So I got another one of many promotional emails that flood the inbox for a CNN series called Black in America. I was going to delete it until I saw that Carmen D over at All About Race has posted about it and saw that there will be a special segment about Black women. Soledad O'Brian is behind this. Now you can imagine my trepidation about a mainstream media organization attempting to cover anything related to Black women after last Fall's debacle by NBC called "African American Women Where They Stand" which we here at WAOD have labeled... "Black Women It Suck to Be You." Now I have always liked Soledad so hopefully this series will not be more of the same HOWEVER... Folks tell me if you can spot any storm clouds on the horizon based on the "experts" that are scheduled to appear:
Black in America: Black Women & Family, Thursday, July 24, 9 p.m. (two hours)I am holding out hope for this one just like I did for "African American Women Where They Stand." Since it is two hours, I think this one qualifies as "in depth." I don't know what that was NBC put on last year.
In this installment of Black in America, O’Brien, examines the unique and varied experiences of black women and families in America. O’Brien looks at the reasons behind the disturbing statistics on single parenthood, disparities between black and white students in the classroom, and the devastating toll of HIV/AIDS on black women. The Black Women & Family yields insights into black achievements and struggles and perspectives on King’s hopes for progress. The documentary is told through the experiences of the Houston-based Rand family with expert commentary from economist and Bennett College president Julianne Malveaux, Essence magazine editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray, Dallas-based preacher and life coach Bishop T.D. Jakes, TV/radio personality Michael Baisden, entrepreneur and activist Russell Simmons, actor Vanessa Williams, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researcher Dr. Camara Jones and others.
I think my frustration is that I know that there are some amazing stories out there to be told about Black women. Unfortunately, we tend to focus on reanalyzing the same old stereotypes. "Because many of us were to silly as to pursue higher education, home ownership, or other crazy survival tactics and such, we're all going to die old alone and be eaten alive by nine cats! Run for your lives SISTERS!!"
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