TV REVIEW: Black in America Over-Hyped CNN Special Fails to Measure-Up to the Buzz By Kam Williams (July 28, 2008) The CNN special report "Black in America" was such a disappointment that it’s not really worthy of a detailed review. The only reason I’m even bothering to do a post mortem on the program is because it had been so hyped by the network that it enticed millions of viewers to tune in on successive nights. Hosted by Soledad O’Brien, the series was aired in two parts, the first entitled "The Black Woman and Family," the second, "The Black Man." However, each half was less a cohesive study of its two subjects than a string of very loosely-connected segments each introduced by lame raps by a dude in cap who always sounded like he was going into a commercial rather than just coming out of one. Serving up everything but the kitchen sink, it opened with the reunion of an African-American family named Rand which we learned trace its roots to a white man who in the 19th Century had seven kids with his white wife and another six with his black mistress. This story built up to a first-time meeting of the black and white sides of the Rands. What a so called "white patriarch" had to do with "The Black Woman" was beyond me. After that weird start, the slapdash investigation turned to the question of education. Here, we’re informed that half of all black kids don’t graduate from high school (What else is new?) before being introduced to Harvard Economics Professor Roland Fryer. He talks about a pilot program in four cities: NY, Atlanta, Baltimore and Dallas, where kids are being paid to get good grades. But then the family he focuses on has much bigger financial problems to deal with, being headed by a single dad who can’t afford the rent. In fact, a disproportionate number of interviewees seem to be facing eviction, almost as if it’s a recurring theme of black life. My biggest overall problem had to do with the program’s periodic factual inaccuracies, like when Soledad referred to the 1992 riot which erupted in L.A. after the Rodney King decision as the most deadly riot in the U.S. in 100 years. What’s up with that? She conveniently ignored several other more bloody incidents such as the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 when over 300 blacks were slaughtered by white militiamen. The infuriating mistakes that I was aware of left me wondering how accurate CNN was when citing statistics I was unfamiliar with, especially since all the anecdotal evidence about rap music, AIDS, skin color, mixed-marriages and elsewhat sounded awfully subjective.
I saw the special and it was a bit disappointing. On the Black Woman side it mentions a IR relationship between a black woman and white man. On the Black Men side it mentioned only the sons of the 1968 Central High School grad.
if you're talking about the school in philadelphia, bill cosby used to visit us every year and give lectures in our auditorium... if you were an underclassman, you would watch him on CCTV (closed-circuit TV) for about 30 mins to an hour.. that was one of the treats of going to that high school... the guys that did something with their lives, usually came back and spoke to us.. I remember Glen "Hurricane" Schwartz (the meterologist on NBC) and a FBI agent, visiting our school and telling us how they made it from CHS to success. Sorry for the hijack...rolling down memory lane again...
It could have been worst I would suppose but as many have said, its not really a series focused at US meaning Black People, we already know.... This was to inform White Folk that never experienced knowing a black man, black woman or involved with a black family. There many imagines that I find interesting but at the same time I understand why they happen. Homeboy that used to be on the Cosby Show, is also a Republican and PROUD of it. Now before you dismiss that, he is in the Goldwater, Teddy Roosevelt vain. Progressive by Neo Con standards... I've seen him talk before on C-Span and I feel what he's saying. He's asking why do WRONG, when you know that doing wrong isn't what you should be doing??? That is an excellent question. But many criminals LIE and say "Jail ain't so bad, it makes you a man", yadda, yadda, yadda Also there's the unspoken rule that you can't look down on other Black folk that are involved in criminal activity. See here's the larger problem.... Many White people say the playing field is level and that before we as a nation of White people look to give you some help or props for your behavior, be more like US, then we'll help you get to where we are. That's complete BS of course, but many White people think that deep down inside, really, trust me. That's why Obama being President can be problematic... Many people feel the job will be DONE, nothing more for them to do, no fight to support. That's BS Not only have Black men duped Black Women into having children out of wedlock, lol, they have duped White Women too... In fact there's at least ONE woman from every race on the planet that is a single parent to a half African or African-American child... Amazing.... There some fundimental problems here... Yikes, I didn't learn anything, just the stats are personal and have a face.
hopefully they'll put it out on dvd because I didn't get to see much of any of it, really.. just a preview back in April in Detroit where Roland Martin hosted, they showed about 20 minutes worth of the Dr. King murder segment... they were handing out gift bags with "black in america" logos on the bag and a 32-oz cup, and a set of mini-magnets..
POJ, I'm was talking about Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas. He is one of the relatives of the Central Park Nine.
