If you missed CNN's 4-hour documentary "Black In America" you missed out on some interesting journalism. Looking in blogosphere I've found that lots of blacks were not happy about it.
Portions of it clearly demonstrated that being a black man is the most undesirable demographic in America. In Amrerica, it's like a curse (unless you're dumped into the athlete or entertainer stereotype--sadly, many will go to those places to defend black progress for some odd reason).
Princeton University researcher, Dr. Devah Pager, conducted a fair amount of national research over the years to demonstrate that being a black male is an automatic strike against you (these are the kinds of things that black parents and grandparents are uniquely positioned to prepare their children for):
To address these issues, I recently conducted a series of experiments investigating employment discrimination. In these experiments, which took place in Milwaukee and New York City, I hired young men to pose as job applicants, assigning them resumes with equal levels of education and experience, and sending them to apply for real entry-level job openings all over the city. . .The results of these studies were startling. Among those with no criminal record, white applicants were more than twice as likely to receive a callback relative to equally qualified black applicants. Even more troubling, whites with a felony conviction fared just as well, if not better, than a black applicant with a clean background. . .
Racial disparities have been documented in many contexts, but here, comparing the two job applicants side by side, we are confronted with a troubling reality: Being black in America today is just about the same as having a felony conviction in terms of one's chances of finding a job.
Being a black man with no criminal record is worse than being a white-dude who has served time with a felony conviction. Wow.
Someone should to a documentary about being black in evangelicalism. I've tons of stories, among them:
(1) I've been called "nigger," "negro," "token Negro," and so on, more in the last four years (since Nov. 2004) than I ever have in my life. Although, Clemson was bad at times (especially when beer was involved).
(2) I won't name the church because phones would start ringing, but I was once invited and encouraged to leave a conservative church in the Western suburbs of St. Louis. An older white woman walked up to me after the benediction and encouraged me to go to [another unnamed church further east] because I would be more comfortable there [because it had some black people in it]. I guess my wearing a suit wasn't signal enough that I was ok. Ever time I pass by the church I'm reminded of it and it's difficult to even walk in the building. I didn't know what to do.
(3) I was racially profiled in Creve Coeur, MO once when a cop pulled me over for committing a "rolling stop" at a stop sign (which I'm guilty of) but then he started to ask me and odd line of questions like "where'd you get this car" and "this is a really nice car, how could a person like you afford a car like this?" In shock, I went back and told some white folks what happen and the response was, "well, the Bible says that we're going to be persecuted because we're Christians." I was like, what? He didn't ask me how could a "Christian" afford a car like this. So, I had to find some black folks in St. Louis to vent with.
(4) The equivocation of "black" and "urban" and the odd assumption that black neighborhoods need evangelical churches when those neighborhoods are always splattered with black churches. Always. Inner cities are the most heavily evangelized areas in America.
I could go on and on. . .
At any rate, black parents have a particularly difficult job in getting their children ready to face what they will face in a white dominated, white oriented culture. If they're not prepared for it, they will learn the hard way.
Any thoughts on the documentary? Any odd experiences of your being black in America? Stories?
Interesting though sadly, not surprising findings on your research.
I flipped back and forth the CNN especially, mostly b/c it was so depressing. It really wasn't necessary to watch a documentary that tells me pretty much of the dysfunction I see on a daily basis. I felt it was pretty unbalanced.
What? Noone warned you about all the stop signs in St. Louis. When I lived there, I heard that STL has more stop signs per capita than any other city. And, I've known many folks who have been stopped for those "rolling stops" in neighborhoods that their mere presence was considered suspect....
Yeah, Tam, it was VERY depressing. I found myself more thankful that I didn't end up like many of the bad statistics but I also got pissed at some of the things I saw (like when the black business owner got pulled over by the cops in his own neighbor in Memphis because the neighbors reported "suspicious people").
I also felt empathy for the bruthas who find themselves the "token" in a mostly white context. It's was almost like we need a support group 'cause of the pressures of always "representing your race" as one guy put it.
