CNN Presents Black In America–The Black Man
By APOOO • Jul 24th, 2008 • Category: Thinking Out Loud •
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The Black Man— premieres Thursday, July 24, 9 p.m. ET
In the “The Black Man,” Soledad O’Brien evaluates the state of black men in America and explores the controversial topics of black men and fatherhood; disparities between blacks and whites in educational, career and financial achievement; and factors leading to the dramatic rates of black male incarceration. The documentary also examines the achievements of black men and the importance of the positive influences of black fathers. Premieres in HDTV on Thursday, July 24, 9 p.m. ET
Hey folks, please join APOOO this evening to watch, blog and discuss the Black Man in America. Maybe some brothers will drop by to tell us what Black Men think.
After the show, you can leave comments at http://www.ireport.com/blackinamerica to share your comments with CNN.
Before I sign off momentarily, provided below are some things to ponder.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Are there more black men in jail or in college? No, this is not a trick question. Please leave your answer in the comment section and I will get back to you to let you know if you got it right.
CLICK HERE to review My and My Brother featuring Michael Eric Dyson and his brother. After reviewing, share your thoughts…is Michael Dyson on to something? What say you. I will admit I’m very impressed by his brother’s vocabulary and how articulate he is…his brother does NOT sound like an ignorant or unintelligent brother. So I wonder what made him choose the wrong path. Why was the street life so compelling for him. So sad that someone who appears to be so intelligent is wasting away in jail for life with no chance of parole.
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What’s the guy’s name who appeared on the Cosby show…I DO NOT LIKE HIM.
He said “Crack was better than sex” LOL!
I like the Cosby guy….
I do not like this poet….and why are we spending so much time on Kenneth???
Kenneth needs to rebuild his relationship with his daughter and grandchildren….they skimmed over that part!!!
lol REGARDING crack being better than sex…made me go hmmm.
My problem with the Cosby brother is that he sounded as only crack pushers/users should be penalized…I say whether it’s crack or coke everybody should be penalized the same.
Corey can’t relate early parenthood to limited choices toward education, jobs, etc….
LOL about the poet/narrator…he just doesn’t feel appropriate for this documentary.
and Soledad didn’t ask the question – why isn’t Corey married to one of his children’s mothers???
Phyllis you know Black folks will never say having their kids held them back.
Then I’m sad to say….”they” will never get out of this rutt!!!
Butch looks good for 58 years old…
Oh yeah I’m feeling Butch!
Asst. School Superintendent huh.
How did Butch go from house in the hood to a 6K square foot in the suburbs?
Yes, that was a big leap!!!
Butch looks younger than his wife…
Yes he does and I’m wondering how sister is holding him down…I think she needs to dye her hair…or cover the gray…lol.
(1) She’s a judge and he seems to like his lifestyle, so he needs her check. (2) She probably put up with Butch’s shenanigans over the years… and (3) she needed him to raise three sons…
Oh okay she’s a judge…I missed that. That explains it.
I am the darker sista
That girl that weaves her way through words and heard it through the grapevine
while sliding into your mental controlling the way you see me
I dine on phrases that some assume make me feel better like
you cute to be dark
you pretty to be so black
I am the darker sista
I sway my hips and excrete chocolate morsels as I twirl
You’ll play in my hair, taste your fingers and swear my mother’s name is Kit Kat
I’m that darker dark
that prepare-your-family-for-our-meeting type of dark
that you-couldn’t-see-me-unless-I-smiled type of dark
I’ve heard it all, that is until you crawl into my darkest of dark and taste my sweetness for eternity
I can make you smile in your sleep
my darkness is that deep
I creep up on you like midnight, invite you to bite and you’re under my influence for your lifetime
I am the darker sista
Take time to converse and watch my complexion fade before your eyes…..
