Thursday
Jul242008
CNN's Black in America Post Mortem: Let 'er RIP!
Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 4:31AM The Blogmother
Okay kids, you have finally seen Soledad O'Brien's Black in America Episode: Black Women and Family. So what is the verdict? More Anti-black woman propaganda?
Truly refreshing and insightful?
Wednesday's poll results
4% thought the series would be thought provoking
33% thought it would be pablum
25% thought it would be a regurgitated version of Tavis Smiley's
37% would reserve judgement until seeing the show.
Truly refreshing and insightful?
Wednesday's poll results
4% thought the series would be thought provoking
33% thought it would be pablum
25% thought it would be a regurgitated version of Tavis Smiley's
37% would reserve judgement until seeing the show.
Don't forget to like our Facebook Page. We shut down our NING network. My book More Than Words is now available for download for $3.99 | 35 Comments | Share Article
35 Comments | Share Article tagged CNN, soledad obrien in Uncategorized
CNN, soledad obrien in Uncategorized
Reader Comments (35)
Did not learn anything new. Wished they spoke to more young women from diff. backgrounds. Can't understand why the real estate lady had 5 kids by herself, thus pushing her further into poverty. Wish they talked to a couple of ACTUAL black families (husband, wife, kids, dog) Wished they would have spoke on the number of black men who ARE marrying women (of other races) which kinda contributes to sistas not being able to find their black prince. Or how if black women do decide to date outside their race, it might be kinda of hard because most men of other races date and marry their own kind (white, hispanic, asian) Just my thoughts....Don't know if I will watch tonights show...
I only watched a couple of segments b/c all they did was do the same ol, same ol about talking about how bad we are doing, but they never discuss how people actually got in the predicament their in. I think telling the whole story and not just one coming off as a victim would be a more of a learnng experience.
In the marry your babby daddy segment they never actually asked the new wife why did you pop out not 1 but 2 kids w/ no ring, and didn't ask the father why he didn't ask her for marriage, he barely said anything.
I think when talking about being black in America, we need to take a more psychological and medical approach. They should really call Naim Akbar who has written great books about the psychology of being black in America. I think the brother from Harvard who talked about the hyper tension theory, while it maybe flawed, I think he is heading down the right path.
And another element is on my mind. I am curious to your and others reaction to the happy black woman, smilingly holding up a picture of her slaveholder great grandfather??!!!
Please understand, I am not swinging at her pride of family. But if a white person went on television and acted the exact same way regarding a slave holding white relative, I think most black folks would be mighty peeved. ‘Black in America’ didn’t even explore the heart tugging aspect of being a descendant of rape. And no, you cannot have a true marriage if one partner OWNS the other one. Come on now.
In all seriousness, if you or anyone else has insights about the rappin’ intro man, please share them with me. I just don’t understand that choice.
My husband was mad at the title Black women and family. It should have been titled Black Family period. There's plenty of Black men pushing strollers. Not to harp about his perspective, but it is interesting when brothers challenge him on his manhood when he's with our baby girl or he gets double takes when they're out together. He hates feeling 'pushed aside' or not getting a responsible presence in media when it comes to Black families.
I’m not African-American, but Afro-Caribbean living in Toronto. I’ve seen, heard, experienced what they showed on CNN last night, but I think, dealing with the time constraints the network had, they did a fair job of touching on different segments of the Black experience.
The Rand family is awesome, point blank. They are a strong Black family that has kept together for years and years – some of them are struggling, some are successful as is the case with all families. The family who dropped their youngest daughter off at college, following in the footsteps of her older siblings who are in college or recent graduates, showed there are Black young people who are making good decisions. The Harvard economist showed there are Black men who are successful and community-minded. The successful sisters showed women are making it also. One married a white guy – big deal, it happens all the time. But the other sister had a great date with a brother.
Whether or not you like it, it’s necessary to show the other side of the coin. There are problems in the Black community – serious problems like poverty (the brother struggling to raise two kids on his own; the sister making ends meet on one income and supporting five children), ignorance (no one showing up for the AIDS awareness class), lack of importance placed on education, the difficulty Black women have meeting Black men who are like-minded, lack of proper healthcare.
The program may not have shown your particular reality, but this is one series on a very diverse group of people. Soledad and CNN would have to give us an entire year or more to truly dissect the diaspora.
supernovadiva, I was angry at the title myself. It is one of the reasons I decided not to try and watch the program.