Yeah, it was VERY unbalanced but CNN's viewers wouldn't interested in black progress.
About St. Louis, I've only be pulled over by the cops (as I recall) three times in my life and they have all been in the St. Louis area. Weird.
This was too depressing, man.
Here's what I thought about it:
Skip CNN�s Black In America; Keep Your Positive Focus Instead
Don't let this get you down and just keep doing your wonderful positive thing!
AB, can you explain a little bit about your point #4 above? Request advise. Danke, T
Claude, thank you brother!! Great stuff on your blog. GREAT!!!!!
Tucker, most blacks in America do not live in inner cities and if you throw a rock in any direction in most black city neighborhoods direction you're likely to hit a black church.
well...unfortunately, in a similar vein, i uploaded a video to google video (man...was that really a year and a half ago? yikes). my description:
Report follows 2 men (one black, one white) with similar resumes. They receive very dissimilar treatment throughout St. Louis.
Sounds very similar to the cnn report, but in a 23 minute video, vs. a 4 hour one.
Speaking of black men being an undesirable demographic: My experience (I'm a public high school music teacher) is that I occasionally find myself in situations with white female students (regarding their class's, or their own, misbehavior), white mothers of those students (complaining about how I scold their child or their child's class) or administrators (meeting with me because of receiving a call from the white, upset mother who, rather than talking to me first, went over my head and called the administrator) where I'm thinking, "Would this be happening to me if I were white?" I can't prove a thing (no one has recently called me the "N-word", or anything like that), but my gut-feeling is that a white teacher would not be dealing with this.
I recognize that maybe, perhaps, I'm just being over-sensitive, so I don't make an issue out of it. But, deep down, I wonder because, you see, the issue is never my knowledge, qualifications or competency to do my job. The issue is almost always my "upsetting" people. It's never about the student who is misbehaving. These situations have me thinking that the most frightening thing imaginable to most white women is an "angry black man".
Speaking of black men being an undesirable demographic: My experience (I'm a public high school music teacher) is that I occasionally find myself in situations with white female students (regarding their class's, or their own, misbehavior), white mothers of those students (complaining about how I scold their child or their child's class) or administrators (meeting with me because of receiving a call from the white, upset mother who, rather than talking to me first, went over my head and called the administrator) where I'm thinking, "Would this be happening to me if I were white?" I can't prove a thing (no one has recently called me the "N-word", or anything like that), but my gut-feeling is that a white teacher would not be dealing with this.
I recognize that maybe, perhaps, I'm just being over-sensitive, so I don't make an issue out of it. But, deep down, I wonder because, you see, the issue is never my knowledge, qualifications or competency to do my job. The issue is almost always my "upsetting" people. It's never about the student who is misbehaving. These situations have me thinking that the most frightening thing imaginable to most white women is an "angry black man".
Wyeth, as a white female teacher, let me tell you: it happens to us all anymore. This generation of students has the most coddling group of parents. It's ridiculous. Now, it could very well be that you end up with an extra dose, unfortunately; but white parents are pansies anymore. And they more often than not undermine instructional authority rather than support it.
I'm a little perturbed by CNN choosing to present such an entirely negative project at this particular time. Yes, there are still a lot of racial disparities. Yes, humans are innately prejudiced against other, different groups (some of those groups within the same race). And yes, we as individuals do need to be mindful of these things, make sure we work to keep our behavior free from prejudice, and encourage others to strive to be free from prejudice. But what value is there in presenting an unmitigatingly negative piece? The purpose of pointing out societal ill should be to conclude with encouragement: here are example of people who are overcoming on both sides, here is what you can do. Not doing so seems irresponsible and slightly propaganda-esque. To me anyway.
