that this “charity” is furthering the fallacy that wedlock is the key to happy family-ing…NOT TRUE…being married doesn’t make you anymore communicative, thoughtful, trustworthy, respectful, or even committed in some cases…(again) I haven’t seen the special-special, but marrying folks all willy nilly is going to create a bigger problem down the road…divorce rates and all the BS associated with it are goign to go up if the WEDDINGS performed don’t facilitate MARRIAGE! pre-marital counseling, both individually and as a couple should be a prereq for any and all unions…but especially a union based on the premise of marrying your “baby daddy” mainly because he is said baby’s daddy…come on!! these folks will have their own special in like 5 years and it will be a hot fuggin mess… people treat marriage like the “vick’s salve” for what ails Black America…when unhappy, unhealthy, unproductive marriages take the same counterproductive toll as un-married idiots do…I am a proponent of healthy marriage…not ni99as getting married mainly because they co-reproduced…I can’t see how that can be a good thing…
“@CHAMP…my perception (aside from that gawtawful name) is that this “charity” is furthering the fallacy that wedlock is the key to happy family-ing…NOT TRUE…being married doesn’t make you anymore communicative, thoughtful, trustworthy, respectful, or even committed in some cases…(again) I haven’t seen the special-special, but marrying folks all willy nilly is going to create a bigger problem down the road…”
thats the thing…its not like she was just picking random cats and marrying them. they had to sign a contract, and they had tasks to accomplish/classes to take before they were allowed to complete the program.
and, even if all of these couples dont work out, at least it plants the marriage seed in peoples heads. maybe its not the best option in every case, but at least it IS an option, something that many of us dont consider
(nodding in agreement) like I said I am proponent of healthy marriage…so in light of the preceesing comment to my comment…it has been moved and seconded that she needs a new name for her admirable effort…it has a negative connotation and it is most probably keeping her target demo at bay/bey whichever…
@ Goodie – the program had a really thorough selection process and pre-marital classes that were mandatory. the one couple we saw who had married were discussing things like communication (as opposed to throwing in the towel after a succession of arguments), financial investing for the future, planning for the kids, etc. if you want to see this particular segment you can watch it via podcast on itunes. and/or i wouldn’t be surprised if it shows up on On Demand – if you or a friend has cable.
i think part of my problem is the same problem i have with America as a whole and this version of our value system that states marriage should be the goal above all else.
this isn’t to say that i don think marriage is a healthy and necessary part of the family, but everybody tells you to get married…
very rarely to they focus on how to STAY married. i mean its a different discussion, but its part of the bigger picture.
I forgot to add congrats on the nominations. I’m also nominated for the best author site (www.sheliagoss.com), so if you and the VSB family get a chance, don’t forget to cast a vote my way too (I know a shameless plug…signing off now…smile).
“I’m also nominated for the best author site (www.sheliagoss.com), so if you and the VSB family get a chance, don’t forget to cast a vote my way too (I know a shameless plug…signing off now…smile).”
will do
Thanks The Champ
congrats! i thought that name was familiar when I was lookin through the noms
Liz, yep that’s me
Thanks for for checking it out.
congrats homey…i’ll make sure i cast a vote.
we should all probably come up with campaigns.
Panama Jackson, that sounds like a good idea. I’ll offer “friendly suggestions” for some of the categories when I do my August newsletter.
Congrats on the nominations! I missed the CNN special because I was moving. From these comments, it looks I didn’t miss too much.
I saw the repeat and was glad I chose to watch South Park instead
I totally agree with you Panama. The special did not effectively answer the question of what it is to be Black in America. All that was offered were familar statistics that could have been googled. We have come so far and for things like the rapidly growing middle class to be overshadowed by Michael Eric Dyson’s brother serving a life sentence was ridiculous. I beam with pride whenever someone asks me about being black in america, I don’t know about everyone else but I am nothing less than honored to be apart of such an illustrious culture. Clearly people like me were not available to speak about being black in america, lol.
p and i already discussed this friday, but i actually disagree with the overall premise and the majority of the comments here.
you can’t be disappointed when you don’t have lofty expectations, and the cnn special was exactly what i expected it to be. you can’t possibly capture all the nuance that makes the black community the black community in 120 minutes (which, if you take away the commercials and anderson cooper’s creepy voice overs, was how long the special really was), but i do think they did a decent job touching on a variety of topics.
also, i think alot of us underestimate the cultural naivety permeating through much of white america. i mean, of course we know that all rap isn’t violent and that there are many class issues affecting our dating and mating situations, but joe whiteman in iowa (the same joe whiteman, mind you, who voted for obama in the primaries) had no idea about this shit
and, you know, i’m actually glad they cut of mike dyson as he was about to discuss the difference between where he and his brother ended up, because it was bullshit. his brother is serving a life bid because of dumb ass choices he made, not because he was a couple shades darker than his older brother.
did i think they could have gone a little deeper, getting more in-depth and making the subject matter less broad? of course. thing is though, regardless of what they chose to do, there still would have been people dissatisfied.
and for those who felt that the doc was a bit too pessimistic…duh!! what the hell did you expect?
“and, you know, i’m actually glad they cut of mike dyson as he was about to discuss the difference between where he and his brother ended up, because it was bullshit. his brother is serving a life bid because of dumb ass choices he made, not because he was a couple shades darker than his older brother. ”
I do feel at times many of the bad situations black people chalk up to racism is just bad judgement and choices. I have a cousin that gets into shit all the time and he is often yelling racism or something to that effect. More often than not its something I know would never happen to me cause I would never put myself in such situations to have to deal with it cause I have better judgement. For example I would never talk shit to a cop for pulling me over then blame it on racism cause I got cuffed up. If anything you chalk that up to the fact that you challenged his manhood and authority in front of his partner by belittling him in public while he was doing his job.
I have to agree with you Champ. I saw exactly what I expected to see. I do think that some dwights do live in a box and do not know what is going on with “Blacks in America.”