I take my Mom to her church pretty often. I see husbands there every week with their families. Those that are not there are because they are working. My Dad was one of them until he died March 11. Many of those men was crazy at first but got a clue, straightened up and are flying right. My Dad started a fellowship group for the fellas a few years back that continues today. It was to reach out to the other men, especially the younger ones. For the most part they have stayed out of trouble. From time to time when I'm eating out I see black families out (married couples) with their children. There are bm in trouble but it is not every single last one of them. I guess I've lived long enough to know that we will not get accurate reporting out of any of the existing networks. I gave up on this long ago. Glad I did not waste my time trying to get a tape of it.
I thought that the documentary was terrible for a host of reasons. I was so angry I stayed up and http://www.womanist-musings.com/2008/07/black-in-america-invisible-people.html" REL="nofollow">blogged about it. Where were the black lesbians? How come they don't count as women? Where were the trans women? It seems that unless you are living the straight hetero lifestyle you don't count as a black woman. I further resent them pushing marriage as the solution to all of the problems of black women. They don't talk about domestic violence or marital rape and yet we are to believe that all marriage is an affirming thing for us....in a word BS...They simply pushed a dichotomy that you are either a noble self-sacrificing single mother or you are lonely dick deprived affluent woman.
"Where were the black lesbians? How come they don't count as women? Where were the trans women? It seems that unless you are living the straight hetero lifestyle you don't count as a black woman."
ummmm....I'm sorry if this sounds offensive, but trans women are NOT women and I'm glad they didn't add them to the program. Talk about an insult to Black women if trans women were displayed as real Black women. I don't think so.
Also, I don't believe lesbians have ever historically made up for the majority of Black families, so please. Black children are confused enough without adding lesbians into the mix. I think Black women and men need to work it out and raise strong families (or black women may have to go it alone) but lesbian families should never be promoted as normal. Sorry, not being mean or some overly-religious person, but this is truly how I feel.
It was better than I expected.
And, dare I say, I think some of us are overestimating what mainstream America knows about the black community. They know less than a little bit.
Four of those kids were actually that lady's. She said she was going through depression and male-approval issues at the time. The fifth child is a niece she adopted.
I'm not sure if holding the slaveholder's picture was a matter of "pride." But probably just a matter of satisfaction in knowing. Plus, they don't think the black mistress was a slave. And they think part of the reason he left Virginia for Texas was because of the harassment in VA for owning up to his black children. Something like that.
Anyway, it was better than I thought. And yes, there was about a minute focused on the fact that the majority of blacks are middle class and above. And I think the reason they left black men out of the "family" is because of the stats of out-of-wedlock births and single black women. I think, I'm not sure. Send you complaints to CNN.
The show seemed incredibly superficial, but it is as good as I would expect from CNN and Soledad O'Brien.
Soledad frames her questions with the facial expression of a toddler just learning how to potty...
I can't be mad at Soledad about the potty face, Wanda. You can't hardly deal with issues of race in America, and if white Americans get a hint of "grievance politics," they disengage. The best way to keep them involved is to come across as innocent as they imagine themselves to be.
Please add me to the rank of individuals disappointed with the title and the series; quite frankly, this documentary series should have been divided into five separate and distinct episodes: education and religion, family, men, women, and a town hall discussion.
While in law school, I was a graduate student assistant within an ethnic studies program; this series reminds me very much of those ethnic studies programs. They are not created with the respective ethnic group in mind; instead, they aim to educate the outsider on what it means to be part of that community. This documentary series was not created with the intention of bringing together concerned Blacks to discuss issues which positively and negatively impact our community. This series was created to educate non-Blacks on the struggles of Black folk. It is a superficial band-aid and it insults me that incredibly complex issues have been crammed together into such short segments.
