CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, seen at the Lorraine Motel, near the spot where Martin Luther King, Jr was mortally wounded.
Well, after watching yet another purposeless, pointless and distorted view of black America, here’s what we learned: that beautiful educated black women with everything going for them, can’t find a good black man. So what do they do? They turn to white men, of course.
We also learned that our black children are dumber than any other developing country. And we now know that even if a black man accepts the responsibility of being a single father and raising his kids alone – he still can’t keep a job or pay his bills on time.
And why did CNN feel the need to tap Soledad “I’m black by way of my great, great grandmother on my mammy’s side” O’Brien? You mean CNN couldn’t find one black reporter on its staff to host this show? The minuscule part of O’Brien that is black does not speak for me or to me as a black woman.
Raise your hand if you felt O’Brien was pandering to the blacks on the show?
Anyway, here’s a link to view the entire 2-hour program which aired on CNN last night.
I fell asleep while trying to watch it.
I was excited at first but once it came on it was depressing. We need to educate our children, this is a disgrace!
Thanks for the link. I have to admit that as much as I was looking forward to this documentary I actually watched Project Runway instead. My rationale being that I already know what is going on in Black America. Reall that was just a cop out. I just really wanted to watch Project Runway.
Sandra, you know what’s up in our community. It is a sad state of affairs. We can’t be ashamed of it and try to hide it. People need to know what is going on so that maybe someone, anyone, will step up and try to do something about it. I know how cute you think thugs and hoes are, but the fact is they are the disadvantaged and disenfranchised people of our community that need help.
Hopefully the second half will have a more positive look and show some of the successes in the black community.
I was so disappointed with this shyt last night. I rushed home, thinking I was going to see something interesting. Not even. Needless to say I won’t even attempt to tune in to part 2 tonight. It’s all rhetoric and stuff we talk about daily. Enough talking; where are the solutions?
Oh yeah, and I don’t have a problem with Soledad’s blackness or lack thereof. The race of the moderator is of no importance. As we are well aware CNN has several black anchors and commentators. It would have been silly for them to scour their employment files for the most purely African person to moderate this documentary. It wasn’t about the moderator.
It’s not that CNN put black people in a bad light, that’s just the harsh reality of what we as black people go through, the show wasn’t all bad there were some positive points to it..However, I am extreemly disappointed in the education rate of our black children, the part where the young guy signed up for school and didn’t return was a let down because I’m thinking to myself “why are you setting yourself up for failure young man?”..It seems that a lot of what’s going on with us goes back to parenting and birth control..But overall I thought the show was decent.
I wasn’t impressed either. The build up for this show the past week just ended up being a big let down and I also ended up watching Project Runway and then tuning into Black Men Revealed on TV One.
I can’t wait to watch Black In America tonight when they focus on our Black Men. I’m excited to see CNN continue to further perpetuate the stereotypes of Black Men in this country that are in jail, not taking care of their children, etc…… Same ish, different channel. I applaud Soleidad for trying. She gets a “A” for effort but an “F” for telling the same story that has already been told and not showing anyone anything new.
Didn’t want to watch it. I think majority of Black America already knew whatever it was that they documented on, as if we haven’t seen or heard the same ‘ol story over and over again. If I’m wrong please someone tell me and I’ll try to make an effort to see the next one.
I have to agree. I mean this is the struggles that we as black people go through everyday. I feel that the education rate of our children being so low contributes to the parents still being kids themselves. I mean really if you look at it if you are a 15 yr old mother or father what do you really have to offer a child….not a damn thing!!!
Unfortunately I missed it, but judging from the comments, I didnt miss much. I’m gonna try to tune it tonight
@ shunda Says:
Hopefully the second half will have a more positive look and show some of the successes in the black community.
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I can’t believe I watched the whole 2 hours. I watched with my kids and some of their friends. I thought it was going to show a different side of us for White Folks to reconsider some sterotypes. The show should have been called “Being Black And Poor In America. Yes there were the woman with money who can’t get a decent black man. Most of their problem is being too picky and knowing that they have their own money and are not willing to compromise because it’s their way or no way. SMH.
Sandra, real talk, you hit the nail on the head. I knew when they promoted this “show” and had solodad as the host that it was going to just be more “entertainment” and an emotional pick me up for whites and other races who use the Black condition as a measuring stick for their own lives. In other words, so long as Blacks are downtrodden (as a whole) they find comfort in their own existence.
