23.7.09

black in america.



last night, as i signed on to the internet, i was bombarded with commentary on both twitter and facebook regarding cnn's special 'black in america 2.' i was quite surprised, as i hadn't a clue it was scheduled to air, and so i quickly turned to channel 202 to tune in to watch. i have to say, i was pleased to see the segments shown in the special, as they went into some things I hadn't expected them to touch upon. granted, they did not discuss what's really plaguing the black community and its inability to tear down social constructs by shaking racial stereotypes and the effects of post traumatic enslavement syndrome-- but i won't even go there, as even though it needs to be discussed, i'm not too sure that will ever happen-- but i was pleased with what cnn did show. i enjoyed the bit about the intelligent as well as the privileged blacks, as it should be noted: not all blacks are destitute. not all blacks speak in ebonics. and not all blacks rely on affirmative action. i also enjoyed the debate about exclusion on the part of old-guard, upper-crust black families, albeit brief-- the debate could have gone on a bit longer, and some real concerns could have been raised... again, i don't think it was cnn's intention to be controversial... instead, i think its purpose is, simply, to mollify black america... to skim over the issues so as to sweep these issues of race under the rug. but back to the program...

i was proud of the work of malaak compton-rock, wife of actor and comedian, chris rock. what she is accomplishing with her foundation is what i've wanted to do and have planned for my future for ages, and i commend her for a job well done. teaching kids [with a seemingly bleak future] that there's more to life than what is in your surroundings is an amazing way to open their eyes to life. taking them to africa to do charity work for families in worse situations... brilliant. show them that there's more to life than their own troubles. show them that the world is so much bigger than they know. life is short. grow. learn. see. succeed. that is the way to change. having a black president in itself doesn't change things. having people like malaak and other community-based leaders who are active... having students and educators alike who don't settle for mediocracy... having television programs that showcase blacks in a positive light that can overshadow the connery and buffoonery of certain programming today-- that is the way to change. we're not there yet... but we're well on our way.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

preach on my brother. preach on. i'm going to have to check this out when i get access to cable.

it seems we agree on this...interesting. we usually disagree on topics like this. lol

maybe cnn CAN heal the world. ;)

vstar* said...

lol. i dont think cnn can save the world... i think it's up to blacks in general. but cnn can be one of many platforms used by blacks to get out a message.

vstar* said...

this is true.

court cobain said...

I vaguely remember the first Black in America. I caught bits and pieces of it when my mother was watching it. I had no clue another one aired. I'm going to try to find it on On Demand.

vstar* said...

the first one i was a bit jaded by... but this one... i liked because it was really a spotlight for those getting involved in the struggle, rather than try to define or expound upon the struggle.