Some really do not take the time to find out. I think it was a brief overview. The Cliff Notes version …maybe this will prevent the stupid questions I get from dwights at work like, “do they have special bandaids for black people.” But seriously.. I do not think it did any harm .. but I think black people in general were looking for something more..
I would have liked to hear something I havent HEARD ..
stupid questions will never stop. Something like this could make them even increase the number of stupid questions you will get.
“do they have special bandaids for black people.”
throat punch.
I asked her if there was a special section of the ICU for white people who ask stupid questions. Then I laughed. Then I stopped laughing. Then I started laughin again and said, “No, really.” then I walked away..
Wow.
Ignorance isn’t dead.
“do they have special bandaids for black people”
This CAN’T be a serious question…but considering the stupid questions I’ve been asked…sigh.
“…black people in general were looking for something more…”
YES. solutions, not a statement of what issues we face… we already know that. blacks in general were looking for a way out. did folks really think we’d get the answers to our issues in a 120 minute show on cnn??
LOL…I haven’t watched it…but then again, CNN is like entertainment for me…not hard news for the most part. With CNN…it is what it is…
I guess I had lofty expectations because of all the hype/marketing/promotion surrounding the series. I didn’t expect for it to touch upon ALL the issues that affects us – I moreso wished that the program offer solutions as oppose to the same old rhetoric. It was promoted as being ‘ground-breaking’ and I didn’t see anything new or fresh in its content.
Also, four hours is actually a long time in regards to film and television. If a 30 second commercial can sell you a product, a documentary of that length is capable of doing more than just telling the stories and putting out statistics.
As far as ‘Joe Whiteman’ in Iowa, I still question whether it was meant for him/them. I don’t know ANY whites who watched it and I’d be willing to bet that more blacks watched it than whites. Once again, it was promoted on majority black media outlets so that gives me the impression that it was meant for us to see. I agree about many of us underestimating the “cultural naivety permeating through much of white america,” however, I think many of them can care less about our problems and issues. And most definitely won’t be willing to sit through four hours of listening our stories. That may be a huge generalization, but I think it’s true (my opinion).
i think part of my problem with the special is this: if you’re going to take on such a lofty goal, at least do the best you can to really get to the issues at hand.
for instance, Spike Lee, for all the flops of movies he’s made, he’s attempted to make a splash and touch on real issues and get to them in depth in most of his movies where the goal wasn’t just entertainment (like Inside Man though it had its own social commentary). in short, you get credit if you make an attempt and fail. i’d give much more credit to cnn for that. however, i don’t think they had any idea how to do so, or cared to even really delve. they provided a cursory glance at the Black experience, but being Black in America is deeper than that. they were basically Tyler Perry with this shit. make a documentary that doesn’t require anything more than somebody to say, “times are tough, my auntie got enough problems of her own…”
no challenge, it just is what it is.
like you said, it would be impossible for them to really get to the root, but you at least have to try right? in some fashion. and though it might have been for white people, the goal was to present a documentary that Black folks could point to as a reference, so they did make it for us. especially the reading ones of us…hell it was on CNN…MTV it ain’t.
now i do think Dyson was about to espouse that bullshit…however, i ALWAYS think Dyson is about to espouse that bullshit so perhaps i’m a bit biased when it comes to him and his, um, bullshit.
i can’t say it made me feel pessimistic…i didnt feel shit. i do know that they said black life expectancy is lower than white people…but they robbed me of 4 hours that i could have used to try to extend my life…
now what am i supposed to do? I done lost 4 hours (with commercials)
I watched both parts of the CNN special with members of my family (ages 10-64). Having people of different ages in the room proved that each person learned something new. Unfortunately, most of the “something new” we learned, was a statistic to support our already common knowledge. For example, we knew African-American women weren’t getting married but now we had actual numbers to support our claim.
The conclusion all but one of us arrived at was…it was for white people. I admit, I found some of it interesting but more in the way you watch a segment on 60 minutes. I learned about the story of one person who happened to be black.
I wondered why didn’t they address or speculate the cause of the problems our communities are plagued with. For example, we all know that drugs overwhelmed our communities in the 80s and early 90s, but it was never mentioned how they got there or politically what was going on at that time (Coughing…Regan)…no speculations, no theories…just our communities suck and our men are going to jail.
My biggest hope is that we can stop just watching negative things happen in our communities and instead, help change them. I think the Blacks that could have benefited from this program (in terms of feeling more hopeful about the future) will probably never see it. Then again, they might have just been more depressed after watching the program.
I have a point…Overall, I was disappointed but primarily because I had some expectations…I’m not sure what they were, but I had them. The biggest lesson I learned is CNN IS OVERRATED.
I have plenty more to say but I’ll wait for P’s next post…I’m sure he’ll say it for me.
“(Coughing…Regan)…”
Let me fix that…coughing…Ronald Reagan.
“For example, we all know that drugs overwhelmed our communities in the 80s and early 90s, but it was never mentioned how they got there or politically what was going on at that time (Coughing…Regan)…no speculations, no theories…just our communities suck and our men are going to jail.”
To me, this is a key contributor that should have been covered more in depth. The “Crack Era” and its ramifications are epic in losing a generation of blacks…in my opinion, the worst thing that affected the black community behind slavery and before the HIV epidemic. Look more deeply into this era and realize the seeds that it planted and the blooming results.
yeah, i think this speaks to The Champs point though…you’d need an entire segment to focus on crack…
…or at least make reference to Cocaine Cowboys and most of the stories behind BET’s American Gangster.
Since I love in DC…bigups to Rayful.
Misplaced pride people, misplaced pride.
The CNN special was the wackness.
Every 15 minute segment deserved its own hour. And each of those hours deserved the solutions that are already in place in the community to counter the situation.