This is more crap and I only watched a half hour of the set up shows with the panels and saw where it was going then. Plus, let’s keep it 100, you can’t honestly have an “evaluation” of the Black condition in this country without have an honest dissection of white racism and really study WHY they have and harbor such fears and resentment towards Blacks. Shid for going on 600 years now. So my question is, when is CNN or any other network going to do a series examining white folk and their issues towards Blacks???
I felt the show was good .. I’m a single mother of ONE .. when I realized marriage wasn’t in my immediate future I chose to get my tubes tied as I didn’t want to have multiple children by different father’s .. My choice …
I loved the closeness of the Rand family and their desire to do better … not all branches we as successful as other’s but the mertis of education is obvious in them.
I believe that the documentary is doing what it was designed to do .. spark conversation .. we’ve been looking for a solution to the ills that plague out community .. The solution is what out grand parents taught us .. DO better than they did .. and Reach BACK to help the next generation Do better …
Naomi (my g-mom) said .. Kym .. when you KNOW better you DO better …
out= OUR
Oh and by the way, the only people going to change the conditions for Black people are Black people. And that crap about women cant find men, is another example of the way the media (and society at large) continues to promote divisons between Black men and Black women.
Sadly, many of these so called educated Blacks are too stupid to realize it and see it for what it is. Nothing makes people more afraid than having INTACT Black families. Heck, I believe this even scares many Black folk, cause you can’t have nothing, a community, neighborhood or nation without strong families. They know this, that’s why from the gate Black family units have been under attack. After the civil war when Blacks really started to reconsolidate our family units, the Black communities exploded economically. We had our own stores, banks, service centers and then you saw an almost 70 year swing of whites destroying Black communities. See they saw then the power of Blacks being united and vowed to not let it happen agian. See Tulsa Oklahoma 1921 for just one of many stories surrounding the destruction of viable Black communities all throughout the US.
I too watched Project Runway, excellent show. As for Soledad, she can’t help what color she was born, she still black. Black America needs to pull itself up by it’s own bootstraps. We need to invest in ourselves. There’s a lot of money in black communities and we need to invest this money in our children. Take Oprah, a billionaire. Why can’t she start her own clothing business and put our children to work making clothes that they often kill for? Build factories across America and put our youth to work, designing and making clothes with THEIR names on it instead of Calvin Klein or Ann Taylor or whomever. (There is so much talent in the hood.) Why can’t rich entertainers get over their player hating and join together to build up black America? Why can’t rich professional athletes get together and start their own teams and fill the arenas with nappy-headed little boys who look to them as role models. There is so much we can do to change black America, especially if Obama becomes president. A new beginning for black America? Together, at last, we can do this, we can make a change. And black women, keep ’em legs closed, PLEASE! As always, I leave you in peace.
for those of you who didn’t get it, well I’m sorry for you…CNN did not perpetuate stereotypes of black America…they showed the harsh reality of black America…and sometimes that is hard for us to swallow…
truth is, our kids are doing worse in school…there are too many unwed mothers…it is stuff we talk about all of the time, but hopefully this will spark a conversation and make parents evaluate what you are instilling in your own children…
WHEN YOU KNOW BETTER, YOU DO BETTER
Anna Says:
Yes there were the women with money who can’t get a decent black man. Most of their problem is being too picky and knowing that they have their own money and are not willing to compromise because it’s their way or no way. SMH.
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That is totally untrue. Maybe when women are young, educated and gainfully employed they have that attitude, but once they hit 30 without a boyfriend let alone a husband, that nose comes down out of the clouds. Our men have serious problems with committment. We know that. Not to mention we outnumber them and waaaay too many of them are criminals. There just aren’t many family oriented black men available. I too look forward to watching the segment on black men tonight to see if any of them will man up like Diddy and honestly say I’m scared of marraige.
@ Anna
I so agree with what you just said. A real relationship or marriage is about compromise.
Diddy should be scared of AIDS more than marriage..
Did yall watch the same show I watched?
I peeped the entire show (instead of basing my opinion off of clips, etc) and it clearly gave a diverse look at Black Women and the Family.
Don’t forget the initial part where they showed how the Black Middle Class has doubled. Specifically, the Rand family and how all of there children have, are currently in or plan on attending college.
