As a follow-up, think about the last time a Black man was shown as being tender, really loving and not just bragging about money and how successful they are, whether they be in the form of rappers or these corporate dudes. Also, Black women are still portrayed as money-hungry career anti-man bitches or as totally lonely, desperate women. I think Black people are shown as totally one-dimensional.

I think she also could have stood to mention that not only is it poor, under-educated women that are having children out of wedlock, its career women now, some of which chose to have a baby without a man. I would love to see statistics on the children of women who are unmarried, but are successful in their careers. It would be interesting to see whether money or having father has more impact on the success of children and their emotional stability.

WHEN I FIRST HEARD ABOUT THE SPECIAL, I WAS THINKING THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE SOMETHING PRAISING THE GREATNESS OF BLACK AMERICANS. I THOUGHT IT WOULD SHOW THE STRUGGLES WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH AND STILL MANAGE TO MAKE IT. I WAS COMPLETELY WRONG. IM NOT SAYING THAT THE SHOW WASNT SHOWING THE TRUTH, BUT AT THE END THE CONCLUSION THAT ME AND THE REST OF THE WORLD GOT WAS THAT ” ACCORDING TO CNN” BLACK ARE JUST A BUNCH OF DUMB, UNHEALTHY, POOR, CANT GET A MAN, BUNCH OF BABY’S MAMAS, AIDS HAVING PEOPLE! THEY SHOW 1 OR 2 FAMILIES DOING WELL BUT OTHER THAN THAT THE ENIRE SHOW WAS VERY NEGATIVE! I AM REALLY HOPING THAT THEY DECIDE TO DO ANOTHER SPECIAL SHOW THE GREATNESS OF BLACK AMERICANS!
BUT IT DID LEAVE ME WITH ONE QUESTION IN MY MIND:

ARE WE AS BLACK AMERICANS REALLY IN TROUBLE????

Karen hunter’s article is only partially true. Though the people who need it the most may not watch the show directly, those of us that can help and touch those people should be inspired by the knowledge and spread it. No message ever reaches everyone. As social beings, word of mouth is the most powerful way to spread a message. This show’s objective is to inspire us to take action ourselves and help empower others.

I watched it…I live in Canada
it was very good
but my sister thinks that it made black peopl look bad.lool hmm

Again…

Are you all creating the answers or just complaining about the questions?

Its not that BET has not showed programs such as this they have people choose not to watch.. now granted BET has definitely taken a turn for the worst..why aren’t there any other black entertainment channels other than BET. We need to start raising our children to be lawyers, and journalist because that is where there is a shortage of black professionals. Journalist are the one’s running the media and the majority of journalist are white, so what do you expect when the portayal of the black man is slanted?

i was particularly interested on the fact that successful black women cannot find themselves a mate because most of them are in jail. as a black female (19) and growing up in england, i must say that it is very discouraging. i am very open minded and really don’t care who i spend the rest of my life with but people still have preferances. england is definately more tolerant to interaccial relationships than america from what i saw on the show. here, it would seem as though interaccial relationships are a trend. as a girl who has big dreams of becoming a doctor, should i be worried that i won’t find a black lawyer husband, black architect husband or black accountant husband? well my ma always jokes that i won’t get married to a black man cos there are none here and certainly with the culture i am growing up in (go to an all white school, live in an all white neighbourhood, go to all white parties), i’m likely to get married to a white guy…(which i know secretely, she hopes not but just trying to deal with the disappointment now). i don’t know….black males, STEP UP!!! u know i want brown babies.lol

Watching the show pissed me off!!! I missed the intended message the show was trying to send out. Was it trying to send a message to us a a people to straighten our lives? Was it trying to show white America the obstacles and challenges of being black? I think either way — it failed. As posters ahead of me said, the ones of us that needed to see it probably didn’t and if white America actually sat down to view (which no whites on my job even cared it was on) they saw that blacks didn’t use the sense they were born with. Bad decision, after bad decision. Why does a woman, already in poverty choose to keep getting pregnant for unworthy partners?

I could not help wondering continuously as I watched, what is your thought process? In the segment of the young lady with the absentee father for her daughter, she complains that he is not there for their daughter and times are hard but she gets pregnant with twins for someone else who is not in the picture. Hello? Does the idea “BIRTH CONTROL” come into play here?

White America has already tagged us as a dumb race. This show solified how dumb we are.

I watched both nights of the piece and I thought it was well done. It seemed to me that the goal of it was to shed a little light into the complexities of being black in America. I really loved how when they consulted professionals on certain issues, they were all black professionals (the female cardiologist, the ER surgeon, the economist, the college president, they district attorney, etc.). They showed more positive images of blacks in two nights than BET shows in a week’s worth of programming. I also liked how they showed both sides of many of the issues that they tackled. What I took away from it is that some of the state of Black America can be attributed to what happened in the past, but some of where we are can also be attributed to the decisions that each individual person makes. The young man that was in the ER in Part 1 who had been shot said that he saw how his getting shot affected his whole family, not just him. I think that we can apply that to everything. Every decision one person makes and occurrence in one person’s life affects more than just that one person. It affects everyone connected to them. So, if you choose to sell crack, the drug addict is affected, their family is affected and the whole community is affected. If you choose to work hard, you become a better example to your family and possibly your entire community.