The whole Family Reunion aspect was played. And the fact that CNN wasted time showing how BLACK families tie with thier WHITE heritage was ill to me. EVERYONE KNOWS that there is white blood mixed with slave roots and that to me did nothing to add insight to the Black in America plight. It also left the feeling that a white man was the patriarch of the black family and that without him this family would not exist. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
The special did nothing more than play up to sterotypes in the black community and did little to counter the images already percived by non-blacks.
I was extremely disappointed in myself for expecting better.
“EVERYONE KNOWS that there is white blood mixed with slave roots and that to me did nothing to add insight to the Black in America plight. ”
see, this is what i’m talking about. everyone DOESNT know this, lol. you’d be surprised at what people dont know.
I totally disagree. These concepts are addressed in basic American History classes.
The sireing of ‘mulatto’ children by slave maters is any an text related to American history or Slavey in America history materials. Furthermore, it is an explanation of the multi-colored skin of Black Americans as a whole and most Americans, of white and african ancestry, are aware of this fact. IMO, only other minority races in America might find this information ‘new’, (ie Asians or Latino’s).
“I totally disagree. These concepts are addressed in basic American History classes.
The sireing of ‘mulatto’ children by slave maters is any an text related to American history or Slavey in America history materials.”
this is a broad assumption. again, as someone who’s been in education for my entire adult life (3 years as a high school teacher and i currently run a non-profit), one of the first things you learn is that you can never assume ANYTHING. you’d be shocked at how much people dont know. kids, grown-ups, whoever.
“as someone who’s been in education for my entire adult life (3 years as a high school teacher and i currently run a non-profit)”
My stats are virtually the same as yours although I have about 4 years more experience in education and sit for the board of 1 non-profit, am building my own non-profit, and work with at least 4 others, and I am not making an assumtion, I am speaking from my own personal interaction in private schools, public schools and higher education affiliations that inculdes discussion with peoples of all ethnic backrounds and ages. Perhaps I should not have said EVERYONE know, but I am willing to bet a strong majority of people understand the implications of slavery that related to the parenting of children by slave masters. And, I agree that many people are ignorent of the facts, but if you can explain why that segment was important then please do.
IMO the segment on the 2 families was wasted time on a special that was to be devoted to the current state of being Black in America. If this was the case it should have been called tracing the roots of being Black in America. I have a longstanding belief that instead of the focus of being Black in America as related to slavery, that we need to move beyond that story and moreso focus on what happens next? Moving on if you will. The special was all over the place, and this piece is evidence of that information.
I agree that information such as this should be distributed and discussed, but the segment was pointless in the way it was presented – as well as the majority of information related to the entire special as it did not provide solutions, or offer voice to different opinions from the Black perspective.
“And, I agree that many people are ignorent of the facts, but if you can explain why that segment was important then please do.”
i’m not arguing about the relevance of the segment. it could have been left out, i agree. all i’m saying is that what might have seemed like “preaching to the choir” for us could have been an enlightening moment for many others, and its presumptuous to think thats not possible
agree to disagree.
i agree with the champ here, and in that regard, i’d like to reference this statement from my original post:
“For one, if you actually gained insightful information from this documentary…
…you need to read more. Point blank. Period.”
I started researching my family tree about 10 years ago and had an almost identical experience to the woman who was featured in the segment. yep, there’s this really cool white woman in Vermont who’s my second cousin. My g-grandfather and his brother were biracial but one “passed” and my g-grandfather didn’t…the lines continued one marrying into black families the other marrying into white families. My point is we (my family) all knew ‘in theory’ about the probability of mixing but to actually see it in our own tree was dumbfounding. And we’re not talking about the massah tiptoeing in the slave huts, we’re talking about consensual mating…this is the stuff folks don’t know. The other thing is folks don’t know that they can actually be successful at researching their family’s lineage – with or without the presence of mixing. Folks just assume that because of slavery there are no records, but there are a ton! I’ve done many of my friends family trees and they’re always surprised that i was able to find anything not to mention ‘mixing’. [btw, see this is what i mean this segment was completely overshadowed by the other depressing sub-segments presented. i could talk about genealogy all day...]
Then it should have been a special about the mixing of the black family trees with whites – consentual or otherwise, instead of being black in america presently.
So Patty, where’s a good place to start if I wanted to trace mine? I’ve always been interested in it, but didn’t know where to begin.
Start with the census records. if you’re in the atl…(i peeped yr site) you can go to the national archives regional branch located in East Point or you can check out any Mormon’s family history library (Alex Haley used their records to do a lot of his research and you don’t have to be a member of the church). Start with the 1930 census and work your way back. You can also use ancestry.com for free at your local library. The archivists and volunteers at the Nat’l archives will help you get started!
Just because its in a history book doesn’t mean people know it. I have met people that don’t know when the Civil War was or why it was fought and they could give a shit. These were grown somewhat educated folks (hi school diplomas)
“Just because its in a history book doesn’t mean people know it.”
To this statement I say, If you didnt know that slave masters fathered by children by their slaves before this the ‘Black in America’, please respond.
I would think those of us who frequent this blog are aware of that (but who knows? someone may surprise me) but I can tell you there are people that do/did not know that. There are those of all colors that feel history has no bearing on our life in the here and now. There are also those that are just stupid.
I would think those of us who frequent this blog are aware of that. AGREE, but that is the point.
There are people that do/did not know that. AGREE, however I would argue there is a majority of people who DID know. I am sure that the white people were more interested in the fact that Black people are researching their lineage and actually finding their ancestors.
There are those of all colors that feel history has no bearing on our life in the here and now. AGREE, but that is exactly what the special was supposed to discuss.
There are also those that are just stupid. AGREE, but that is the exact image the overall special subscribed to.
My point with the family reunion aspect, is that the piece glorified the slave master heritage and glossed over the implications. It also was not related to the goal of the entire special IMO. If I was white and watched the special I would have come away with the perspective that black men cant find jobs, black women cant get married and have babies out of wedlock whose fathers ignore, black people have AIDS and STD’s, you have to pay black children to learn, black kids raised in good families, marry white or revert to crime. Very few solutions/alternatives were offered and I have a problem with that.