What did you expect? If CNN had focused totally on the “rich” in our culture they would have been accussed of not focusing on what’s real…guess what, there’s still a great portion of us that are broke!!!!! They gave ample time to both ends of the spectrum. Your choice to focus on just one part is your choice.
I mean people are upset that CNN showed the struggle of low income Black Families??? Are you serious. That’s not okay, but lord knows hip hop and its glorification of selling drugs to get by and out of the projects, that’s okay, that’s being real (SMH).
I applaud CNN for doing what BET should have done.
I feel like a lot of people are going into this show with there defenses already up. This show is not TELLING you how it is to be Black in America. It’s showing you the issues that we deal with and how THERE ARE THOSE within our community who are actively working on such problems.
So instead of bashing it why don’t you take the time to google some to the programs listed (especially by that fine dude from Harvard with the glasses, he could get it in so many ways). Check out your local mentoring programs, etc.
Take this docuseries and use it to inspiration to actually DO SOMETHING about our community other then writing about it on some blog.
oooops “use it to inspire you to DO”
I thoroughly enjoyed the series.How can you be mad at the truth.It was informative and enlightening.I like Soledad I think she did a good job,I’m sorryy shes not dark enuff for some of us.So if thats the case only white reporters can report white news.Jeez I swear.
I applaud CNN for doing what BET should have done.
^^^^^ Best post I’ve seen thusfar.Bet is ridiculous.The dude from Harvard was nice looking and intelligent.The guy raising his two kids alone on 1300.00 a month broke my heart.
Anna Says:
Yes there were the women with money who can’t get a decent black man. Most of their problem is being too picky and knowing that they have their own money and are not willing to compromise because it’s their way or no way. SMH.
handclap!!!! good for them continue to be picky don’t settle for something just for the sake of having a man that is why too many brothers don’t want to act right THEY DON’T have to!!!! i saw a sista on oprah, PHD , lawyer, had it going on, no kids who said the only thing she ever got asked is why don’t she have a man !!! i applaud all the sistas who got their shit together and don’t need a man to take care of them because marriage is a partnership not a come-up a good man is a good man he could pick up trash or own the damn waste company hell that is why we got men with 6 or 7 baby mammas and still live at home with their damn mommma i for one did not like the special what was so special about it same shyt different day … poor people, drug addicts, felons, single-moms that is not what all black people are all about…
The Black Katie Couric Says
Preach sista. You see how people get when Mr. Cosby speaks out about us taking responsibility. They get seriously pissed. Some of us really do want to hide our dirty laundry despite the fact that it is on the news and shows like 48 Hours all day every day. You are also right about that Harvard cutie. Yes yes yes he could get it! I LOVE BLACK INTELLECTUALS!!! Now that is sexy.
black katie couric i feel you and i also give back to my community as much as i can and teach my children to also i think more of us need to do that you cannot truly appreciate what you have until you see what others don’t have
pinkvirgo Says:
The guy raising his two kids alone on 1300.00 a month broke my heart.
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I did see that segment and girl I was like, maybe me and him need to get together. That is a strong brotha trying to hold it down. He needs a wife. All this do it for yourself crap is for the birds. We need to do this together and while he might be struggling that man is a good catch in my opinion because he could have abandoned those children and had a better life, but he didn’t.
I applaud CNN for doing what BET should have done
@The Black Katie Couric
AMEN!! SISTA
@ Kymystry
I totally agree with you…The show served it’s purpose well..It sparked conversation as well as controversy..I for one believe that we are a product of our own disparity…So quick to blame others for our problems..I too am single mother but that doesn’t hinder me from doing what I have to do…but then again I was raised by my grandmother also.
I tried to watch it but I just couldnt where did any of that series address “The Black struggling woman”. O’Brien need to be F-I-R-E-D!!!!