There is no way that CNN could have summed up all there is to being black in this country in two nights. However, the fact that they chose to put this program together and hopefully open up dialogue on a topic so many people run from is a good thing. It is good that they have done something proactive as opposed to doing something as a reaction to a negative current event or news story, which is when people tend to look at things more negatively because they are emotional and angry.

One last point: it is disappointing to see the number of people who have posted nothing but negativity on this topic. It seems to me that if you have a cynical or pessimistic mentality, if wouldn’t have mattered what CNN did, some folks would not have been satisfied either way. Kudos to those of you who watched the special with an open mind and chose to see the positive instead.

#76 Yes Some of us are.

I don’t think cause the show showed you something, some of you already know, makes it more so for white people. When the issues that were addressed in the special are usually presented, it is usually presented in a glamorized or comedic way where we look at it and say “haha oh well.” Presenting it as a real and serious situation makes people really open their eyes. We may know, but some of us don’t think about it. So the special was effective in that.

I don’t thing it’s necessary to show the greatness of anyone because of their race. I think greatness comes from a persons determination and drive to succeed.

My husband said the saaaame thing: will “we” really be watching this? He is convinced that more whites than blacks will watch the show and I am compelled to agree - albeit, reluctantly. I don’t know what to think about it either. We watched it and enjoyed it.

I must have been watching a different show from eveyone else that said they liked it! The mirror images they portrayed of the black community, while some were accurate is the same thing that we chastize rappers and other hip hop artist for! Was it not appauling to see that on the black men in america episode the only good black man who had ” Made it out the hood” had three son one married to a white woman and another dating a white woman, when the episode before basically blamed african american females for the rise in biracial relations??? my question is who was the show made to be viewed by lets just see you have children being paid to learn which down here in the south you don’t get paid to do what you are suppose to instead you get handled it you dont! Another thing african americans in north american are the lowest of all educated african americans what the hell? this show was not made to open the eyes of african americans instead it was just another way to show us as a minority that has yet to overcome!

…………They barely scratched the surface of what it is to be Black in America.
…………More was put into the advertising of the show than the actual show, 2
…………thumbs down..

I watched both segments of Black in America, and I thought the first segment was more of a representation of being black in america then the second segment. I am a black female with more love then can be expressed for our black brothers and I don’t beleive their segment portrayed them as the majority are. I’m not saying the the diplictions were not true, but I do feel that the majority of their segment steriotipically displayed them as much of the media normally does. Don’t get me wrong, I truely enjoyed the fact that CNN is trying to connect with black america and I feel that’s were it should start in order for the American’s that don’t relate to being black in america. Overall I say jumbs up to CNN and I would love to see a continuation, possibly a series, especially on black males because I feel they are the beginning and the end of how our young black women and men succeed. I am a 37 year old black female that trying her best to raise a 17 yr old black male and a 15 year old black female on her own and I have to say that there are many days of tears and disapointments of self because I know that I can’t give either one of my children all that is need to be a strong (COMPLETE) black intelligent mother, father, sister, brother, leader, teacher and most of all god fearing child of god. It’s only by GOD’s hand that I hold on and pray that I’ve given them the love and leason’s needed to be the best they can be and hope they have the means,strength and love in their heart to eventually give their children more then I could give to them.

Praying Black Mom!
Jamie

They did a better job promoting it that putting it all together.
There was nothing extraordinary about the special and if you keep up with what’s happening their information and insights were outdated. I know that started this 3 years ago, but ain;t no way in hell, it should have taken 3 years for that.

Much better information and commentary on the blogs these days….

It was disappointing.

You people are missing it. The show is for those that CNN are trying to attract. The mid to higher Educated black person. They got the ratings they needed. thats what they were looking for. Look up a thing called “sweeps week” and will understand

#91 - JA

You are absolutely right.

I personally don’t need a white audience telling me what it is to be black in america. They don’t know or have a clue. I thought it was on the wrong station also. I don’t like them judging us, I get enough of that on a everyday basis at work. If it was on BET or TVONE I would have watched it.

@#73–What conversation did Soledad and CNN start? They didn’t start any conversation in the black community. The topics in her series have been discussed in barbershops, hairdressers, my college classes, the card table–it was nothing new. The stuff she was emphasizing are the same topics Louis Farrakhan and Bill Cosby have been saying all along. Shoot, I got more out of Barack Obama’s father’s day speech then that watered down mess that was on last night. Just because some half-black woman and her white-owned network want to be the first out of all the television networks to air a 2-day series on the plights of BLACK AMERICANS (and yes, I do applaud Soledad and CNN for the effort), does not mean they are starting a conversation. Puhleaaaze!!!!

