CNN's "Black In America" Series Leaves Me Feeling Cheated
This evening, CNN presented the first installment of its Black In America series. Although it was titled, "The Black Woman & Family," that is not the program that I watched. Only about 20-30 minutes of the program were dedicated to the topic of black women. I felt like I was the victim of bait and switch.
CNN lured me in with the promise of dedicating a full 2-hour segment to the issues facing black women today. Instead, I got a program that was more about the black family, educational disparities among black students, poverty-related issues, health care disparities, HIV rates in black community (with black women as a side note within the larger discussion), and death rates of black men due to crime. While these are very important topics that deserve attention so do those related to black women. Sadly, this is not what was delivered.
Yet again, black women are pushed aside in favor of other "more important" topics. As time passes, I've become more and more unhappy with this widespread lack of concern for and discussion of black women and OUR realities. The issues facing black women are just as valid and diverse as those facing black men and others. In fact, it was this very frustration with the lack of inclusion in the greater dialogue that led me to creating this blog.
Putting the lack of coverage of black women aside for a moment, the program overall was better than I expected. I felt it showed the black community in a positive light. Unlike programs of yesteryear, it didn't come across as passing judgment on or blaming the black community for circumstances not of its making yet it still must navigate through. The only major downside of the program was its "rushed" feel. Many of the topics needed to have much more time devoted to them. Oh well, it's a start.