Yeah, there actually are a lot of ignorant (and i mean that in the actual definition of ignorant) people out there.
shit, i have a student in my Econ class who didn’t realize that color-stratification in the Black community actually existed. and she’s Black and from North Carolina. and finna graduate from college.
ignorance is real.
“ignorance is real.”
in a nutshell
“It also left the feeling that a white man was the patriarch of the black family and that without him this family would not exist.”
I agree, as I was watching this I felt they made it seem as if the relationship between the great, great grandmother and this slave owner was a love story and the generational seeds were their legacy…bullsh!t, she was property and more than likely his unwilling concubine who was forced from her original family structure. But, I guess they didn’t want to go with some ugly truth about the “patriarch” of this family.
I watched both episodes and I agree that fitting the black experience into 4 hours is like Shaq trying to put his foot into a toddler’s first Nikes – impossible.
But, I guess they didn’t want to go with some ugly truth about the “patriarch” of this family.
Yeah…cause that would have opened up a whole ‘nother can of worms.
Actually Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has touched on this in 2 different documentaries on PBS that specifically dealt with African American genealogy. It was called African American Lives, he produced two documentaries: one in 2006 and 2007. He interviewed various Black celebs and then researched their family trees (Chris Tucker, Oprah, Chris Rock, etc) If you get a chance you can check them out… these were truly eye opening on the subject of Black genealogy.
You’re right. I’ve seen both specials.
Yo that was a great special. I love PBS, my former Window To The World
You get my point exactly. I could have done without the “Us found massa” celebration. I hope the family chooses to further research the woman’s ancestry prior to that incidence. If they wanted to celebrate a patriarch, they should have celebrated the currently living examples.
Well – I have a couple of thoughts:
1. “Specials” like this are for white liberals…not regular white folks necessarily. This is the kind of shit that makes white liberals feel good about themselves and better than the average white person. In addition, they are deluded enough to think a special like this absolves them of covering black people every day. After this we’ll go back to being ignored or the latest nigga in cuffs on TV.
2. I think we have to reject these kinds of things that reduce black experiences to THE BLACK EXPERIENCE. All it does is let people pathologize blackness and at the same time make us into victims that need handouts. It also, again, absolves the (to quote hooks) the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy for its outsized role in the lives we ALL lead.
Honestly I think I have been rejecting everything that is blatantly labeled or catering to “the black experience” in the last few years. I dont know why. Anytime something is hyped by black people and black people only and it is made as if it is mandatory to maintain my blackness I avoid it. Is this bad? The more people (only black, no one else I knew said squat about this special) said watch this program I felt I was doing myself a service by not watching it. I have always had the belief that things that seem to be “for us” were really concocted by a bunch of the whitest white people that have that black friend that Colbert always talks about.
i feel the same way about Tyler Perry movies.
whew! there. I said it.
i’s free now.
I include that genre in things I stay away from
Those movies are awful. Do you get a backlash when you say you don’t enjoy them? I do. My friends say its foundation is in “Christian Values,” therefore Tyler Perry’s efforts should be appreciated. Blah.
I do get a backlash. In fact last night, in a review session for my Econ class, we got into an argument about Tyler Perry movies with some people loving them and others of us (myself included) thinking that they pretty much blow ass.
It’s hard for me to appreciate anything that makes me cringe during 51% of the movie.
Agreed. It just seems very coonish and melodramatic (no offense to anyone who enjoys his material).
i feel the same way about Tyler Perry movies.
whew! there. I said it.
I am sooo damn happy that you said this because everytime I say this to black folks they act like I have a cross on my shoulder with a lighter in one hand and mapquest directions to they house in the other. Those movies belittle us (black women mostly), I don’t care what anyone says.
“I have always had the belief that things that seem to be “for us” were really concocted by a bunch of the whitest white people that have that black friend that Colbert always talks about”
Basically…
I don’t indulge, but I do make sure I know a lil “sumthin sumthin” about them so I have something to relate to when visiting relatives/other black folks I know.
its easy to intellectualize something you have absolutely no experience with, and i am positive the good folks at CNN are patting themselves on the back for creating a documentary from the outside looking in…
“I was not impressed”
“This is mad generic ”
“what the hell am I supposed to do with that type of info? ”
“always have forums on shyt but rarely put things into action to effectively make a difference in improving our situations.”
“before we get up, turn off the TV and do something about what we see EVERYDAY anyway”
Funny how most of the commenters don’t
1) offer any their own new ideas or new angles
2) never offer any solutions, or framework to look for solutions
Folks here are what they despise. Talking heads with no new information, insight, or facts, and no kind of way to solve the problems.
Let me hand out some solutions
- Not enough black love – Marry a black woman.
- Hood getting shot up – Gentrify it
- Still worried about the hoods who were doing the shooting cause you gentrified them out the burbs – Big Brother them youngstas before they go from Randy to Omar.
For the cats deep in the game already – you need to put them in a new environment, where they can’t go back to that world.
- Test Scores down? – start a tutoring class @ your church/mosque/hall or library. If you really want to keep it real, home school your own children if possible
- Lot of aimless black men chilling on the corner with idle hands – Start a business aimed @ employing low skill/no skill cats – in which they learn a trade while making YOU money. (demolition crew, construction company, recyclers)
None of this is rocket science.
I’m sure a lot of you have worked at non-profits or government agencies and have seen how those programs work and didn’t work. If you really care about black people, you’ll either rebuild them joints from the inside or start your own.
It all comes down to you actually doing shit.
I spent a year rebuilding New Orleans post-Katrina.
It can be done.
“It all comes down to you actually doing shit.”