CNN’s Black in America was not a cure for our struggles, but was aimed to shed light into those who have no clue what it’s like for us. I mean hopefully Elizabeth from the view watched it because she is one who appears to have to clue.

I actually enjoyed the show although I will agree that I did not give me new insight to what being Black is about because I AM BLACK. I understand that being black means to recognize our past and to NEVER let go of history. I understand that being black means you can be success and have a committed marriage and raise wonderful children as they depicted with one set of the Rands. I understand that being black sometimes makes you wonder, “Did I get pulled over by the police…Did I not qualify for this loan…Is this sales clerk watching me…Do I have to go above and beyond to PROVE myself on my job/school BECAUSE I AM BLACK??? White people have the privilege of not having to ask themselves these questions.

Being black is being proud of the gains that we have made, but it also means that we have to figure out how to reach the population that didn’t watch the series to enlighten them. It’s hard though reaching some of us when the parents who were born in poverty and are raising their children in poverty continue to perpetuate the images of being “hood”. Some of these people have never been outside of their communities due to lack of transportation and/or funds.

I am an educator, who understands this because I took a student of mine to the book store where she could purchase books. She saw the escalator and asked me “What is that thing called? I’ve always wanted to ride one.” She had NEVER been on an escalator! Not only that, after we purchased the books and the cashier was putting them into the bag, she said, “That’s okay because you have to pay for the bags.” It was then that I realized that her family must only shop at Save a Lot, which is the grocery store in her community.

Those of us who have done better must employ the “Each One Teach One” concept for those who don’t know. I mean there are just to many things that mean being black that there was no way it could have been exposed in 2 days, but at least O’Brien tried and it’s a start. Just like we have to start reaching out and doing something to help as the ER doctor.

I just wish we would come up with solutions, instead of always talking about the problems. We know there are less and less black males in the home, at school and in the corporate world. My question is what do we do to combat this issue…..We can talk about these topics and how they tick us off all day….And how we have finally aired our dirty laundry for the world too see……All I want to know is what do we do so that these problems can be resolved……….

and I agree with you #83 aka Diva. I felt so embarrassed for that woman who had the lame “baby daddy”…or, as Soledad would say “Baby’s Father” , then the chick gets knocked up again–WITH TWINS. And Soledad didn’t mention who the second father was. I was so embarrased for my people when i saw that. The fact that homegirl couldn’t keep her legs closed was all on NATIONAL tv like that…

So, the white folks who saw that part are probably all pointing to us black people saying..”haha, I told you so.”

i thought this doc would go deep in the trenches to find out whats it like to be black….i thought inmates would be onterviewed, gang members, drug dealers, doctors lawyers and so forth…..it was a perspective one one person, on family…it gave white america an excuse to say whats your point?

The real problem is that people of African ancestry have failed to look beyond being “Black in America”. I’m not talking about intergration and Melting Pot theories, but understanding all along the Caribbean, Latin and Central America, people of professed African identity are routinely at the bottom of the well. African Americans know little about aspects of our bretheren in this part of the world. I think the greatest seduction of Blacks has been to divide us among countries and have us think of ourselves in nationalistic terms, ex, Jamaicans, Hatians, African Americans, etc.

There are some fundamental and systemic problems that plague the Black community, we all know this, right? First, Black men, for the most part are not taught to respect Black women. That’s why we have so many acceptable births outside of marraige. If you can afford to take care of your kids great, but let’s be real, an unmarried mother is more likely to be in poverty than not, so this impacts the development and well being of children. We need to re-educate our women so they don’t fall prey to sweet words.

A wholesale culture of learning is absent in the Black community. Smart children are considered special, when this, in reality should be the norm. We are not forceful enough in ensuring that our children actually enjoy learning, but we give them so much garbarge for limited performance.

I opted not to watch it because it was premiering on CNN. They don’t cater to the black community so therefore, I didn’t feel that the episodes would be interesting. And, reading most of the previous posts, it appears that I was correct.

Several of the posts make great points just from observation and personal experience that would yield a better version of the show that CNN attempted to create for us. Who knows “us” better than “we” do?!

Great try, but it appears that once again, they fell short! It’s up to Black America to address the issues that matter within our own community and not rely on White America to do it for us.

I am hearing (and reading) lots of people say that they did not get anything or learn anything from the documentary…did u really need to learn what it is like to be Black in America or did u already know?????? The purpose of the program was to allow people of other backgrounds to see and understand the plight of black people in America and the diversity of our people.

With that being said, if you think the representation of us was not accurate, then you have the right to that opinion. I am a Black woman. I am a law student, and very motivated. In my opinion Black women were dipicted well and the program showed how diverse we all are.