By Genesis
JUNE 27 2006
I posted this in response to the clip of Michael Eric Dyson and his brother. Yes! There has ALWAYS been a preferential treatment for lighter skinned AA’s. It’s been in my family (and still is) for years and in the AA community for much, much longer. I remember in school, the kids would call me Darknetta. But my mom prepared me, as she knew the pain of having been discriminated against by her OWN family because she was dark skinned…so it wasn’t as bad…and sadly it was expected. We are ‘expected’ to be a certain way. I had a white woman dislike me until the day she found out I had a degree. But she LOVED the lighter employees. It’s madness, but it’s not going to stop until we arm our children with the coping mechanism they need to navigate this cruel world. And that doesn’t only go for the darker-than-most. That goes for ALL children. For the adults, I think it may be too late. The older we are, the more we are stuck in our ways… Each one needs to reach one… for real! The media perpetuates it…schools choose to ignore it…parents don’t know it’s a problem unless they’ve been a victim of it…and it’s not a ‘problem’ that will just disappear.
So he’s definitely on to something, but it isn’t anything new. There has to be a collective solution and I’m not sure that will ever happen (sorry for being so pessimistic about it).
And I’m not sure if there are more black men in jail or college. There are a lot of brothas now trying to get an education. A few years ago, I’d probably say jail…now, I really don’t know.
I don’t like D.L.’s humor….and why does he has on THAT SHIRT???
How did we get from Butch’s son who was a DA to DL Hughley…I was getting popcorn…what happened…lol.
I don’t like DL either…and why did he send his son to a jewelry store?
Didn’t know DL Hughley was in the Bloods.
My uncle taught his middle class sons what to do if pulled over by the police too. He also let limits as to how may friends they can have in their cars.
This broken English is KILLING me!!!
I may have to cut this off. It’s disturbing my spirit. There has not been ONE positive thing on this show yet.
Vivrant Thang’s last blog post..Old School Friday: Break Up Songs
I am so not impressed with this installment of Black in America tonight. Black male-bashing all around, and like last night, they’re just listing off problems and statistics with no talk of solutions.
Hey Kenya…yes we have to teach our sons what to do in order to save their lives if they are stopped by a police.
Hey VThang…I felt like that last night…but if I talk about it I don’t get so upset…now I do wish they would show more folks like Butch and family.
Karsh–I hear you about no solution…but at least tonight they seem to show that racism does impact black men’s ability to get a jobs…hopefully some non-AfAms are watching and will take heed.
LOL@Yas – why does it matter that he sent his son to the jewelry store? I think the question should be why didn’t he sue them people for pulling a gun on his son.
I have to say that thus far, this show isn’t moving me nearly as much as last night’s did, and it’s not because last night they talked about women.
I think overall, I’m likening this two day event to movies I watch that just make me an ANGRY BLACK PERSON….like ROOTS. I can’t watch that movie without wanting to run the streets and hurt a lot of people who are not black…and maybe one or two that are, LOL (but laughing only sarcastically).
How about two days’ worth of PLANS and IMPLEMENTATION of those plans.
I agree…very uneven…after an hour….I’m disappointed…
I agree with karsh and Vivrant Thang. Anyone can complain. We to talk about solutions.
Hey Jnez…okay so it wasn’t just me regarding the DA story…and now they’re back and focusing on the younger son. The one who was in the young place at the wrong time.
@JNez He IS autistic. I saw DL on Leno last night where he said it.
Kenya’s last blog post..What Matters
Hey did ya’ll answer my earlier question:
Oh wow didn’t know DL was a Blood…that his son was autistic…hmmm but I still don’t like DL.
WHY do half of all black males drop out of school…WHY, WHY, WHY?
This girl I was working with in a mentoring program told me that she didn’t want to get good grades because she didn’t want to be picked on.
BTW, I got the white comments from my own family in addition to outside the family.
Joseph Phillips…he has ALL THE answers but what the hell has he done to help a young black brotha in the inner-city?
When did education not become a black thang…duh!
Exactly! That’s what I always ask when some comes talking out their a$$ to me about this kind of stuff.
WHY do half of all black males drop out of school…WHY, WHY, WHY?
Because going to class doesn’t pay anything ‘immediately’….
Because they are discriminated against
Because they lack support
Because of peer pressure
There are lots of reasons…
Darnetta’s last blog post..I couldn’t help myself, but regardless…
Joseph Phillips has put his $, time, and energy into outreach programs…and even supports his fraternities’ outreach programs….he’s a good guy….I like him.
