Black Organizations: Too Little, Too Late?

» vemartin - Why Should all Our Heroes be White?

While I agree with a lot of the points you made in this article; e.g. the NAACP, Urban League and other traditional black rights organizations should be concentrating on more substantive issues, I have to disagree that the NAACP’s pursuit of more Black Americans in positive roles on television is not worth pursuing. It may seem like a small fruitless endeavor, but I believe it is one well worth the effort.

Television, like it or not, has help define Black Americans in the eyes of not only white Americans, (and indeed other black Americans), but the rest of the world. Just this morning I was listening to a piece on National Public Radio (NPR), about how American movies and television have helped shape a negative image of Blacks and other minorities. The average person comes away from the experience of American television and movies thinking that the vast majority of Blacks in America are criminals, clowns, or high priced, ill-behaved athletes. Where I ask you is the middle grown that most Black Americans occupy?

That perception of Black Americans colors everything we do as a group of people. Million of Americans (and others) who have never had one-on-one dealings with Blacks form their opinion of us from television and movies. That perception then defines their dealings with Blacks and other minorities. Oprah, not withstanding, the image of Black Americans in most of the world’s eyes is overwhelmingly negative. Why should we allow Hollywood to luxury or the freedom to define black American unchallenged? Haven’t they done so for far too long with negative results for the black community?

We need to recognize this as a reality and deal with it accordingly. And the best way to deal with it is to get more Blacks on television and movies in positive stand alone (without white side kicks) roles in which they are portrayed as everyday professionals, and or heroes, and or people to be respected, and emulated. I for one am tired of all the heroes being white!

And yes I know that we have seemingly far more pressing problems to deal with, but I would submit to you that our image before the world is just as important to our well being as educating the black community at large about the dangers of HIV/AIDS, teenaged pregnancy, drugs, alcohol, and black on black crime…

Vincent Martin
Contributing Editor
Politics & Minorities

-- posted by vemartin

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