How do you cram Black in America into 4 hours? This should have been a month, year, YEARS long series. The show skipped and dipped all over the place. And who really watched it? Was Black in America for white people? Did any of them watch it? I didn’t hear anything I didn’t already know. Frustration! I agree Karen Hunter 100%

I felt it was some what degrading.

ROCK said it all , BET should have done this a long time ago to make up for the debauchery they consistantly run …….an i dont think the special was for black people , thats why most of u knew what they were talking about duh? It was to show other races what being black in america is like ….i found it missleading and one sided

It was very interesting.
I started watching the special on Wednesday. Some of the things that was being said kind of ticked me off a little, and that host was fucking annoying.
Some Asian guy asked me, “Do you like being African-American?” I wanted to punch this bitch in the face, but you know I told him in a politely manner, “Of course!”
It can be difficult being “Black In America”.

I am glad to see that I was not alone with how I felt about the special. I honestly think that the show was disappointing to many of African-Americans based on the fact that it told us nothing that we didn’t know! I do think this show would be effective in making non-Black Americans aware of some issues that effect out community…It was a decent attempt and I am aware that we have to start some where so, blah, blah blah…I respect Soledad, but I just felt that she was a bit biased in her commentary. Like for instance, when Dyson was trying to explain ‘colorism’ and how he feels that it had impacted the treatment of him and his brother in his family, she quickly shut that notion down. And I hate to point this out, but I found it interesting that someone like herself had this done this commentary. How come only ’she’ had covered this story? How come she didn’t have other journalists covering such a broad story?

well , i didnt get to watch it but i heard there was a man on there with 10 kids by 10 different mothers……..why is that my sisters uncle Donald (smh)!!! Let me tell them something, their whole family does that. Almost every man in the Grey Family has multiple kids everywhere with different women. They need to come to Columbus Ohio for a follow-up story to show it goes way further back then just the daddy….try the great-great-great-grand-daddy , oh and uncles too!!!!!

I did watch both parts of Black In America. I felt that the different topics covered in the segments could have been an hour long special of their own. When I first heard that CNN and Soledad O’Brian were going to have this year long capaign I thought it was going to be at least a monthly thing, but I guess this 2-part special was more than a lot of other networks are doing.
As far as reaching the people that need to get this message and learn from it, maybe we could have done a little more promotion, maybe in a movie theater or auditorium and have people come out to see it, or have it on the local networks. There is a responsibility that each of us have to better our own community. What ever little you can do is a start. Then again, specials like this will reach people whether directly or indirectly, therefore reaching the people that needed to see it. To promt change, and create an ongoing dialouge.

it was okay….i feel like a lot was left out….and stuff that did get disussed was not thorough enough…and we spent way too much time on the likes of d.l. hughley

honestly, two 2-hour specials (with commercials in between) is not nearly enough to truly give a comprehensive overview of what it is to be black in america

and karen hunter took the words right out of my mouth…those who need to see it dont have cable….and prolly wont care to watch it anyways

Well I watched both, I agree with all who said they discussed things that we already know. I mean seriously it should have been broken down into 3 episodes. Even then I dont think it could’ve been done the right way. I mean as a woman I was disappointed with the first episode. We as black women have more important problems that werent discussed and not discussed enough. I mean they could’ve discussed the corporate glass ceiling or the fact how we are portrayed in the media. I dont think enough was covered about women and our issues that no one wants to ever talk about. The mens show was ok but still it was all stuff we already knew. OMG if Joseph C Phillips’ uncle tom ass didnt stop acting as things are so easy to do in life, obviously everyone is not afforded the same opportunities for these “great” decisions. He should know that as a black man. Overall it was about a B+ for the effort and a D- for the execution of the topics.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!!!!!

People in the black community need to stop expecting others to find solutions to problems we are plagued with. It starts with having respect, morals, and values for yourself! Regardless of whether or not the CNN program was well done, instead of complaining or ignoring the issues, do something about it. Raise your own children and stop allowing all forms of media to do it for you, because if you know who you are no one can tell you different. Educate yourself and those around you. Those music videos, rap songs, violent movies, etc are a form of entertainment, not reality (for the most part)! Be self sufficient and stop blaming everyone other than yourself for your mistakes and given circumstance! Be the change you want to see in this world!
Our CHOICES in life are what make the difference.