He created his own program…I can’t recall the name now…but he’s trying.
Okay Darnetta…so where are the parents to make these KIDS do the right thang…when did parents stop being parents…oh I know …which is why I have a problem with kids having kids…sigh.
YAS: you asked, “WHY do half of all black males drop out of school…WHY, WHY, WHY?”
Many reasons….just from being a teacher for the last 7 years, I can say:
1) There are no real role models – at home AND in the school
2) Schools care more about pushing kids through than having them learn
3) Schools are catering to tests instead of education
4) There is no OWNERSHIP, no autonomy to the pursuit of education.
For the last three years, I have been a part of a grant that teaches incoming college freshman remedial math, English, and reading skills. These are students who would NOT be in any college if not for the program. Most of the students are black. Our first year, SEVERAL of the girls became pregnant…so many of the black students were more concerned about refund checks so that they could buy new kicks and buy a car, more of them cared about being CUTE instead of pursuing a CAREER, and many of them just saw school as a means to a JOB and not a career. There were psychological, social, spiritual, mental, emotional issues with many of them that derived from lack of encouragement and lack of faith that they could, in fact, be good collegiate students.
There were those who clung to me and the other black female professor in the program because we were the FIRST black teachers they had EVER had and we were big on telling them, REAL, telling them that being black means being BETTER than everybody else just to get SOME respect.
Let me stop…getting overly emotional, LOL
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
Phyllis–Thanks for the 411 on Joseph Phillips –I’ll have to do some more research on him to change my mind about him…lol.
Brandon is an ig’nat azzz! Why is the camera rolling on him?
But why does this only affect black males…but not black females.
10 kids…WTF?
Brandon…you are lying!
I didn’t see the show, but i didn’t intend to because I didn’t want to be distressed and depressed. But I am fed up – I have so much to say and not enough space to say it – at least not tonight. What I will say in general is that white people have the luxury of individuality. No matter how many white men kill their pregnant wives, throw them in the river, chop them up in a cooler or bury them under concrete in the back yard, it will never be chalked up to them “being white.” On the flip side, no matter how many good, upstanding, do-right brothers there are in the world, the image of black man is the least of us. I came from a working class background – my father finished third grade and that was the end of his education. My mother, however, earned a Master’s degree from Temple, and in the ways of that era, the educational gap made little difference. But third grade education or not, he took care of business, Saved enough to build the house where I live to this day. When he couldn’t work, he took care of the house – cooked, washed, etc. When we came home from school he had food on the table. My sons take care of business – they have no kids and they go to work every day. They NEVER call in sick. They don’t job-hop. Both of them could be poster boys for the Post Office motto – neither rain nor sleet,,,They have a reputation for being courteous, upstanding young men. They got it from their father. Right now my blood is boiling – I’ve got more to say – but later.
I agree…raising kids without fathers is a HUGE MISTAKE!
Sharita needs to put the “d**k” down!!! She’s ridiculous….and ig’nant too!
OH gosh…Sharita…Sharita..Sharita…your child is barely a year old and she’s pregnant by someone else.
LOL with Phyllis.
YAS: You wrote “But why does this only affect black males…but not black females.”
We ARE the backbone. We have always been the backbone to the black culture.
I truly believe that in every black woman there is the ability to endure, to keep moving forward. There are some black women who categorically refuse to do it, but more often than not, you’re going to find them being the one everyone comes to.
Shoot, that’s why there is a BIG MAMA. There ain’t no BIG DADDY….well, there is, but it’s hardly a positive connotation.
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
She looked like a beached whale on the couch…three babies, two baby daddies, and nobody’s wife — obviously living with her mother!
LMAO@ Phyllis. OK!
What is so sad is that there are people that are in the position to have kids and WANT THEM BADLY and can’t…but this girl lays down and pops up with twins…that we will likely have to take care of. I’m done.
She got an A+ on her spelling test….how precious! I wanted to hug her too!
