Columnist Jamala Rogers
I received notices from around the country. CNN publicized it for what seemed like months and months. Yes, I’m talking about the Black in America episodes by Soledad O’Brien. These type of series seem to come in cycles usually after some racial flashpoint. I believe Barack Obama’s bid for the White House and all that has come with it precipitated a closer look at the plight of African Americans in this country.
Just as many notices I received to watch Black in America, I have received numerous articles and bloggers’ criticism of the two-part documentary crowned as “groundbreaking.” Many black folks were demonstrably disappointed in the 18-month investigation by O’Brien, who has received accolades and awards (such as the NAACP President’s Image Award) for her coverage of the black experience. O’Brien’s Afro-Cuban heritage allows her to be a member of both the Hispanic and black journalists national associations.
I can’t help but start with the sistahs’ reaction to the episode on black women. The main critiques were that black women were cast as sexual objects, babymakers or single-career women without love lives.
The segment on black men was spared no criticism. Black men were portrayed as deadbeat dads, criminally inclined, unmotivated and unemployed. Questions still linger by some observers, like what does having white ancestry have to do with the current situation?
Unless you’ve been under a rock, there was nothing new for those of us who live it every day or who are working to change the ugly reality every day. We know there’s an unchecked epidemic of AIDS in our community with women being the main victims. We know that almost half of black women have never or will never marry (regardless of their socio-economic status). We know that the dropout rate for black children from high school is sickening. We know that the most successful program to get young black men off the streets is the criminal justice system – not a job, not college.
But enlightened folks don’t represent everyone so there is value to putting the mirror up. My issue is the refusal or inability to put our issues into context, to illuminate a system of racism and economic oppression that bears down on us daily whether we live in the Jeff-Lou neighborhood or Hollywood. If not, how do you explain the single dad in the series struggling to do all the right things for his kids and still face insurmountable challenges or a successful entertainer like DL Hughley being racially profiled. In these kinds of documentaries, there’s often no mention of the black community’s organized fightback against the system to deal with the economic, social and legal injustices. Thinking that people can just will their way into change if they say “I will be a good father” or “I will excel in school” is naïve and illusory.
The young people at Youth Speak South Shore are on the right track when they question “Where’s the why?” in the Black in America series. The Chicago-based media literary and writing program is organized by Richard Muhammad, a respected journalist. The program provides youth with the tools to critically examine the media and gives them skills to create alternatives. Their blog at youthspeaksouthshore gives insightful commentary about the documentary and black life.
The fact is that the ability of cable or commercial networks to truly portray the black experience is an expectation that is probably unachievable. To really project the conditions without the history and other contributing factors cannot get you to any viable solutions.
I admit that’s no easy feat. Spike Lee constantly talks about the difficulties in trying to raise money for films that bring it all together and keep it real. Recently, Danny Glover who is making a movie about the Haitian Revolution and its triumphant leader, Toussaint L’Ouverture, was told by funders that he didn’t have enough white heroes in the mix.
In the end, I welcome any thing that makes us think, dialog and act as a people and as a nation. Because in the end, we must change the conditions which produce a Brandon, who can’t seem to endure another year of the public schools to graduate even when he knows that the decision makes the future ahead bleaker for him. That’s the “why” we must dissect.