@ J-Lo … Black Katie Couric and mr mr … AMEN .. AMEN .. and AMEN
We need to get real ! .. and i’m not talkin about some ghetto mentality Keepin it Real Madness either …
@ Bird you and I were thinking the same thing .. but the sad thing Is … if he DOES get married … his social security benefits would be CUT …
This show is about show the disparages between black America and white America. The show’s purpose is not to articulate to black people there are issues that occur in our community but to articulate to white people in America these are our issues in our communities and the reason why we see America in a different pair of glasses. Don’t get it twisted either just because we can stand on the soap box and preach to the choir about our self proclaimed blackness doesn’t mean we can’t learn something from this program. With the increasing amount of blacks in the middle class, some of us (believe it or not) are oblivious to the issues that plague the community of black people at the poverty level. Being black alone doesn’t guarantee a sense of awareness about the things that are going on with our community. To the credit of Soledad this wasn’t CNN’s project she is the one who presented to CNN and got CNN to even agree to do it. Which is not an easy task because mainstream media doesn’t really see our issues as relevant to the construct of America. Not understanding that our issues in our community don’t just affect us it affects a montage of things in America as well. So definitely big ups for her for even get the little bit of air play this has got and starting a dialogue about these issues. Now, as for you, Sandra. No hate but if you feel as strongly about the unimportance of this program as you do. I challenge this to you. Why don’t you use Black History month (yes, I’m going to give you until Feburary.) and take on the issues that plague Black America on your blog.Just one day out of the week for that month (a short month at that)provide some informative interviews (you have done personally because there are a lot of qualified and intelligent people you can talk to in the “A” about our issues), stats, and useful and quality information that our community can use to help us secure a better place personally for us, family, and our community. Just for that one day a week in a short month, no entertainment news. That’s my challenge for you, if you so choose to accept it. That we can, because a lot of do it from time to time, get a way from the critical pandering and posturing (In a nutshell talking out of our ass, and ain’t doing nuthin’).
Peace and Love Always
Thanks Yall!!!
I started mentoring after watching season 4 of The Wire-LOL!!!!
sorry..i feel asleep.
@ imanih and Other’s who saw the Show and accepted for what it was intended to do .. Thank You SO much
Yall gonna make a sustah go back and finish my undergrad degree so I can converse more effectively
I did not watch it… But it sounds like I did not miss that much at all!!!
I did see the special and I think it’s great that they showed successful independent black women who weren’t worried about marriage. However, I know many successful black women who are highly educated, yet still yearn to be married. I was friends with this girl who was getting her PhD and when I asked her what she was doing after she graduated, she replied that she didn’t know and that hopefully, she would be married and would move wherever her husband wanted to go. I’ve also known educated women (black and white) who said that they would become stay at home moms, if they would find a husband that could support their household. I know these women may not represent the majority of black successful women but I think that population of women deserve some attention to. It’s ok to be that strong self-sufficient woman who doesn’t care about marriage b/c you’re doing it all yourself but lets speak to these same women at 40/45 and see it they’re still saying the same thing. Being married is about companionship and having someone to grow old with not finances.
Well I do feel that too many black women are picky when it comes to black men. I’m educated and have my own and I wear a suit to work, but I don’t look down my nose at a black man who doesn’t have 2 or 3 college degrees. Job titles and finances are not the measure of a man and any woman who can’t see that is destined to be lonely. It’s a crock to believe that men are intimidated by successul women because my guy friends want mates who are doing well. Too many black women have the tendency to disrespect a man if he doesn’t have what they have. I’m not telling anyone to go and grab the nearest thug and hope for the best, but we definitely need to stop looking for the material things in a mate. My brother is the head tech at a Mercedes dealership and yanks down 6 figures but just as soon as he tells some women what he does for a living his value goes down based on his career because they have absolutely no clue about him. He has his own home, no kids, and is very handsome but is he less of a man because he works on cars?
Even though, I think it is a nice thing to do this program didn’t stick out to me. And I can’t get my head around it.I didn’t watch it, but I overheard the program (I had to study).I would love for them to have showcased more positive things in the community though because sad and depressing things is what we hear on TV everyday.The “media” only focuses what they want to focus on, not real issues.Everyone has their problems in their community and quite frankly, everything can’t be perfect because life would be nothing.While we sitting and bickering why we get treated like shit, there’s always someone who got it far worse.There is poverty around the world and we complaining?If not, I think we blessed to even form an opinion and to be the state we in, especially that we, as black people are on a come up.And to worry about a man…uhhhhh.If that’s what you want to live your life for, go ahead.
Bird says:
“We can’t be ashamed of it and try to hide it. People need to know what is going on so that maybe someone, anyone, will step up and try to do something about it. I know how cute you think thugs and hoes are, but the fact is they are the disadvantaged and disenfranchised people of our community that need help”.