I'm torn. I can't say I was disappointed, because I didn't expect much. On the other hand, it did exceed my expectations. If nothing else, it is sparking discussion--even if it's just amongst us. The producers and writers made an attempt to introduce "others" to the "Black experience." My problem with that is that there is NO SUCH THING as a singular, defining Black experience. I think they tried to show that there are multiple experiences by using the Rand family to show different strata of society. Unfortunately, the unifying theme they chose was problematic. It seemed to suggest that the Black community (in general) needed some kind of saving or fixing. Whether it's education (academic and/or health), the rebuilding of the traditional (nuclear) family or (as I assume we'll see tonight) rehabilitation of the Black male, it seems that our existence is problematic because of the poor choices we make ...and in some cases the hand we're dealt...and that's why we need incentives to do the "right" thing. We need motivation to go to school, find a man, stop having babies out of wedlock, marry our baby-daddies and take care of our bodies. I can't lie; I am so glad that the show skipped over several important topics, because I was worried that a poorly handled discussion would've done more damage than good. In particular, I'm glad the show skipped over institutional racism--or any kind of discrimination for that matter. No need to reference history or its impacts, because any explanation would've come across as an excuse. I'm even grateful it avoided an in-depth discussion of slavery. Speaking of slavery, I also noticed the Rand family's assertion that their Black ancestor was not a slave, but I was more troubled that there was little to no discussion of the disconnect between the two families...or the discomfort of their (white) relatives with facing that part of their history. I think there was a moment when Soledad suggested that the reunion of the two branches of the family was the story of the American family and I had to shake my head. We are really not ready for that discussion.
If CNN wanted to handle just one topic and cover it well, I think they could've done a better job.
The lesbian/bi perspective was very much needed in this conversation because, DUH, we are black women! Obviously, the male/female dynamic is failing the "black family" unit (based on the stats they gave in last nights piece), and lesbian households are very much contributing units of society/black families.
Overall, I was very disappointed in the special. It gave black women 20 minutes of a supposed 2 hour show. Bet the men will have the full two hours! I wished they would have delved deeper into the health disparities such as breast cancer and cervical cancers, diabetes, and mental illness (touched on briefly by the mother with 5 children). When they did bring up AIDS/HIV in the church, the pastor (Rands' brother) was very uncomfortable and could not answer as to 'how many people are battling AIDS in his church'. Why? Because his church isn't addressing it.
Yes, we all know that Black women are single mothers at a high alarming rate. Yes we all know that Black women make up the highest number of all new HIV cases in America above and beyond any other group. Yes we all know that the children of some Black women are more likely to drop out of school, end up incarcerated, or dead, at unconsciousable rates. Yes, it also true that Black women are one of the poorest groups in the country. Yes, we all know that these are without a doubt some very disturbing facts about Black life in America for a lot of Black women, but if we just take Soledad's word for it, that's all we'll ever know. There was absolutely no conversation about the real political destructive reality of racism and sexism in the lives of Black women and how, when they intersect, are catastrophic!
The fact that there was no voice present to speak on behalf of even one of these issues, helping to explain when there's a lack of even adequate or mediocre education, poor and or limited access to the infrastructures that support a healthy and whole community like safe neighborhood parks, libraries, safe, humane, and affordable after-school programs, affordable daycare, health and sex education, neighborhood produce markets, and a social service system that truly believes that all people, no matter of income or race, deserve to raise children with the full dignity that life deserves, than people become hopeless and desperate. Instead, Soledad's special was ahistorical, apolitical, and lacked any critical perspective or context that is not only important when talking about race and class, but imperative!
Soledad perverted, betrayed, and insulted every Black women in America. Her special did nothing for the discourse on race and social policy that some very good Black and White men and women are having all across this country and who's sole mission is to support every human being in the United States! Speaking about Black women in terms of being nothing more than a group of unwed, irresponsible, bad mothers, who can't stop having unsafe sex is irresponsible at best, and at worst, it maintains and strengthens systems of oppression and marginalization against Black women.
At the same time, there are other stories to be told too that don't rely on pathologizing Black women. Stories of Black women who are whole, healthy, happy, interesting women who live full and amazing lives. Black women who are happy successful mothers! Black women who are happy and successful without children! Black women who are happy and successful in loving relationships with Black men and who's only hope isn't in marrying a White man and raising blond haired babies! (Nothing wrong with it, but it's not "our" only shot at happiness and fulfillment!)
As for Essence Magazine who supported this crap, well, let's just say, Essence Magazine hasn't exactly kept anyone on staff known for respecting and loving Black women in years!
The truth is, last night should have been titled, "Why You Should Hate Black Women and Their Children Part I. " Shame on you CNN and Soledad!
Aren't Black folks the least bit curious as to why this program is airing at this time?
And for whose consumption is this being broadcast?