Shon–since Black women are the backbone of our community…we need to start acting like it…and stop having romance without finances…I don’t have a problem with folks getting their freak on…but I have a problem with folks having kids that they can’t take care of or afford.
I got a problem with Sharita…that’s just madness.
Yas, but what do you do if you’re a woman who tries to do everything right….meet a man, get married, have kids, and he leaves? That black woman can’t be part of the problem. She tried to do things “right” and now, alone, she has to be the mother and the father.
The REAL problem is that these women do not TEACH those that come AFTER them. That’s a huge problem. Like a said last night, education – in all forms – is the KEY. Not enough are talking and doing and laying down the real education that’s needed.
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
@yaz – exactly. guess who will be taking care of sherita’s THREE kids under the age of TWO. She won’t be able to work.
I can’t even say anything about Sharita. That is a hot mess, and she need EDUCATION beforehand.
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
Exactly…they all bent out of shape because he was late to a b-day party! Everybody’s lips were poked out. But hell – SHE picked him knowing he wasn’t doing jack for his other baby. And now she has a tude on the couch belly huge and due to the timing….she must have been sexing somebody else soon after she pushed out Brandon’s baby….what does that say about her???
Shon…but we’re not talking about the sister who did everything right…that sister usually continues to have it together even after the brother leaves.
It says she’s a SLUT…rotflmao…hmmm I’m sorry but she’s pushing those kids out awfully fast and we know she ain’t using no protection!
Thank God I get to see Malcolm!
Shon—agree that education in ALL FORMS is key.
Okay – who was the latest dude – the black guy in advertising? LOVED him!
yes, we can’t overlook personal responsibility here. if she wanted to move on with another dude, fine. but get on something. probably rebounding and got caught out there. and she picked another shiftless negro for a father.
Vivrant Thang’s last blog post..Old School Friday: Break Up Songs
Should he have to prove himself every single day?
Shon, that’s Malcolm.
Yep…I liked Marketing dude!
Soror VT…if you already have a child, no husband, no decent job…hmmm your arze need to be using protection so that you don’t get caught…
Absolutely, don’t go having kids with someone expecting them to change. She knew how he was.
On another note, she probably thinks all men are like that and is seeking out the shiftless type.
rotflmao…Marketing dude is Malcolm…ya’ll are funny.
Okay, yeah, Malcolm…I need me one JUST LIKE HIM…LOL…seriously!
And I can so relate to the having to prove one’s self. It’s a constant strain for me. I’m always in PROVING MODE…
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
Yes Shon you do need a Malcolm…and it’s so sad but I hope he has a sista for a girlfriend…sigh.
Kenya–so true she doesn’t sound like she has had very positive male role models in her life.
Yas, I was over here, like, “Please don’t show his white girlfriend,” and that is SO DAMN SAD, LOL
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
Yes…we need to clone Malcolm…
Go Spike…go Spike!
I like Spike!
Preach Spike…preach!
Yeah and Spike got a black wife…she’s fair but she’s still black…:)
Though biz is an issue – I don’t like Phillips, LOL
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
Our young Clarence Thomas is back…lol…
@shon Me too. Constantly being in “proving mode” is tiring especially when you see others don’t have to do it.
Y’all show him some love…..really, he’s a good guy….
rotflmao…Shon he just rubs me the wrong way…but Phyllis I’m going to try and be nice.
You can’t really call Ray a success…is this wasn’t a story about Ray…but just a story about a black man, it wouldn’t have been made, I don’t think – definitely not by some white man.
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
Okay Phyllis I’m trying I’m trying.
@Yaz, you are a trip!
How you doing Bill…how’s Camille doing…Spike how much money do you need? rotflmao…thank God he could call Bill.
Hey Kenya…yeah I am…lol.
That’s why we need to fund our own movies.
I’m not gonna be nice, LOL – tomorrow perhaps; tonight, no, LOL
And I dig Spike, too. He just there, chilling, and speaking his truth…like THERE IT IS, lol
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
Violence and sex sell…sounds like rap music has made inroads into black lit…sigh…doesn’t sound like we know it has…but it’s a dayum shame.
I agree Kenya…we need to fund our own movies…cause lawd knows I’m tired of seeing Tyler Perry in drag!