People wake up! If u paid attention to the special there were several examples of US doing well….going to college, obtaining degrees, owning businesses. This examples seem to be overshawdowed by the overwhelming number of US who are not succeeding. Why do we only make up 13% of the U.S. population but our drop out rate from high school is 50%? Why is there a disporportionate number of Black women living w/ AIDS/HIV? Why are most of our Black men in prison? Something is going on…What messages are being fed into OUR community that are the cause of these alarming statistics?
the solution is obvious to OUR issues if you read behind the words and disect the issues…THE ONLY WAY WE ARE GOING TO SURVIVE IS EDUCATION! EVEN IF OYOU KNOW SOMETHING ALREADY, IS IT REALLY HURTING U TO HAVE IT REPEATED? BECOMING AWARE OF ISSUES AND DEVELOPING AN OPINION ABOUT THESE ISSUES IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF ELEVATION AND DEVELOPMENT.
COME ON NOW PEOPLE, NOBODY HAS SAID NOTHING ABOUT THE ONE CHANNEL (bet)THATS SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT US THAT IS NOT DEPICTING OUR PEOPLE…PERPETUATING THE STEREOTYPES…HEAVY IMAGES OF BAFFOONERY…BUT FOLKS WANNA BE OFFENDED WHEN THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY IS REVEALED. WAKE UP PEOPLE? LETS FOCUS ON THE ISSUES THAT MATTER INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING! IF U HAVE AN ISSUE SPEAK UP…BECOME AN ACTIVIST TO SUPPORT US! IF NOT THEN SHUT UP!
FOLKS WE NEED TO STOP ACTING LIKE CRABS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BARRELL.

I agree, it fell short. If we can spend 4 hours on problems we need parts three and four on solutions. I too applaud her efforts but we know the ills of our culture and now sub-cultures but need to do more. I was also disillusioned by some of the ‘people’ used in certain segments. I think that it is far too big a task to ‘generalize’ our people as a whole, you will always leave someone out and left with questions????. Lastly, M.E. Dyson was awesome, never really knew who he was but he is a powerful brother and I am now going to support his books as a result of this show.

The lady who had the dead beat “baby daddy”, now pregnant again with twins really got under my skin. Just so typical and expected. Her story deserved no airplay! Couldn’t they find ONE black female in her same situation that learned from her mistakes and now is married & pregnant with twins. I’m so tired of stories where they REPEAT the cycle!

@82 TARIYA You stated:
as a girl who has big dreams of becoming a doctor, should i be worried that i won’t find a black lawyer husband, black architect husband or black accountant husband?

Even though you’re across the pond in England, we both share the same struggle. I too worry that I won’t be able to find a successful spouse as well. Its such a shame. Here I am single, NO KIDS, holding a MBA and unfortunately lack the hopes of having a good black husband.

Statistically black females are holding it down when it comes to education and careers. So who do you blame for the lack of good black men?….. I say themselves

it was boring, because it is stuff we grown folks who have lived know, and live, or know someone who is going thru it. But it educates the kids (younger generation) who think everything is a joke! like my 12 yr old son, and oblivious whites and any other race!

im sure CNN did this for reasons other than that but if it opens a few eyes then hey!

We thought it was just bland enough to get our son(13) to ask…”what are they really saying”. It isn’t like we don’t constantly talk to him about being black in America or more specifically black in Hawaii, where might I add racism is very much alive. We broke it down to him even more and we were able to use this special as visual tools. All in all my husband and I thought it was good for what it was intended…which in our sons case, was to start a dialogue.

the part 2 section I did not like, especially the segment with the guy that moved his family into the white neighborhood. His african american lineage has been wiped out completely,because all his sons married or is dating white girls, hoiw lame is that. I doubt the granchildren will marry black. Also, yes he had this huge house but there was no thing that showed any thing african american with all his white daughter in laws …. pathetic. He looked like he forgot where he came from.

I thought that the series was good. The problems were real, and that is just how the cookie crumbles. We do need to do better, but there is racism out there. It is not an either or type of thing. It’s both. I think it tried as best as it could to tell the range of our stories, which I appreciated. The sad thing is-is that so many successful and educated Black women are single, and so many successful and educated Black men are poster children for interracial marriage. I don’t see anything wrong, per se, with interracial marriage. But I do think that Black men, some have believed in this Eurocentric form of beauty-be it white or light, or whatever. Now that is just the truth. Whether you think that Black people make fun of you because you speak proper English-so you marry a white woman?Come on man, that is a poor excuse, because their as so many Black women who speak great English, raised in white communities, and assimilated into white culture-so what are you saying? I know, I have a brother-in-law who is married to a white woman, wouldn’t even look at a black woman because he doesn’t think they are attractive. Why? Because that is what has been thrown at him by the media, his ignorant slave acting grandparents, and everyday Black men who prefer long permed hair, flat or skinny noses, passive women, hyper sexual, and all the other white women stereotypes.

We need to get our stuff together but will the people that need to get it together even watch? That is still in the air.

Emmy for Soledad-I liked it.

If you ask me this so called presentation was a waste of two hours. I didn’t need a televised documentary to inform me on how to date a white man If I don’t learn to love and appreciate my own man that God created for me for who he is , because that’s exactly what those women were saying . “I’m not lowering my standards “ what’s that’s suppose to mean ? If you already have money, a nice home, car , etc….. what do you need in a man ? I don’t think a lot of women even know what the word “successful “ means . I loved it when one of the young ladies said something to the effect ., The black man was made for her so she’s not dating outside her race. Then they had that interracial couple on there knowing damn well the husband’s family didn’t like his wife . I was LOL when he tried to justify his family “not coming around for awhile” for being ashamed of his interracial children . If they didn’t like them then ,they wont like them later , most ,if not all older people are set in their ways . I like how CNN repeatedly worked white people into the factor.