Do you think they are airing this to further educate Black folks about the "problems" of Black folks?
Do you think they are airing this to engender more understanding from White folks about the plight of Black folks in American society?
Do you think they are airing this to encourage the “powers that be” to support policies that could “alleviate” what "ails" Black folks?
No, they are airing this to juxtapose the world’s long held view of Black folks as a “problem” and “helpless” race against what some may consider the improbable rise of a Black man (or half of one) to the most powerful “human” position on earth. CNNs intentions are not noble. They are cynical – in my view.
I know that some will say, “CNN planned this show long before it was known that Obama would win the nomination.” Well, we all know that the media often prepares multiple stories, even conflicting ones, in advance so that they will be ready to publish/broadcast something for whichever way the results turn out.
I also wish they had spoken to more women from a variety of backgrounds. I'm actually glad they steered clear of homosexuality in the black community. I think they've stereotyped enough for two days. Why give them additional fuel?
I didn't notice a way to leave less than "chipper" responses on CNN's website. But you can go watch the "I was moved to tears" ireports. So, apparently, someone enjoyed the documentaries. Personally, I think Soledad could've saved her time. I'm not convinced she knows what it means to be black in America. But, I could certainly be wrong.
It was all so rehashed, if it had been a term paper, I would've assumed she cheated. I was surprised to hear 18 months were put into investigating the series. She could've saved a lot of time and just read a few blogs.
As for the "poetry" brother, I felt a bit guilty. But, I would unmute after commercials AFTER his rhyme of the moment. The first poem was -- okay, hmm, that's nice. I didn't understand the point of a rhyme every time the show came back on.
Maybe they thought they were "connecting" with us.
You know, I read all the comments her before I decided to post mine and all I can say is this:
If you really, truly, expected Soledad and CNN to cover the diverse spectrum of the Black Female Experience in 2 hours, then you have no concept of TIME!
I think the fact that Soledad even attempted is an accomplishment unto itself. She didn't have to try to produce this segment. She didn't have to care, but she's at least put the internal dialogue out there for us to discuss in public.
Moreover, a lot of you are missing the point. The point was to discuss how, as a whole, the black community is not doing as well as any other group in America. Here we are, on the verge of making history with the first Black President, but the bulk of black America has less equity with American society than we had in the 1960s. This is a tragedy and a shame and the burning question is Why? Frankly, considering the time constraints, I think Soledad did a good job. Not a great job. Not a crap job. She backed up her info with facts. She interviewed a diverse number of people (although I got tired of seeing Roland Fryer, as much as I do admire his work) and tried to cover as much as she could. Did she have a chance to interview every luminary in the Black Academic out there? Who knows. Unfortunately, so many comments on this page are complaining about the fact that she didn't cover more about the healthy, successful, and well-educated among us. Well, who wants to listen to a bunch of successful (and semi-successful) people make petty complaints? Who has time to watch a visual history of Howard, Morehouse and Spelman? Who needs a history of Alpha Kappa Alpha and Alpha Phi Alpha? We are out there, doing what we have to, doing what we need to, while 2/3 of our brethren are mired in poverty, thinking they don’t have options, without role models and fathers to help guide them. What has to be done to help them? What do we need to do in order to raise all boats? You know that you have these people in your family just like I do and if you’re anything like me, you don’t understand it either and you don't know what to do or how to help.
Urban Sista said it well: “Whether or not you like it, it’s necessary to show the other side of the coin. There are problems in the Black community – serious problems like poverty (the brother struggling to raise two kids on his own; the sister making ends meet on one income and supporting five children), ignorance (no one showing up for the AIDS awareness class), lack of importance placed on education, the difficulty Black women have meeting Black men who are like-minded, lack of proper healthcare.
The program may not have shown your particular reality, but this is one series on a very diverse group of people. Soledad and CNN would have to give us an entire year or more to truly dissect the diaspora.”
Well said!
PS. I didn’t like the Poetry brother either.
Mariposa said "...while 2/3 of our brethren are mired in poverty..."
What's your source for this statistic that 2 out every 3 Black Americans are mired in poverty?
I'd like to see the actual data that supports your assertion.
About education.
It's not that the black community doesn't take it seriously. They were talking about black adolescents. Cause, it's just not true that the black community doesn't take education seriously.