***church***
@WIA…word…you have to be the change you want in the world ~ Ghandi, right?…those of us that are raising our children to be more than apathetic, complacent sheeple, through thought, word and deed begin that process at home…I believe we all have to “sweep around your own front door” and shit…volunteer and be an example…not nearly perfect, but a living, breathing tangible example of rain making rainbows…
each one teach one…to be one ask one…
good sh*t WIA…that’s a challenge I can take…speak easy…
It’s all about doing shit but I thought Panama wanted feedback about our reaction to the show not our personal resumes. Am I wrong here? Also I think it is rocket science. Many of the solutions you handed out have been approached with little or no long-term results. If gentrifying and big brothering had that much of a global impact I don’t think we’d be having this dialog right now.
So yeah, I’m one of maybe 100 black folks in the country that did not watch (but I dvr’d per my mama’s request and like I do anything else that’s going to take more than an hour of my precious time). But from what I’ve heard in other forums…the show was indeed a “no-sh*t?” kinda thing for US (or like PJ said, Black People for Dummies). And honestly, I agree with PJ…the white folks that DID probably watch are ultra liberal and sympathetic and what not…so I doubt they learned anything. Betty Sue from East Podunk, Montana…didn’t watch, doesn’t care about black folks, and dayum sure could less about our “experience” here in the Good ol’ US of A.
I watch both shows and first of all I must say that CNN did something that many networks would not have attempted which is but a light on the Black community.
Now, I will admit they didn’t use a big light or go into all of the depth of our community but at least they did make an attempt to show White America what it is like and shall I say reminded some of Black America of the situation.
I am sure everyone will agree they did not highlight enough solutions, but for White America, they must first know that there is a problem.
For instance, the upper middle class family in Little Rock, he stated many people believe they have “The Cosby” life. He opened up about his life and the fact he moved his family out of the “bad” neighborhood and into a “good” neighborhood.
Ironically, in the new “good” neighborhood, his neighbor called the police on him immediately and one of his sons was arrested, a key example for White America to know that it doesn’t matter, where we live, how much money we make, the fact we are well educated and our children are educated , we are still targeted.
Yes, I wanted to know a lot more about that situation because with the two brothers and how they handled the situation.
Now, to the good points I noticed in it, I will say that there weren’t many of them but there were some.
The single father, my heart went out to him because of the fact he was working so hard to be there for his children, this broke the stereotype that black fathers don’t do anything for there children and it also show that there is a such thing as a single father, we hear way too much of the single mother stories.
“Marry your baby daddy/ mama day”, now the title does make me cringe, but she is making an attempt to let these couples understand the power of marriage. The couple they interviewed, the wife stated she felt they were more connected now than all the years they were together. That alone, made the program a worthy cause. We cannot escape the fact that many individuals (all races) are having children out of wedlock.
The Professor or Doctor (I cannot remember, dang it) who came from a family of drug dealer to where he is today, now that was a shining example for black people to let their children know that education is worth it. And the fact that he is paying these children for good grades; I don’t have a problem for it because the lure for young children and fast money on the street is present the minute they step outside to go to school.
The marketing executive, I connect with him totally! For, the pure fact I went to private school most of my life and went to a public school for high school, which was predominately black was a culture shock out of the world. But, I am glad I choice to leave private school (you really get tired of being around the same people all your life.) But, this gave me an insight to a total different side of the black community.
Okay, that’s all for right now. I know I rambled and have all types of grammar errors….
“CNN did something that many networks would not have attempted…”
This is true, kudos to them for attempting.
eh, i don’t know if i’m gonna give them credit for doing this. pbs has tried. hell, the washington post has had a “black man in america” special running for well over a year now.
i’m just not one to give folks credit just for doing shit. could be my hangup. i guess something should be better than nothing..
PBS much?
the show was entirely generic, but i must say that it did not necessarily harp on the negative. it harped on the facts, blacks in america are doing poorly. i think that we as educated black people take offense too quickly with generalizations that blacks are doing poorly because we know that we dont fall into that category. But the majority of blacks do. If you are black and educated and make over X amount of dollars in a year you are not only in the minority of the black community, but in the nation as a whole.
also, i think that as humans, our natural inclination is to focus on whats wrong with things. but the show showcased numerous positive stories. these stories, however, arent being talked about. and its not just white america who chooses to concentrate on the negative, black america does the same things within their own community. there were plenty examples of success stories on the show.
my point, and i agree with VSB, is that the show was preaching to the choir. the people watching the show werent the ones who needed to hear these things- we already are aware of them. but maybe the purpose was to air everything and not have a cut and dry answer of what needs to be done, but rather to make people think about getting off the couch and helping their people instead of hanging their heads in utter shame and further separating themselves from their kind.
also, there are so many problems with black america that there is no way to dissect them in 4 hours of television.
a topic that i was wondering about: How in the world did they choose the “experts”? being black and going to harvard does not make one an expert….
thoughts?
a topic that i was wondering about: How in the world did they choose the “experts”? being black and going to harvard does not make one an expert….
I’m banking on the fact that this IS true…my goal is to be one of those “experts” they call up on CNN in the the next 5-7 years…stankyouverymuch!
so does that mean that every black person that goes to harvard is an expert?? nah man, not at all.
good luck to you tho.
“the show was entirely generic, but i must say that it did not necessarily harp on the negative. it harped on the facts, blacks in america are doing poorly. i think that we as educated black people take offense too quickly with generalizations that blacks are doing poorly because we know that we dont fall into that category. But the majority of blacks do. If you are black and educated and make over X amount of dollars in a year you are not only in the minority of the black community, but in the nation as a whole.”
thank you.
honestly, i think some of us need to get over ourselves. its like sometimes we become intentionally naive.
yes, there are tons of black people doing great things, but its completely disingenuous (and dangerous) to suggest that everythings all hakuna matata and shit.
the facts remain that we are killing ourselves at unheard of rates, that our kids are learning at third world country levels, and that we are actually the only culture in the history of the world who produces, promotes, consumes music that shits on ourselves.
these are inarguable facts.
also…
“a topic that i was wondering about: How in the world did they choose the “experts”? being black and going to harvard does not make one an expert….”
i did have a gripe with this as well. as much as i love cornell west and as much as i love laughing at mike dyson, these ARENT the only two cats in america who have some insight about the black experience.