And the biz thing for movies moves into all forms of media, like books, too. There are a lot of voices not heard because they do not fit the “look” of what media thinks is going to sell.
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
Oh and Shon and Kenya…I feel both of you on that always having to prove yourself…unfortunately it got to me seven years ago and I had to leave the rat race or suffer a mental breakdown.
Agree Shon!
Martin Lawrence in drag….Eddie Murphy in drag….the Wayan Bro’s in drag…
@ yaz – maybe that’s what had me unnerved about the malcolm segment. i assumed he had a white gf/wife. maybe i shouldn’t have. but i’m sure he did.
Vivrant Thang’s last blog post..Old School Friday: Break Up Songs
Phyllis–yep all of them!
VT–yep…very unnerving.
ok the one with braids looked very androgynous….like Alex Wek….
Okay ya’ll who is 607?
Any Lupe Fiasco fans up in here?
Never heard of 607….maybe we’re not “hip” anymore, Yas….
I don’t care for Lupe or Kanye….
Rap is the voice of black frustration…hmmm…
I actually listened to a Lupe CD with son/Paul…and his first CD had a lot of messages in it.
I’ve listened to Lupe….he’s cool…and I like Kanye, for the most part.
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
Okay this is the part I wanted to see with the two brothers and two paths they’ve taken.
I’ve only heard a few songs by Lupe.
Shelia’s last blog post..His Invisible Wife Book Trailer
Speaking of Kanye…is he more humble now or did I just catch him on a good day?
Shelia’s last blog post..His Invisible Wife Book Trailer
yes, I like lupe.
607 is not well known. local cat trying to come up with positive messages. it will be a VERY uphill battle.
Vivrant Thang’s last blog post..Old School Friday: Break Up Songs
Never heard of 607 until tonight.
Shelia’s last blog post..His Invisible Wife Book Trailer
@shelia – no. kanye is arrogant as ever.
Vivrant Thang’s last blog post..Old School Friday: Break Up Songs
Okay Vivrant Thang…just checking.
Shelia’s last blog post..His Invisible Wife Book Trailer
Hey Shelia…Michael’s message can actually be found online…here’s the link:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/23/bia.michael.dyson/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
Also listen to how articulate his brother is.
Yasmin, Thanks…will definately check it out.
Shelia’s last blog post..His Invisible Wife Book Trailer
I’ve got plenty to say about tonight’s episode, especially about the “affluent” Black family—but I will wait until it goes off.
On another note, as a Black woman, I feel completely slighted by yesterday’s program. They devoted the full 2-hours to Black men, but gave us tid bits yesterday.
dl hughley’s son seems autistic or something;
they left us hanging with the DA story. this is uneven.
Oh wow I didn’t know Dyson was a teenage father.
Wow! I didn’t know this about Michael Eric Dyson.
Kenya’s last blog post..What Matters
I feel ya T.Avery.
yep and he’s been married numerous times….
I have more respect for Dyson after seeing him on the show tonight. To be honest I didn’t know too much about his background.
Glad he got an education along the way…cause just think of how many baby mama kids we would be taking care of if he hadn’t gotten married…rotflamo.
That’s all folks! Thanks so much for blogging it out at APOOO this evening.
If you have never seen Michael Dyson in person, he’s awesome. I love him and Dr. Cornell West.
Okay, the Dyson piece wasn’t long enough. They could have used them to develop this entire two hours until well thought out topics pertaining to Black Men in America.
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
@T.Avery And the segments on Black women were all negative. There are positive sprouts thrown in here about the men.
lol…he’s an example that you can grow up under bad circumstances, but yet make a decision to make a change.
I agree regarding the Dyson piece…it was too short!
Did Anderson Cooper accidentally say President Obama?
Hey Kenya…yep I think he did!
Kenya, that’s what it sounded like.
it’s over?
I went for a beverage and no more Soledad…
OK….I’m not an investigative journalist….but I think given a camera crew and a year I could have come up with something better than what Soledad threw together!!!
@Phyliss – I think you could have done a better job, too – no doubt!