That said, let's think about what being successful in America's public school system really means. It means accepting, or at least appearing to accept, the nonsense that black English is "broken" English or "bad" English. It means accepting that good black authors are limited to Hughes, Angelou, Hurston, and Morrison. It means accepting the lie that all blacks contributed to the building of our nation is slavery - and even that gets underplayed.
Education in America is Euro-centric. You do have to "act" white, even if it's just enough to fool the teacher, in order to be successful. Let's give black students credit for recognizing that something's not adding up, however immature their response is. Instead of telling them "education is important," we need to tell them that there is more to the story than what the school is telling them, but the only way they're going to get to a position to challenge the system is to excel on the terms giving. And then, as a bonus, tell them how much smarter they have to be to master two versions of English as opposed to just one. And assure them, those white kids are no smarter than they are. I know. I spent every year since the 1st grade in accelerated classes. Some of those white kids in those classes weren't that bright at all.
And that's not even getting into the racism in academic tracking, school discipline, or school funding.
What all of this come down to is context and balance. If you present a statistic that says that 70% of black women are unwed single mothers, please explain what type of black women; middle class, wealthy, low-income, poverty and then how that compares to other women within the same economic status. Compare the shear number of unwed mothers in America and then break it down by the different reasons they are unwed.
If the media throws out the low reading scores of inner city blacks then they should compare it to whites in rural America. Compare spending per child, teacher training and salaries, evaluate the quality of educational material and facilities in which learning should occur. In other words try to understand why are reading scores low? Try to discover if it is really a race issue or is it economic issues. Stop generalizing “facts” without presenting a balance assessment.
Highlight true achievement without interjecting loosely linked negative stories that do not reflect that person story. The brother who was a D.A. and married to the white woman, showcase his journey to be one of only two D.A.’s in his county. Has he hit the glass ceilings, did it help that his mother is a Judge, has he felt back lash because he is married to a white girl living in the south, or does he help others trying to enter law. Do not insult the man by asking him if he feels bad about doing his job (putting criminals in jail)
If the media make the statement that Black family incomes of over $100,000 has increased by 50% then illustrates how they made it and what are their concerns. Does the glass ceiling have impact, driving while black, redlining, and paying for college or the black tax
If the black community is more likely to be poor; then all of the negative and overwhelming issues that are born from poverty will greatly affect the black community (duh). Therefore all of these issues are about money and if race makes these challenges worst explain how and how some have overcome.
Nothing should be swept under the rug but placing the good and bad in context helps to deal with a true reality.
What is the deal with the homophobic comments on this thread!? I haven't seen the special yet, I plan to watch it tonight, but if it's more disappointing than some of these comments I definitely won't be able to watch the whole thing!
@lena - Don't worry you don't sound mean or like "some overly-religious person." You do sound like an ignorant bigot though. Gay people have inhabited this earth since the beginning of time. A group doesn't have to be in the majority to deserve respect and a public voice. After all, isn't that what this series was supposed to be about? Giving this country's black minority a public forum? How can you advocate for the well-being of black families while silencing an important segment of the black community? Black lesbians aren't confused but apparently you might be...
@C Robinson - I think you make a good point regarding who's consumption this program was truly meant for. I am definitely beginning to wonder about that myself.
@tyhurd - I too would like to see more context for these statistics. I hate when they give general statistics on the (usually crappy) state of black women but then they don't even both to stratify the results by socio-economic level, education or anything. At least that would help determine how the statistic relate to you as an individual.
@adrienne williams:
I love how you focus on the "lesbian" aspect of my comments only. First of all, Renee mentioned that transgender should represent Black women - GARBAGE. Addressing anything transgender (or-men-who-wish-they-were-women-but- are-not-no matter-how-many-hormones-or-operations-they-get) in the scope of this series would be beyond offensive and insulting to real Black women and families. They are a tragic anomaly but should be allowed to live their lives like everyone else - but they aren't Black women in any shape or form.
As for lesbians, I said nothing offensive and just pointed out the fact that they have NEVER been a MAJORITY part of the Black family and no one should try to portray it as so - The Black family, like ALL families worldwide, is undeniably overwhelmingly FEMALE-MALE (duh, how do you think we all got here?? Certainly not conceived from two people of the same sex, a complete impossibility). This is not against lesbians, but just pointing out the fact that lesbian "family structure" is not and never has been representative of the Black family.