I agree with this statement. I am not sure what people were expecting, but it is an honest portrayal of the many things that our community suffers with. They also had in my opinion great positive portrayals as well. If you want solutions, start with yourself and your own home and children so that our future can be brighter than our past. Me, my husband and two boys watched it together and it opened up a dialogue that we began a year ago with them. They are 7 & 8. One common denominator that I have seen is that if it is seen as negative or not is the single women with no children thought it was negative, but married women (or single women) with children did not think it was negative. This is my circle of friends that I noticed this with. Like anything else, your view will depend totally on your current situation in life. I’m looking forward to tonight’s segment.
UGH! WAKE THE FU*C UP…
im not even going to go into it… im so over this crying and shi* and always gotta be negative and dont have the mind to find anything positive in anything
If they dont shine light on our struggles then they are ignoring us and when they do, we still bit*h about it.
whatever.
But to make a point about the black women who can’t find a man.All women and I mean all women (unless you want to sit and give a man money all day long, do you)want a man who got something going on for him, period.
I will not post any long or elaborate posts because the user Kymestry shares my exact sentiments……I wholeheartedly agree with your posts
but for the sake of being anal-(should come of no surprise) I would like to point out this-they talked about single mothers etc. and the benefit of being married before having children blah, blah, I feel you but then immediately followed up with the shortage of black men for women to marry? um ok, let me see the possibility of us getting married is 48% so 1 out of 2 sisters, and the age range of the women who have never been married extended into the 30’s right..stay with me, so please do tell are black women expected not to have children at all or until they reach their late 30’s and finally marry and if so, with the chances of even getting married being so limited-48%-could one assume that if one followed this advice would it be fair to say there would be alot of women who would not experience the joy of motherhood? Wow-so it really is a man’s world huh….
Morning @ThatCarmen
@ intensemocha … Exactly My point … I waited until I was 29 to have my son … waited .. waited .. waited ..If I would have waited until I was married I wouldn’t have my son .. and I am SO blessed to be his mother He has made me a better person …. I don’t have a college degree so i didn’t get my nose up in the air as some said it… I wanted and still do want a Decent Brotha with some home training that ain’t stickin and moving anything with a pulse and a hole …
@ Carmen … You summed it up for me yet again ….
@suga_stix … tell your brotha to holla at a girl
i don’t watch these types of programs because i have a pretty good sense of how they will present things. when i went back to earn my master’s, i can count on one hand the number of black men pursuing a master’s degree. there’s a compatibility issue when you have an education and your man can barely break 35-40K. and if he has kids, forget about it. while systemic racism plays a role in why too many black men fall through the cracks, too many black women have made extraordinary sacrifices for themselves and their black son’s for some of these brothas to have such low standards for their lives. i for one have chosen to pass on the brothas who are unstable emotionally or financially. i deserve better. if that means i need to look elsewhere for companionship, so be it. i deserve to find happiness with a man be he black, latin, asian or even white.
also, soledad o’brien’s mother is black; she’s cuban.
@ nyp .. I ain’t mad at you AT ALL … and Kudos to your advance degree *appaluse* …. I too will date whomever my hearts desire … Love is Love…
intensemocha Says:
I will not post any long or elaborate posts because the user Kymestry shares my exact sentiments……I wholeheartedly agree with your posts
but for the sake of being anal-(should come of no surprise) I would like to point out this-they talked about single mothers etc. and the benefit of being married before having children blah, blah, I feel you but then immediately followed up with the shortage of black men for women to marry? um ok, let me see the possibility of us getting married is 48% so 1 out of 2 sisters, and the age range of the women who have never been married extended into the 30’s right..stay with me, so please do tell are black women expected not to have children at all or until they reach their late 30’s and finally marry and if so, with the chances of even getting married being so limited-48%-could one assume that if one followed this advice would it be fair to say there would be alot of women who would not experience the joy of motherhood? Wow-so it really is a man’s world huh….
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I see where you are coming from but that doesnt excuse the women that are allowing the “baby daddy’s” syndrome to continue. What’s makes a woman lay down with a man that has no visible means of support, have his kid(s) and then expect him to run out and get a job? Add to that you know he has several other kids. You’ve seen he doesnt take care of those and this is appealing enough to have more kids with him. Come on.
I loved the show and I agree with everyone else that understood the purpose.
My question is while we understand that the purpose was for whites in America to see us clearly did any white people watch this show?
Does anyone know one white person that watched this show? If so, what did they think?