. All black people are aware of everything they portrayed us to be in this documentary , so what was the purpose of it ? The only segment of this “documentary” that touched me was the single black father raising his two children alone . I was in tears because that’s a part of “ Black America” that most people never get to see, and contrary to what people may think there are many single black males raising their children ALONE . I noticed throughout his segment they may have mentioned they’re mother maybe once briefly , but when it came time to discuss the single black female household the continually talked about how the father abandoned his family . Regardless If more single mothers exist or not ,it’s the same difference . Children need a mother just as much as they need a father . CNN is very well crafted with that damn trickery

Im going to watch the second half . I didn’t get to catch it .

All i am saying is that Black In American did not tell me something i already didn’t know. Its like how are you going to tell a blind man that he’s blind, like he already doesn’t know his situation. Maybe this comes as an eye opener to the people who think that everything is everything. This also reinstates that the “white man” is not to blame; but instead we [black people] are the ones to blame for our current situations and lifestyles because we choose to CONTINUE to stay put and not take charge. .

This wasn’t just for Blacks, it was for other people as well…perhaps to enlighten those who have no idea about what it is like to be us…to those who say it didn’t tell them stuff they didn’t already know…um hello? that’s because you’re Black in America, *of course* you already know!

Anyway, I liked it. I think they could have done a hell of a better job for the first segment but the second one was done very nicely. I would have liked Black women to be discussed a whooole lot more! But I appreciate Soledad O’Brien and CNN for even putting this special together - it’s very important for everyone to watch, especially those who are totally ignorant to the struggles of Black people.

It is very hard for black people who can’t afford cable to see a show that detail their situation. Just think, how many black people are struggling get food on the table and struggling to buy gas to get to work can even afford to have cable/satellite television to see CNN?

the second part was far better than the first. i watched it with a white friend wednesday and after digesting it, i thought the next day, “is this what he and others will think it is to be black in america?”.
the next day was something many more people of color could relate to and it showed more than what a lot of people think (negatively) about us as a people.
i dont agree with the snippet in regards to it needing to reach “those people”. they know what it is to be black in america, as do i. so i can understand why it fell short for some people. this is something for non black people (or black people who dont or cant identify with the african american race) to watch and get a glimse of what it feels like to be us.
further more, if we are expecting a show to tell the world all about us, we can hang it up. show and prove what we are about as a race. that will speak louder than any television show.

Hats off the CNN for producing the show. The show was called “Black In America”. I’m almost certain that if you are in fact “black in america” the show didn’t teach you anything new! It simply shed light on the status of our people, which I’m sure some people (white people) were ignorant of! I, not unlike Ms. Karen Hunter, was a little concerned about who was watching the program. The people who really needed to see it the most probably didn’t even know it was on! However, the piece was insightful and interesting and most of all TRUE! I loved it!

It is obvious that this is nothing but a ploy to discredit Barack Obama and his BLACK wife and his BLACK race. What a convenient time for the white media to spew its racist propaganda and numbers, during the heat of election time in which the first BLACK president is slated to take office.

C A S E C L O S E D .

White America was already well aware of the problems that continue to plague the black community. I think it shed a very bright light on issues that we face daily and could’ve been summed up in one two hour show, not a week long series.

I won’t sit around waiting for a CNN special or a black president to change the world. I can only do my part in raising my girls. I put God and education first, and I teach them to respect themselves and others. I just wish we were more unified as a race, that’s a start.

Some of it I could relate to and some of it I was like WTF????

#1. I am Black in America. This documentary attempts to over simplify being Black in America. Black people are not all cut from the same cloth. Regardless of race, every life experience is relative and unique.

#2. I think the timing of this production being aired is way off. For the first time in the history of American politics, the American people have nominated a black man to represent the Democratic Party for the candidacy of the highest office in the land. In the midst of a presidential campaign of historic proportions, White America and the “entire world” are given the opportunity to tune their televisions to CNN and watch Black America discuss the perils of being Black in America.

Another “WTF?”moment for me.

This has to be perceived as a paradox to anyone that is not Black in America.

Quoting my mother after the first hour of Black in America, ” I’m going to sleep, this is just too much black.” The understanding of blacks in america is not about you and I. It is about white people trying to get a understanding of the presidential candidate Barack Obama. Maybe if they understand the general black population they will understand Mr. Obama. The media outlets could careless about the black plight. They want to know how will their world be affected if Barack Obama a black man becomes the next president.