Stop trying to push your agenda on women who already have so many negatives to battle against - and yes, to insist that the majority of black-women (single or in-relationships) are NOT lesbians is not a homophobic stance, but a factual one. And the standard one representative of the normal, global family structure.
Either way, this is the last I'll comment on the lesbian issue (no matter how many try to push their agenda), because it is off-topic in the first place.
Ok. I tried not to have high expectations for the series. When I saw that people were downing the preview show, I thought, "Well, let's wait and see, maybe it will be better." But when I saw the episode on "black women and the family," I was highly upset. I suppose the inclusion of "and the family" on the black women's episode was used to give entree to EVERY person or topic BESIDES black women. The folks that produced this show needed to check themselves and remind themselves at every step that this show was supposed to be about bw and how these various topics impacted them, even if there is some interseection with bm, children, etc.
I was especially annoyed when they were discussing violence. There was a woman who had lost her son to violence, which is an issue that many black women are dealing with, but it its less direct. I wanted them to discuss each topic from the vantage point of bw directly. For example, how does violence affect bw? What about the high homicide rate of bw, and the many missing and murdered bw in this country? How can we increase the safety and well-being of bw? Rather than turn the convo around and make it about bm, yet again (especially when they were to have their own episode).
I was perplexed about the rapper/poet as well. They could have at least found a female poet for the show. I couldn't get what that was about.
They also featured the same voices (many of them male) over and over. I know that in 2008, bw have made enough progress that for ANY topic you want to discuss, you can find a competent, articulate, educated, black female expert who is is available and willing to discuss it. It's not necessary to have bm speak for bw, even if they bring up good points, or represent the community well. I too got sick of seeing the Harvard prof, though I appreciated his perspective.
I wonder if following one particular family for the whole series was in someway constricting or unhelpful? I too was irritated with the black woman who was just pleased as punch to meet her white relatives. What did that have to do with addressing the issues in the bc? I know this is part of our history, but I felt like, ok, this is supposed to be about us, and yet again, there's a white woman on the tv talking.
There's a lot more I could critique, but suffice it to say I was disappointed overall. I really like(d?) Soledad, but I'm not sure what happened with this. Maybe you all are right, this was not produced for us, but to provide a "glimpse" into our community. I think a group of black women should get together and produce a doc that would be better, useful, and more representative of us, and really talk about how to address the problems we have.
Y'all actually made time to watched that CNN crap. SHEEEEITTT, I had better things to do. Like get my two back molars extracted --without anesthesia.
Okay, so are they going to show what it's like to be white in America. You know show the trailer parks, and focus on the problems in their neighborhoods. I would love to see how their dealing with their drug problems, drugs do exist in their neighborhoods as well.
What about all those white girls who don't even know which one is the daddy out of all of those guys they slept with? You know like the ones they show on Maury--"Is so and so the father of your child?". For God sakes are Maury and Jerry Springer the only white people in America that are willing to show the white problems in America.
Or what about the ones where the sister is sleeping with her sister's man/husband, or mother's man or husband? Then there are the guys who are sleeping with their wife's sisters, or their daughters, which would add a little variety.
What about those white men in prisons, especially the white collar criminals, serial killers, child molesters, rapist, robbers, kidnappers, domestic terrorists, crooked polititicians to name a few.
I mean there are a lot of negative topics that they can focus in on and show concerning the white neighborhoods as well. After all, if we're going to air the dirty laundry we might as well air their as well. Fair exchange is not no robbery. I could name some more stuff, but I'll let it rest for now.
Why didn't "Black In America" focus on some of the positive things and positive black people we have in our race, instead of the problems that we already know exist since they wash our faces with it daily. After all, there are positive black people doing positive things that do exist.
My son has been a positive role models since the day he was born and has accomplished many positive things in his lifetime, and at and early age. He has friends like him who are positive and have done and are doing positive things. In fact, I know many black men like my son and there are many of them that do exist. Well, but I guess that would destroy the myth that black men ain't dung though, so we can't have them showing him and his friends or others like them now can we.
Oh, and I know many young women who don't sleep with every Tom, Dick, and Harry and don't have a bunch of kids, who have jobs and work hard. Some are happily married with kids, and some are single without kids. They are successful black women , but I guess they wouldn't qualify as being the type of black woman that America wants to project to the world.