“yes, there are tons of black people doing great things, but its completely disingenuous (and dangerous) to suggest that everythings all hakuna matata and shit.”
I don’t think they should have been dishonest. If anything the doc made me sad about the state of affairs. My eyes welled up during the whole education segment – i felt helpless. Essentially, I just wanted more dialog about what folks are doing to counter the problems in a realistic situation. Ultimately, I know that each of us have our own individual ‘Call to Action’ and we contribute to the solution in our way. But I walked away feeling so encumbered I didn’t know what to do. If I felt that way, how did the supposed white target audience feel? I’m really curious now, what was the true target demographic of this special…i’m going to find out. [ i got people
]
After being so disappointed with the NBC Special on African-American women, I wasn’t about to get bamboozled into watching this…so NOPE I didn’t check this out. Everyone is pretty much confirming my expectations anyway.
My moms enjoyed it though…and I’m starting to wonder: do you think older black people tend to be more open to and appreciative of this sort of program or is just me? I feel like the baby boom blacks still have this “at least they’re showing black folks on TV” kinda mindset. Hmmm…just a thought.
I feel like the baby boom blacks still have this “at least they’re showing black folks on TV” kinda mindset. Hmmm…just a thought.
I think you’re right. My Dad loved it.
“I feel like the baby boom blacks still have this “at least they’re showing black folks on TV” kinda mindset. Hmmm…just a thought.
I think you’re right. My Dad loved it.”
or maybe they’re just not as pretentious as we’ve grown to be.
or maybe they’re just not as pretentious as we’ve grown to be.
Speak for yourself…lol
yeah, i don’t know that i think we’re necessarily pretentious b/c we think the joint was some bullshit. i think i read.
similarly, perhaps this is a bigger thing…why shouldn’t we have expectations of the people who are deciding to detail the Black experience? if somebody choses to highlight my life, shouldn’t i be able to call bullshit on their method if it’s not well done? if i can say certain music sucks b/c they put it out for public consumption, then i can say this documentary sucks b/c it wasn’t well done, nor did it address anything, which gets back to my original question of why did they even do it.
granted this is all subjective. hell some people think tyler perry movies are the most inspirational movies known to man so everything depends on your vantage point…
however, just b/c you arent disappointed b/c you didn’t have expectations doesn’t mean it wasn’t terribly done.
perhaps the thought was right, but the execution wasn’t which leads me back to i just dont think they knew how to do what they think they did.
thing is, i think many of us were expecting “the wire” like levels of depth and insight, forgetting that a show on cnn just doesnt have the same leeway as a hbo show or documentary on pbs . there are certain places you’re just not going to be able to go on a station like that.
this is where the appropiate expectations come in. i mean, if i go see “wanted” next weekend, i’m not expecting “goodfellas” or the “godfather part 2″. this was exactly what i expected a cnn series on black america to be.
i don’t know though…they decided to take on that challenge. nobody asked them for it. if you decide you’re going to do that b/c you feel you have something to offer to the conversation, then i feel justified in judging it accordingly. i’m sure they didn’t intend to do the documentary under the auspices of, “well, nobody’s done this in two weeks, let’s do a documentary on Black in America…”
i’m not gonna say that just b/c its on CNN that they don’t have the leeway to do anything with any real depth…it was trumpeted as really getting to a lot of issues within the Black community. and it didn’t.
their bad.
shit, if i decide that i want to write an indepth piece on why white people and midgets are responsible for the decline of western civilization, and i end up writing some shit that basically says slavery happened and i have no real substance, nobody’s gonna give me an out like, “well panama has a government job so maybe he can’t really say what he wants…”
nope…everybody just knows i wrote a craptastic piece and it was my decision to do so.
Older black folk seem to be happy with just having black people in anything. It doesnt matter how horrible a movie, actor or TV show is if it has black stars my Dad will have the DVD. He has any and all black movies on DVD…seriously.
This is my mama right here…for instance, she can watch any hideous black sh*tcom or movie put out…but EYE can’t even waste my time like that. I get mad and wanna throw something.
There’s definitely truth to “the baby boom blacks still have this “at least they’re showing black folks on TV” kinda mindset.”
To this day, my parents gravitate towards anything “black on television”. Whether it’s blacks on a reality show, a game show, Tyler Perry movies, something on HGTV – it doesn’t matter…lol. They make extra effort to see it.
i missed it, i guess i am glad from what i am hearing. i tend to stray away from the mainstream media trying to give me any info on being Black anywhere. what can they tell me about my day-to-day!? plus, i know how they edit all that ish up to put their spin on it. whatever. i guess i’ll stayed tuned for the next episode, when they try to rationalize with the first “open” african american president. holla me up!
What I asked aloud, via IM, etc was “Why come nobody from CNN called me??” The Washington Post calls me all the time. So do the police as they try to get me to buy tickets for events. Survey people call me weekly. And sometimes, I even answer their questions. So why come CNN didn’t call me? I’m listed.
Dare I say I wasn’t called because I don’t have any immediate family members in jail*…And I’m from Detroit. I don’t have any out of wedlock kids…And I’m from Detroit. I have two and a half degrees…And I’m from Detroit. I’m not killing myself with pork and cigarettes…And I’m from Detroit. They didn’t call me because I don’t represent the poor plight they were trying to show. They didn’t call me because I prove that you can be from a place like Detroit and STILL do well.
The one thing that stuck with me, a point I fear a lot of people missed, was when Dyson’s brother said he was in jail because of the choices he made and when he basically said his brother’s success is a reminder of what is possible. I paraphrased.