I THINK THIS PROGRAM WAS INTEDED FOR BLACK VIEWERS. SIMPLY BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN HEARING THIS, SEEING DOCUMENTARIES LIKE THIS AND YET WE’VE DONE NOTHING. WE’VE CHANGED NOTHING FOR OUR PEOPLE, FOR OURSELVES. SO YES CNN WAS GIVING IT A SHOT… AGAIN! AND PUTTING THIS SHOW OUT THERE FOR BLACKS 2 WATCH, HOPING THAT WE FINALLY GET THE HINT. YEAH THE TARGET VIEWERS (IGNORANT BLACKS) DIDN’T TUNE IN, BUT FOR THOSE OF US WHO R BETTER EDUCATED, HAVE CAREERS, CAN B POSITIVE ROLE MODELS TO OTHER BLACKS, SHOULD GO OUT THERE AND INFORM OUR PEOPLE. ATTEMPT 2 OPEN THEIR EYES, SO THINGS CAN B BETTER.

I had higher expectations for the content of the special and now after watching it I believe the special was overhyped. Tell me something I don’t know. I also wish they could of diversified our people a little more or provide us with more success stories of black families. I also hated how they pulled out the statistics card, sure it’s the truth but where are the solutions? Also Black Americans aren’t just those who are descendents from slavery. Recent African immigrants are part of Black America too.

Last night’s part that ended with Dyson and his brother’s story was the only thing that genuinely struck me, other than the single father and his 2 kids from the first segment. Dyson brought up an interesting point that I wish couldv’e been investigated a little bit further and that’s the issue with skin tone/racism within the community. Look at the guy who worked in the marketing/music world, or the dad who was part of the little rock 9 with his three grown sons, both are successful but they aren’t entirely “dark” looking either; even the harvard professor was light skinned or the woman who was president of that college and finally Dyson. watching the segment last night gave me a message that there seems to be this correlation that the skin tone of a black individual determines their sucess in the real world (and when I mean real world I’m not saying professional sports, acting, or music), the lighter skin you have the more sucessful you’re gonna be? I wish they had taken it there, (but they probably didn’t even think about it) instead of staying in the safe zone by telling us what we should fear… that Black America is doomed.

I also enjoyed Spike’s segment and I agree that more needs to be done about the education system, because this is America where everyone should be entitled to the best education.

@ #56 I’m cosigning with you! WTF!! Why did anyone who is black in America expect to get some euphoric epifamy epephanamy this program?!

“I don’t feel like I learned anything that I didn’t already know”

Of course you didn’t, because your ARE “Black in America” Geese guys, fall back.

I enjoyed it, and as a journalist, I know what it took to get that series on the air, I applaud CNN for their efforts. I got it!

**epephanamy= “from”

On a whole, Black people are not doing as bad as the media portrays or as many people would like to believe. We have come a very long way. Our history/past is like no other group in this world and PLENTY of us continue to exceed ALL negative expectations. Many poor urban black folk have learned to work the system and are doing just fine. They are doing a whole lot better than them white folk in the south, mid west and the appalachian mountains. If you are poor and white in this country you should be ashamed. People killed and died to make sure you have everything based on your skin color and you still having problems?Now that’s something to be ashamed of. The rich or middle class white folk often portrayed in the media is NOT the norm. But they have everyone fooled.

I don’t believe in the bullsh*t statistics about black people. They are used to remind us that we are “inferior” and to keep other people fearful of us. If you’re black you’re gonna die of HIV/AIDS, go to jail, won’t be able to get a quality education, won’t get married, won’t marry another black person, won’t be a responsible citizen, won’t be a responsible parent, will die of heart disease, Glaucoma, cataract, cancer, diabetes and gun violence. Give me a break!

If you believe this you’re a damn FOOL. Black people are doing just fine under the circumstances.

I thought it does what the media does on a daily basis. It show black pepole in a negative way and reinforced what the media puts out . I don’t care what group of pepole you may belong to every group has the good the bad and the ugly.

Thank you #127…
Judah, where are you?

The educational system is not that bad. MANY Parents just don’t want to take the time to help their children with homework or encourage education as a means to great success. That is NOT the fault of the educational system. Students in this country are getting basic education. No matter where they live! Also, there ARE a lot of community based programs and activities for blacks in the inner city. If you go to the library or ask questions then you will see. But we love to blame the system and the system loves to patronize us - that’s another way to keep us in our place.

I agree with her, although I was wondering how many White people watched it.