Last small point: it bothers me whenever I hear people continue to purvey the myth that the only racism in America is in the South; that the South is the bastion of racist thought in America today. Yet, quite obviously, racism exists everywhere in this country, because sinful humans exist everywhere. I know it's a little sensitive to let it bother me, but it rather sad, really, that instead of admitting their own social issues, people from other regions, movies, and television enjoy sloughing off the blame on "the South."
Anyway. It is shameful that there remains such a disparity between the opportunities of a white man and a black man in many areas. So good journalism would teach us all how to address and combat it, not just dump it on us.
I found the show to be very lame to say the least.
It was just a rehashing of the same old information.
It was not revelatory to any black American whatsoever. I thought it was negative.
I was ashamed of Soledad O'Brien as it seems that she is so out of touch with what really needs to be said to black Americans. I think she did a poor job or dealing with the issues. She could have highlighted solutions for blacks instead of constantly using the word "bleak."
I would have preferred eight 30 minute segments on forgiveness, how to get out of gangs, how to reach out for help from addiction, how to start a business in lieu of felony convictions, educational scholarships and grants available to African American's only, stopping sexual abuse, stoping domestic violence, how to create community based help centers and so forth and so on.
Sorry to say but I think Soledad's name will forever be linked to this travesty of bloated commentary. I think she has lost mad credibility within the black community, unless they do another one that fills the gaps and eradicates the bad feelings that 4 hours of this exercise in ridiculousville has left.
Just don't go to Oprah to do part deux because (sorry folks) she stopped being black a long time ago. You heard?
BellaB, thanks for dropping some knowledge! This was a good reminder "Just don't go to Oprah to do part deux because (sorry folks) she stopped being black a long time ago. You heard?"
My sister was the first to point out to me that Oprah's primary audience was white women. It proved true when her ratings plummeted after she went on tour with Obama. Interesting.
Anthony, it's called a free market. People usually are the best judges of what's best for themselves, and even if they're not, they should be allowed to make decisions for themselves. Like who they're going to spend 8 hours a day 5 days a week with. And the fact that most would prefer a white man with a felony conviction over a black man without one should tell you something. And it's not that lots of white people are "racist". It's that, as Chris Rock put it, there's black people, and there's n****rs. And since the "N" doesn't usually come out at the job interview, it's hard for white people to tell them apart. On top of which, there's quite a bit of overlap. And on top of that, a lot of black people have friends and relatives who fall into Rock's second category. With the black crime rate about 8 times the white crime rate, it's perfectly rational to avoid blacks as much as possible. I know women who won't get on an elevator alone with a man, but they will with a woman. Is that hate? No, it's just playing it safe. Most men aren't rapists, but this one might be. And since about half of all black men will spend some time in jail or prison during their lives, white people being scared of black males is even more rational and defensible than women being afraid of men.
It may be regrettable that people (not just whites, btw) would prefer to take a chance on a white ex-con than a black with no record. But blacks have brought this on themselves by tolerating the wide array of pathologies in the black community.
Nick J,
It's sad that you think this way (speaking as a black man who's never committed a felony or been to jail).
Really? It's sad that I think that a black crime rate 8 times higher than the white rate has something to do with with why people treat blacks and whites differently?
I bet a lot of people reading this would think that it makes perfect sense.
What's sad about it?
I am with you Ant... Nick J is a sad individual who seems pretty isolated in his thoughts but oddly thanks that he is so right, hence the statement...
"I bet a log of people reading this would think that it makes perfect sense."
Wow! Very sad! I have to admit this took me back a little. Does anybody even say this stuff anymore.
There are blacks and then there are "n's."
Just sounds so dumb to me but by all means Nick J keep believing that what you say is what everybody is else is thinking.
Just don't let the "N" word flow freely out of your mouth... not a good idea homie.
I didn't say it. Chris Rock said it. And became a very wealthy man saying it. And his black audiences went nuts and cheered him wildly every time he said it.
Ignorance is bliss, they say.
You must be one very happy man.
Ouch. Anthony, I'm sorry. That sucks.
No way around it.
(I can only imagine which church it was...there are only a few candidates, after all...)