Racial Regurgitation & White Fantasy, Part Deux

Regurgitating CNN's "Black in America" into a part deux debacle has as much to do with ongoing White middle-class American fascination with their current socio-political predicament as it will do with Soledad O'Brien's attempt to placate those who cut her paycheck. It is, first, rooted in the Black experience as White fantasy, our collective issues, problems, conflicts and contradictions a perpetual prattle for folks unfamiliar with the real deal. This has always been the case, and on some levels, we've obliged with a dubiously destructive mix of caricatures through entertainment, sports, internal hostilities and vestiges of slavery culminating into atrocious public behavior that is the butt of comedic repertoire. On other levels, we've had no choice in the matter, afflicted by a never ending litany of social maladies, injustice, chronic disease, outright violent responses to our existence, unemployment, family dysfunction and anything historically associated with, as Chancellor Williams chimed in his classic diatribe "The Destruction of Black Civilization."

Tragically, there should be no expectation that CNN can get this right since the network's heart could never be in the right place. That's the enduring tough spot we're in, relying on mainstream media to get it right for us since we're such a large fraction of the viewing market. In the final analysis, we should collectively agree to simply stop watching television and let networks feel the impact from declining ad revenue and ratings. But, since that will never happen (and since we can't find any sort of happy medium on BET or TVOne), we'll have to deal with what we've got.

Giving Soledad the benefit of the doubt here, she's in a predicament reflecting the continuing cautionary tale of Black journalists. Perhaps, her heart - unlike CNN's - is in the right place. Something's bugging us that the edge of urgency in her narrating whine can't be acted. The real issue is with the content and the game Black journalists are forced to play. And, they reach a point where they enjoy playing it. There's, perhaps, a need for deeper discussion on that. On one hand, big media pushes the "let's get along/move on" dictate of the predominant demographic eager for 400-year absolution while on another vibe they can't get enough of pigeon-holing us into neatly crafted stereotypes. Black journalists, like Soledad, are caught in the middle of that, desperately wanting success through means other than their "Blackness" - eager to display skills defined by their ability to discern other topics, other issues other than where they're from or who they are. Yet, snared in the celebrity toggle of drawing high income, high regard and high ratings, an endless cycle of having to step back and forth between parallel dimensions colored by color.

Not saying we know what Soledad's personal motivation is in all of this. For real, the reasoning behind CNN's decision for a sequel is beyond her - and, really, it shouldn't be about her. Although her face, the Soledad Brand is on it; she owns it, as far as the public is concerned. Does she have a growing tumor-like fascination with the Black experience? Many of us do, in the music we listen to, the literature, the history, the passion and the legends. And, sure: some of us over-compensate through the schools we go to, the names we now choose, the neighborhoods we decide to un-gentrify while all we're doing is really gentrifying like many young urban professionals. As far as Soledad, we know where the ugliness of that argument leads, and what some folks really want to say. Let's keep it one hundred, shall we. But, is that the point? And should we perpetuate the cruelty imposed on us on ourselves? Should we do what we despise White supremacy doing to us?

Obviously, BiA 2 is the tomfoolerish post-mortem to the 2008 election - just like BiA 1 was the pop-culture soundtrack to its analysis. Just like FOX's decision to promote a Black president in "24" was the prequel to conceptual acceptance. And, no - it's not meant to appease certain African American tastes or assuage Black angst over media coverage. It's the dominant society's way to cope with its final decision. BiA 2 is: "ok - we've done it, so now what?" Struggling to figure out who "they" are, those who - through their "first" President - now "run things." The typical damnation of "they all look and think alike." The dangerous piece to all of this is that it implies a need for racial recalibration, as though we have to re-assess what needs no new assessment. It's old wine in a new bottle. Drink up.

by Charles D. Ellison