I wish they would have called me. I could have gathered my high school class. They could have asked us WHY we are all doing well. We weren’t all from middle class socioeconomic situations. Our families didn’t all share the same morals. But the two things we all had in common are:
1. We got started early. We went to good schools with good teachers early. Good public schools.
2. We expected success. I remember being in 6th grade (big ups to Bates Academy) and learning outlining because we’d need that for college.
*My step-family, on the other hand…They are a mess.
Big ups to Cass Tech!!
Just wanted to say that…lol.
Hush your filthy mouth!!! RENAISSANCE is the hotness and will always be.
Cosign on the Cass Tech representation!
Hush your green mouth!
I myself didnt watch the show. But I was questioned by a friend as to why I wasnt watching it. First of all ITS MY PORAGATIVE. 2nd I am BLACK what the hay do I need to watch it for. I do think it was for the caucasians to……………………But now I am ready for WHITE IN AMERICA…..THE PISS POOR ONES. No I am not racist I do have friends of other races but lets not just “poke fun” at one race lets share the wealth. INFO us all.
Now, that would be interesting.
I only saw a couple minutes of it…..a couple too many! It was so obviously a show to try and make white people feel sorry for us poor black people. But the real point is that most white people didn’t watch it and most of the ones that did either don’t care or don’t believe things are “that bad”. I won’t even truly get started on this because it brings out my inner Huey, so let’s just say F*CK CNN AND SOLEDAD O’BRIEN FOR MAKING ME THINK IT WAS GOING TO BE WORTH MY TIME!!!
So how y’all doing today?
“But the real point is that most white people didn’t watch it and most of the ones that did either don’t care or don’t believe things are “that bad”.”
See this is why I’m curious, because if the folks that thinks it’s ‘not that bad’ didn’t watch it then who was this special really for?
“I won’t even truly get started on this because it brings out my inner Huey, so let’s just say F*CK CNN AND SOLEDAD O’BRIEN FOR MAKING ME THINK IT WAS GOING TO BE WORTH MY TIME!!!”
BWAAAAHAAAA!!!
“F*CK CNN AND SOLEDAD O’BRIEN”
if you changed this to “I WOULD F*CK SOLEDAD O’BRIEN” then i’d co-sign, 100 percent
hey Champ, i just sent this link to CNN… Cooper said stop hating and Soledad said to get off her nut sack…lol.
Soledad has nuts? Is she like Mr/Miss Garrison?
“Soledad said to get off her nut sack”
This really tarnished my image of Sole (that’s my pet name for her), let try this again…
Hey Champ, I just sent this link to CNN… Cooper said stop hating and Soledad said to get off her BRA STRAP…
Ok, that’s better. Image restored.
Honestly, was anyone really expecting CNN to do an all out expos`e of what ti’s like to be “Black” in America?
I bet if someone posed the question here at VSB we’d never be able to come to a consensus.
I saw parts of it and I didn’t gain any more knowledge about “being black” (if there even is such a thing) than I already had.
I was more taken aback by BET’s “We Gots To Do Better” when I found out that the average person (of any race) doesn’t know what NAACP stands for and other (what I thought to be common knowledge) trivia facts.
It did pain me to see the piece on the two men from Little Rock and how one blamed his past fckuppery on his dad dying when he was 9 and being subjected to racism at Central HS. That was just BS.
If anything I think it further exacerbated qualms non-”Black” people have about the validity of the “plight of black america”.
Yeah, that cat from Little Rock was a mess…he made irresponsible choices because he was in the wrong environment. Not saying that his surroundings were optional, but that should’ve been stressed more on some level. I did feel bad for him when he was talking about Vietnam though…it really screwed up a lot of vets. As a matter of fact, I’m starting to see a lot of vets on the street begging for money. So sad.
Did anyone else notice the “house” and “field” negro dynamic? Me and my family members were watching the show and realized that all of the successful people they interviewed (I’m referring to the black man’s special, I didn’t get to see the other) were lightskin?
Not to open up another can of worms, but I thought it was really wack that Soledad O’Brien got defensive when Michael Eric Dyson brought that up in the end, because it is an issue and it does matter. I’m darkskin, but I talk about this with my lighter friends all the time and we see how we’re treated differently when we’re together sometimes. And I live in NYC.
Overall, the special wasn’t insightful and should’ve dug deeper and got more provactive. But then again, it is CNN like Panama said, so what do we expect? I hate these damn specials for the simple fact that they only start dialouges and don’t do the following:
1. Explain the historial correlations between being black in the past and today. And I’m not talking about in the 1960s either, take it all the way back! They always want to mention the deterioration of the black pshyche, so explain that shit and how it occurs.
2. Where are the solutions? We always talk and talk and talk about every damn thing. Give people resources where they can become active in their community. Things like helping local campaigns (which are far more impactful and important than national elections), volunteering your time with the same black men you predict dire futures for, telling more black men to become educators in the inner city schools (and the incentives like getting paid to cop a masters), the relationships between parents and schools, parents and their children, blah blah…I could go on forever. They need to do a show entitled: Solutions for Being Black in America. I already know about my struggles, tell me how to overcome them.
3. Quite frankly, you can’t even fully capture the full experience of being black in four hours. You need a two hour special with like 10 issues each, lol. PBS should’ve done this shit, fuck CNN.
“PBS should’ve done this shit, fuck CNN.”
*Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist*
“PBS should’ve done this shit, fuck CNN.”
Yep with Gwen Ifill. That woulda been the junk!
I didn’t watch it. I don’t have cable.
Good for you, lol. I mean it by the way.