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
Oh yeah…I forgot to make a comment about Brandon early on….honestly, everyone was on his case to be a better “father” — but I don’t think he knows HOW to be a good father….he’s never been exposed to even a ‘good’ grandfather. He can’t emulate what he hasn’t seen…just paying child support ain’t enough….and Miss Thang ain’t gonna make it easy…
I agree, Phyllis. Without the know-how, what can a person do but to continue making the same mistakes?
But does he even WANT to change? If you don’t have the knowledge but at least know things ain’t going the way they should, you could WANT to change and find people to help you do so.
Shon’s last blog post..NEW WRITING UPDATE
Phyllis, good point. Somebody has to break the cycle though. He will have to “want” to change and be a better father.
Hey Shelia and it will take a lot of COMMITTMENT and action on his part…I don’t have high expectations for Brandon…sigh.
LOL…yeah Phyllis it’s ova.
This show pissed me off. They featured a lot in Little Rock, my hometown and because I didn’t grow up there, there is sooo much I cannot relate to. When MLK was killed, white folks was walking around scurred in Oakland, home of the Black Panthers. I cannot imagine white folks celebrating and taunting blacks. Oh hail to the naw.
I was pissed at ol’ boy Judge. Did they ever say with all the privileges his son had, why was he at a crack house. Wrong place, wrong time, uhn, Uhn uhm. The only thing he was worried about is their “Cosby” image. So the kid is out so I guess daddy’s staus and influence got him off. I’m not hatin’; I just didn’t like the judge’s excuses. It happens, kids can have all the advantages and go bad.
I don’t have much to say about crack addict turned preacher man. I guess his pain is no contact with his daughter.
Okay, Dude said he is breaking the cycle of generations of father abandonment and he doesn’t visit his daughter for weeks. And his baby mama is a dayum embarassment and a stereotype of what ALL folks feel about black women living off of welfare, condemning their children to another generation of poverty. Again, who is the target audience for this program?
Oh, and the Warren son, Cosby’s son the D.A. witht he white wife, the south sure has changed; there was a time the black elite in Little Rock would not be caught in the dark with a white woman, let along marry one.
[...] even the positives in this show had an undercurrent of negativity. Thank God for Twitter and my Soror Yas’ discussion forum.I recorded the women’s segment but I don’t think I will watch. Interesting comments [...]
I was very diappointed that Soledad did not give Dr. Dyson more time to explain his point on the color issue between him and is brother because this does happen alot in the black community. I am a dark skin sister and I was always told that I am pretty to be dark or where are you from because you are pretty and sexy. I always had to be from somewhere for the justification of me being pretty. That has always disturb me in my life. People still asks that stupid question.
My mother is from Jamaica & my father is African-American.I have seen friends and family members go crazy for the light skin baby or light skin children in the family. I have seen friends go crazy for the Shemar looking brother. So Dr.Dyson has a valid point on the color issue. You can turn to BET and see all the light skin women. You hardly see any dark skin women hosting any program on BET.
I was very shocked to see the family in Arkansas whose sons are all married to white women.It appears to me that Cosby and his wife raised their children with little knowledge of being black. I have a 14 year old daughter who I expose to everything but I still make sure she knows her roots. My daughter has attended all white private schools, involve in Jack & Jill , and have friends of all races but if you approach her she will let you know that she is black and she knows her history.
It is sad to see that Cosby son is a DA and knows that alot of black men go to jail sometimes are falsely accrused. The sons could not find any beautiful educated black women in Arkansas? I am sorry but their wives look like hell! This is what disturbs me as a black woman to see successful brothers marrying white women that look basic.
The brother that has two babies with two different baby momas need his ass kicked! He does not support his babies. He gives diapers and he thinks that is good! I have to try to understand that this is all he knows because he had no father in his life growing up. Someone needs to pull him to the side and talk to him about being a father. The baby momas looked stupid allowing him to come over anytime he wanted. That stops until the man can be a father. Any man can make a baby but it takes a real man to be a father! Black women got to stop allowing these men to getaway with their responsibilities. It take two to make a baby so black women use safe sex or at least use some form of birth control. Alot of women think if they get pregnant that they will keep the man. That mess does not work! That is why 70% of black women are single parents. We have to think that we deserve better in life. We are beautiful , smart, and strong women. So let’s carry ourselves in that manner!