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Honestly, I was very disappointed with the special. I thought it was something that we don’t know about and had to watch it. From what they showed on those two nights, we already aware of our background unless some of us black people didn’t pay any attention in school and home. Our family should have showed us and taught us about the history of blacks. I was hoping to see something that would have made me shock about something i didnt know about. I’m aware of this so that special was pointless to me

Okay the reason everything is sooo alarming is because American American’s don’t make up a large portion of the American populations( however there is def. a problem within the african american society). White people do the same things it’s just that it doesn’t seem as bad because they have a bigger population. In addition to the fact the black people are targeted, which the show affirmed. I believed that the show proved all of the stereotypes. They showed the absent father with all the excuses in the world… they showed the stereotypical baby momma who’s on her way to have more kids even though she’s struggling with the one with an absent father…. they showed the brother who went to jail and found God… they showed all the light skinned brothers with good jobs and then reaffirmed it at the end with the two brother whom happened to be light and dark… they showed the individuals who get educated in prison (Most of the education programs get cut), but right after that they reminded us that this guy has basically no chance of getting a job. And that his ass is probably going to be back They showed you the brother who just had to keep it real and go shoot up some drug dealer place when he had it made in the burbs. They showed the “CLASSIC” successful black man whom marries outside his race….. I believe CNN just aired our damn dirty laundry!!!

On the real, i don’t know if this was good or bad though, i mean everything they stated i knew, I think we know our story because we live it. I don’t honestly believe that black people are ignorant of the situations, simply ignorant on how to rectify the wrong . I don’t think there will be change due to the show. I think that when other races watch it, they’ll say well the stereotype is correct most of the time….. Yea there were a couple of success stories…. but most were contradicted with something negative.

Nevertheless, we as black people have to do better now, our business is out, we have to prove them wrong. Lets be better fathers, stop getting locked up, and strung out. Ladies let wait to have the babies. of course the people who need to see these things won’t….. but hey…. it is what it is…. now what we gonna do?

I could be wrong yall, I could have interpreted it the wrong way… but hey prove me wrong… if you watched it…lol

WHERE DO THEY FIND SOME OF THESE PEOPLE TO PUT ON TV? THE GUTTER? I AM A SINGLE MOTHER, YET I HAVE NEVER BEEN ON WELFARE, AND I CAN GET DATES. THEY ACTUALLY TURNED DOWN MY APPLICATION, AND THAT AINT DO NOTHIN BUT MOTIVATE ME TO DO BETTER AND WANT BETTER FOR MYSELF. I HAVE LEARNED ALOT, AND I RATHER STRUGGLE ON MY OWN, THAN WITH HELP. OVERALL, THE PROGRAM LEFT ALOT TO BE DESIRED.

I was about to not come on concreteloop anymore… because I didnt think you were gonna put anything about black in america documentary… but I loved the documentary… they touched on every issue that was every directed or a problem with blacks/african americans

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I watched both episodes and I liked the black woman and families segment, but I think they could have delved a lot deeper into the black psyche. Yeah we all know we suffer harder than it seems all, but what is our real motivation for the things we do? I don’t think it really taught other races anything new about black people.

All hail CNN for an attempt at shedding light on an unfair and seemingly grim situation. Only so much that they can/say/do/show/cover, it got “us” talking, it got “them” talkinh (whoever u want us and them to be) But the key is it is time to end excuses and ignorance for all blacks. We must must inspir each other and nobody’s going to do that for us. CNN simply gave a wider platform for everyone to witness our countries injustices

I watched the special and I didn’t see anything eye opening but my teenaged son got a reality check. If it’s not on BET, You Tube or in a text message, I think our youth are missing out on knowing the struggles of those who came before us. I was fortunate to have a parents who were in the movement in the 60s and saw the racism from the 50s. Since have more means to support my kids they don’t really know hard times like I did so this type of stuff was new him. He started to ask questions of his grandparents to understand more and is “waking up” to understand what being black means.

I think that Soledad made a smart decision to focus on African Americans to show her journalistic efforts as well as shine a light to “other” people. Hopefully, educators will show these programs to all the T-Bones and Shaniquas so they will have more exposure to what the world thinks of us. Maybe I am going too long here but one reason why we don’t change much as a ethnic group is because most are isolated in this great big world. Some don’t go outside their neighborhood or their comfort zone to know what else exists. This is not only true for us but also for many other immigrants (even though we were imports). Ours is just more scattered because of self-hate, misinformation, and negative sterotypes that splinter our bonds as a people.

Basically, it’s a start. Just think of how ROOTS made an impact on consciousness.

it didnt show ME anything new but i really dont think it was designed to education black people. it was designed to others who somehow believe racism and struggle dont exist.

Good programming although it was geared to a white audience or other audiences. True were know how it is to be Black in America. That’s not a program for us. The program for Blacks in America is positive solutions that will uplift us as a people.If Obama is elected a white person told me that there aren’t anymore excuses for Blacks to use as an excuse. He said it will put more responsibility on us to take advantage of the opportunities out there. In other words stop complaining and start producing, studing, parents teach your young children the ABC and numbers etc. Take care of your business and stop chasing some of the sorry brothers. And Young Black brothers get into your books and stay way from gangs etc. You know the difference between right and wrong. You know nothing easy is worth anything but problems. Handle your business early go to school get yourselves prepared for you future. If you families don’t support you in your dreams keep going anyway. God’s got your back.