Frankly speaking, those white folks at CNN that seem to think that this is all blacks are about can kiss my grits.
I didn't see the program on Black women, but I did see other program topics. It was all way too negative. I bet one would have walked away from it thinking black life was all gloom and doom. Honestly, that type of image only furthers racial stereotyping.
P.S. I personally would not have wanted to have homosexuality profiled. It's because I'd really like to see heterosexual marriage strengthened and encouraged in our society. Alternative relationships exists, but it isn't something that I personally would promote as ideal.
This program is the crap White America has been pulling for last 40 years. All it shows is that we are still divided. Where were the single black men, the black men who married, stayed with, black women who had kids by other men who walked out on them? What about the black couple where the sister is making 10x more money then her husband and they are happy together (because there are black couples like this), and why do we allow us to be divided into classes? One of the things about this program is the part with Micheal E. Dickson and his brother and the color complex within our race. That destroys us from within.
DON'T BE DUPED!
CNN's piece, Black in America, was grossly negative and completely offensive....so offensive at times it became comical.
Rather than call it 'Black in America', they should have called it 'The Problems Afflicting Blacks in America' That way we would all know it wasn't designed to be fair and balanced journalism.
1. Here's a fact - Not all black men are cracked out, crack selling, absentee dads with criminal records.
2. Another fact - Not all black women are single, poor, desperate souls looking for a mate...any mate.
3. And another fact - Not all black people who have 'made it' come from families of crack selling, cracked out absentee dads and single, poor desparate mothers.
SoleDUMB O'Brien must be desperate for air time...or maybe she got DUPED.
After seeing the Black in America "special", I don't know if I can continue watching CNN.
And....let's face it, the timing of that piece was no coincidence... the general election is less than 100 days away.
DON'T BE DUPED!
Obama '08!
C Robinson: My apologies. You called me out on the erroneous statistic and I'm woman enough to come back and correct it.
"24.3%
Poverty rate in 2006 for single-race blacks. This rate was down from 31.1% in 1986."
1/4 of our brethern live in poverty, not 2/3, which I knew but got all confused when I started typing. The info for that number can be found at http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmcensus1.html
Again, my apologies for the mix-up. I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments too.
librarian professional:
You and Granny on the same page. the title that you said they should have used, Amen, amen, and amen again, because that is all it was a program talking about problems. As if they don't have the same problems in their own neighborhoods. Granny is smoking hot with an attitude, and I'm saying this twisting my neck like the young sistas do when someone done got on they last nerve. Yup, Granny got a real royal attitude towards CNN right about now.
It wasn't nothing but a sham to label us as undesirables and say look folks if you vote for Obama this is what you'll be getting, because ALL blacks folks are like this. Granny don't cuss, but CNN is about to make me say a few choice words.
lena,
whatever you call it, it is homophobic. You can call it "real" or factual but you got issues. Lesbians and gay men are part of the Black community. It would have been nice to hear about all of Black America.
But you will rationalize it some way..
No Chris, sorry to inform you, but I'm not homophobic or any other kind of "phobic". I'm sure that by calling me names, it satisfies your innate desire to be accepted by everyone. Well, I understand that we are all not in agreement as to what defines Black family structure, but I assure you that many non-homophobic, normal people like myself would agree that lesbian couples do not represent the typical Black family. They may feel it's not "PC" to say it, but I will.
Sorry, but you're insecure and unhappy about who you are, so you're trying to force me to agree with your lifestyle while misrepresenting the potential of the black family. And as a Black woman, I KNOW that lesbian relationships do not make up the bulk of our relationships - by any means. Stop trying to misrepresent us.
Whether you choose to believe it or not, I have no ill feelings towards gay/lesbians but face it, people of your lifestyle do not make up the bulk of the black family or any families worldwide. Sorry if that's hard to accept.
I, too, was disappointed in the CNN special & echo most of the comments here. I am more disappointed in the responses to lesbians' comments here. I am a proud straight woman who has lived long enough to know that 2 wrongs don't make a right. Excluding, marginalizing, dismissing lesbians' comments is just what the White man & woman does to us. ("If you are not just like me, what you have to say holds no interest for me. Why don't you quit your whining and shut up.) People of color have Got to Be Smarter Than This and truly unite. Everyone has a place at the table, or it's still the White Man's Table. Get it?