Overall, I think Soledad did okay but she could have did a better job on the last night show for Black Women & Familiy. She did good research on tonight’s show for the Black Man except the part with Dr.Dyson. He desrved more air time. I am glad that we are talking more about race in America but I feel the media is only doing this because we have a black presidential nominee this year.
Oh, I only saw one white wife. The other two sons have white women too? If so, there is something wrong there. Something called self-hate.
Disappointing. That’s my word for the Black in America series. It needed two things: (1) a third night to truly highlight all of the folks who are making it and not living the stereotypes and (2) some time of summation. What did Soledad want people to take away from this (besides reinforcement of every negative stereotype about Black people known to man)? It had the opportunity to be so much more than what it was. Disappointing.
Hey Dera two of the three were with white women…One had a white wife and the other had a white girlfriend.
Patricia, I agree a more balanced perspective would have been appreciated.
Hey Ebony and even tho’ I’m a light-skinned sister I see within my own family that ‘shades of black’ is still a concern and we as black people still have a LOT OF SELF-HATE…and it’s so sad. I’ve never forget telling one of my sorority sister that ‘she was so beautiful.’ And she was…I had never seen anyone as gorgeous as she was…and her spirit was as well. She said to me…’and what…or and but.’ I was like huh? She was like aren’t going to say…’you’re pretty for a dark-skinned sistah?’ WTF! Hail to the NAW…I don’t qualify when I tell someone they’re beautiful…because when I tell you that it ain’t got nothing to do with the color of your skin…hmmm esp. since I know a lot of light-skinned folks who ain’t attractive at all…these folks don’t have a lockdown on being beautiful.
I really wish that Soledad would have delve more into what Michael said and that it hadn’t been such a short segment. But…hmm Soledad sort of bothered me when she appeared to dismiss Dyson’s response in the interview…she came back with ‘but I know dark-skinned folks who are doing well’…yeah we all do and I know Black folks who are doing well but that doesn’t discount the fact that racism exists!
The young brotha who was the DA…I wasn’t feeling him…something about that family bothered me…although Butch did look good for an ole black man…hehe.
I was basically disappointed with the series and nodded off several times. I will watch it again, but I don’t think my impression will change. I agree that more time with Dr. Dyson, period, would have given more substance to the issues (and solutions). Although I am not sure I agree with the Harvard economist who is paying the kids to go to school, he was good. But many of his answers needed more data, according to him. I think a socioligist and/or historian, who emphased the evolution of black people in this country, and where we all are today, would have been more beneficial to these stories. Note: It is hard to expect more from someone when they haven’t been trained or at least exposed to a better way. The same for their “role models”. I didn’t have an issue with more time being devoted to black men – I think they have a harder way to go sometimes. Reinforcing the stereotypes was a waste of time.
Hello Cookie and thanks for stopping by. I think we all concur that we know what the problems are…now we need to identify solutions to alleviate them.
Whilw this thread is not about Joseph C Phillips and he is A PHI A, comments like this are why I dont like him:
Thank you for your brief and honest answer. However your reference to Sean Bell as a “unsavory character” is harmful as well as hurtful. When combining the facts and logistics of said case with decades of examples of excessive force and police brutality and especially New York City’s history of police misconduct, your answer comes off as narrow-minded. How can you lable the victim as “unsavory”?
Oh please! The police did not murder this man. “Bell and the other men with him all had been arrested for illegal possession of guns in the past; one of Bell’s companions that night, Joseph Guzman, had spent considerable time in prison, including for an armed robbery in which he shot at his victim.” He was asked to stop and show his hands he tried to run the cops over twice. what is narrow minded and not very constructive is the portrayal of this man as simply an honest victim of racist cops. yawn.
http://www.josephcphillips.com/html/faq.asp
Hmmm…seems like he likes speaking his mind and being controversial…aka Clarence Thomas wannabee…lol.
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