Black In America: an insightful piece, but what do we do now?

I waited with baited breath in anticipation of Soledad O’Brien’s piece Black in America. The two part series aired on CNN Wednesday, July 23 and Thursday, July24. The segments covered topics such as single parenting, education, drug use, father absenteeism, and employment or rather unemployment rates. A combination of research, personal interviews, and commentary from well-known figures, the segments attempted to give viewers a sense of what it is like to be black in America. I saw all of segment two and part of segment one and listened to some of the before and after dialog with Anderson Cooper and Campbell Brown. Today, a day later, I have a few questions and one thought:

1. Why was this segment necessary at this time and what is the desired outcome?
2. Who was the preppy rapper introducing segments of the piece and why was he necessary?
3. Fathers Matter.

The series was well-done, and undoubtedly well received, but it’s not really new. Such dialogs have been occurring within the black community and in the news media in various formats for quite some time. But what is society supposed to do with the updated statistics and new found tactics of paying children to study or learning that black ex-cons have a zero percent chance of getting employed once they are liberated? What was the desired take-away from this segment? To raise awareness? To spur change? To get ratings? Why now, when we stand on the brink of possibly electing this nation’s first black president was this segment necessary? I found the dialog between white interviewer’s such as Campbell Brown and Anderson Cooper interesting—as though they were really trying to understand what it feels like to be black. O.k. fine, but why now? They are established journalists with a reputation for objective reporting. Sooo . . .Will they now cover issues involving blacks differently because of this series? Do they and Americans now have a new found respect and/or empathy for those of darker hue? And what’s with the term black? I guess African American in America just didn’t sound good.

Now to my next question, who was the preppy rapper (or dare I say spoken word artist) and why was he necessary? Had O’Brien’s piece not been as informative as it was, I would have turned the channel simply to escape him. What value did he add to the piece? From my vantage point, none. He was a contradiction to what I thought the piece was trying to convey. I heard those being interviewed say “we have to inspire our children to get an education, to aspire to look beyond hip hop and sports as the only way out of difficult circumstances;” then you use a rapper to segue from one segment to another. Why? And were the words behind him on the brick wall supposed to be graffiti? Is that still a trendsetting activity in our community? Is that the only meaningful way to attract and hold a young black person’s attention? I don’t think so. Now, I do realize the allure and impact of hip hop on youth and the power of the spoken word; I just think the words could have been spoken better. Should she do a follow-up segment, I hope O’Brien will cut the rapper out, or find a stronger poet to deliver the message.

Finally, O’Brien’s posed the question: Where have all the fathers gone? The segment cited the following statistics:

• 60 percent of black children are growing up in households without a father


• One in three black males will have a prison record


• 50 percent of black males won't finish high school


• 60 percent of black male high school dropouts will end up behind bars


• Black ex-cons have close to a zero percent change of employment once released from jail

From these stats, it would appear that many fathers are in jail. The segment also alluded to sheer absenteeism, portraying one young father as simply not committed to his child. One female interviewee stated that the phenomenon (my term) of father absenteeism was a remnant of slavery—husbands and wives were sold apart from each other, thus African American women became and remain fiercely independent and self-sufficient. A male interviewee stated that nonmarital childbearing has become the norm and that it “simply is not acceptable.” Interview segments before and after the series stressed that there were a number of good fathers, good men out there and the piece did a nice job of contrasting five categories of black men: the married man living in a nice suburban neighborhood with his family; the middle class married man struggling to make ends meet for his family; the poor man who has overcome drug addiction, gotten out of jail and now wants to make amends, but his daughter wants nothing to do with him; the young man who’s making babies for sake of making babies; and the young man who once he had babies started busting his rear end off to get and keep a job to take care of his children. These stories hit me because they not only showed the emotions and love some of the men had for their children, but it also reiterated the fact that children need both parents.

Experts interviewed stated that children raised by both parents were more likely to stay in school and pursue higher education. Children raised by both parents are less likely to end up incarcerated. This is good stuff, but the reality is more and more children are being raised in single family households. Too often we assume that it is single female headed households. While still the majority, a number of dads are willingly assuming the role of single parent. In watching the segment, my thoughts turned to an initiative of D.C. government—Fathers Matter.

This grant-funded program is designed to help young fathers, ages 16 – 24, learn what it means to be a dad. Activities focus on teaching young dads how to bond with their children, how to take care of and discipline their children appropriately, and how to have meaningful relationships with their child’s mother, even if they are no longer together. Covenant House Washington implemented the program last year; since then 60 young brothers have entered the program with seven recently graduating. These young men joined the Fathers Matter to not only become better parents, but also to sharpen their education and job-readiness skills to ensure that their children are taken care of. On August 9, Fathers Matters and D.A.D.S. (Delivering All Dads to Salvation) will host a day-long conference addressing such issues as employment, ex-offender status, and bonding with your child. The goal of the conference is to chart a course for community action to ensure that each child has access to their father. It also offers young dads the encouragement they need to stay involved with their children, removing the stigma of deadbeat dad and lifting them up to a meaningful and necessary presence in their child’s life. Yes, it is a lofty goal, but it is something tangible the audience can possibly grasp and work toward.

Black in America is no doubt an informative, thought-provoking series. But what do we do with the information? How do we put thought into action?



Sources: Black In America, Soledad O’Brien; CNN July 23 – 24, 2008; Covenant House Washington