I found the CNN special on Black in American disappointing. They didn’t discuss any issues that most of us weren’t already aware of. I thought the special was rather cliché. Basically they discussed many of the topics that have been beaten to death such as Single Black mothers, lack of educational opprotunities, Black men in jail, lower socio-economic standing, Professonal Black women not being married etc…
This is probably my conservative self talking but at the end of the day, people regardless of color determine the direction of their lives. It all comes down to personal choice. I’m not ignoring enviromental factors but on the same token no one is forcing these people to throw away their lives. No one told women to have a bunch of kids without being married or without having the financial means to support them. No one forced some Black men to be criminals. At some point Black people need to stop making bad life decisions and excuses. We know that society isn’t fair and we don’t have equal playing fields but that doesn’t mean that people can’t take responsibility for their own actions.
As for Black men being underpresented in educational institutions and overpresented in prisons, this all can be prevented if people start raising their damn kids with morals and ethics. Parents need to be more active in their children’s education and encourage their sons that there is more to life than being an entertainer, criminal, or athelete. Women need to stop hooking up with men who are of low moral character. In other words have some damn standards by not letting any random Negro nut inside you. Men stop hooking with with these suspect women who won’t pass down good ethics to your children. Black people STOP committing crimes. Realize that if you rob a store you will probably get a harser sentence than a White person. That’s reality, the justice system isn’t working in your favor so stop participating in activities that will jepardized your freedom. Personally I have no sympathy for criminals so if the judge throws the book at a Black kid who decided to rob or assault another human being then tough luck for him.
We can sit here and debate all we want but until people start taking responsibility for their families and themselves, this endless cycle of medocrity in our community will continue. The fact that Black people are still supporting folks like that child molesting R. Kelly is a refection of our community standards for living. We are in a sad day when people are not ashamed of participating in certain behavior. Back in the day people like R. Kelly didn’t make it to the court house because the community took care of pediophiles. Girls were ashamed to be found pregnant outside of marriage. Nowadays that folks celebrate bullshit and it makes me sick.
“In other words have some damn standards by not letting any random Negro nut inside you. Men stop hooking with with these suspect women who won’t pass down good ethics to your children.”
Nothing to add, just wanted to cosign on this truth. It starts with the kids.
“This is probably my conservative self talking but at the end of the day, people regardless of color determine the direction of their lives. It all comes down to personal choice.”
Problem is when you stop focusing on the 33% of us in the lower and working class, and look @ the 66% of us middle and upper class.
There are millions of us “doing it the right way”, and we don’t get the same results as our white counterparts.
And considering how much more God-fearing black people are in comparison to whites – the intelligent man comes to the conclusion that merely “acting right” isn’t enough.
Middle Class black people don’t live the lives that they do because of some moral failing, lack of will power, or inability to do for self.
But um, did anyone catch I Love Money??
I kid, I kid!
I am college educated, married to my baby daddy (whom, has never been arrested but has been profiled numerous times), andsport a fade (the afro got out of control, but they didn’t discuss the jiggaboo/wannabe phenom anyway), does this make me a successful Black American?
“Tell her what she’s won, Chuck!”
An all expense paid trip to the-reality-that-half-if-any-of-this-matters-because-she’s-still-black.
CNN didn’t teach me (or most of us) anything new, I am making strides in my community (3rd Ward stand up!) so that WE can heal and prosper.
All I know is that if I see Biff walking his ass around in MY neighborhood I’M calling the cops…white mens (yes, mens) is all kinds of child molestors and serial killers and what-have-you. I will proceed to lock my car windows when I see them and look for them on “To Catch A Predator”. And I ain’t trying to have my guts sold on Ebay either.
Oops, did I just profile?
Aight did anybody see Nas on FOX news? I didn’t see any of these CNN specials you speak of. Heard about em but not enough to make me try to find a place to watch em. Of course I figure it’s going to be like preaching to the chior for me I’m black errday. And @ the same time. I kinda wanna get my “big brother” on and see what kinda poison they wanna spew this time. I mean a mother father civil war was going on in the world and most people were not privy this information. There’s always like some two sides to every story sort of like asking someone in Eastern Germany and Western Germany to discribe the Berlin wall. They both could do an incredible job but they would both tell the other one that’s not it @ all. Furthermore they could describe all they want and the wall would tell em both that may be what it’s like but you don’t get what it is. Big ups to Big Rube. Recently had an article in a Rolling Out preiodical where he wrote about this sittuation.
Call me crazy, but what if the special was suppose to get black people upset. What if the point was for discussion groups, blog site and other forms of group, to look at the problems, get upset and start moving to solve the issues? Its just a thought.
Word son and they rigged the thing d thing so vsb could cold get the award nomination (which I believe is well deserved) and then big brother is all like gonna watch our typing n stuff…..
I’m black, I live in America and I still believe that I could derive some useful/helpful information from a documentary entitled ‘Black in America’. Maybe/clearly not this particular documentary, but thinking we don’t need to watch anything about ‘the black experience’ because we live it every day doesn’t sit well with me. As is apparent from the stories told in the comments here, we all have different experiences and come from a variety of backgrounds; there is much to be learned about each other.
U guys have got my vote for the VSB awards! Keep up the good work, peace
thanks a milli….voting lasts til October so its good to know you’re on the team early on.
hi-fives and pimpslaps.
http://www.macklessons.mypodcast.com/
The most interesting, controversial, unorthodox commentary regarding this program thus far brought to you by one of my fave pop cultural figures, Tariq Nasheed.
CONGRATULATIONS!!! guys…love the blog ’bout black relationships and all but ummm..yeah I didn’t even catch the “Black in America” so I can’t join in with the conversation.
in my opinion (that of an reading, 18 y.o. african american female) it was pointless.
They created a documentary full of too short bio’s that spit out irrelevant information and called it ground breaking facts.
i.e – a young black boy has decided to get his college degree, the only place he can do this is in jail —> he is part of the waste of taxpayers dollars when there’s a 66% chance that he will be back behind bars in one year.
the people who watched and understood, already knew. Not once did the documentary itself offer a solutions to the many problems we face. It just tried (and in my opinion failed) to define them for the masses that didn’t know.
Da*n!-that money could’ve been used for scholarships…