Kudos to CNN for “Black in America 2”. You
get an A for effort and a gold star for correcting the lameness of the
first installment. I even peeped a commercial for the upcoming Latino
in America. Aside from them trying to educate the masses and convince
everyone to empathize with our neighbors lets give CNN a round of
applause for giving Soledad O’Brien something to do. It doesn’t hurt
that her multi-racial background makes it more acceptable for her to
tackle the issue of race. No one knows what
she is. I’m sure she is going to ride this “… in America” thing until
the wheels fall off or until Prez Obama is out of office and no one
cares to talk about race anymore. Sidenote: If you want to see an amazing documentary about Blacks in America watch ABC New’s Out of Control: AIDS in Black America. I love it when Terry Moran leaves Jesse Jackson dumbfounded.
While
I was flipping the channel to purposely avoid watching B.I.A. 2,
something occurred to me. I wasn’t interested in watching the series
because I am black and I know what life is like for me. However, I
would be inclined to watch a series on what it is to be “White in
America.” Don’t boo or hiss just yet. Think
about, Black people have way more preconceived notions about what white
people go through in America than they have about us. For the most part Black people get categorized into three groups: ghetto, criminal,
ignorant. How do we categorize White people? Honestly, most people of
color don’t give White people’s home lives much thought other than thinking they are
all secretly racist or clueless when it comes to our struggles. While
watching Tyler Perry give Soledad a tour of his ATL back lot and
wondering if he was hiring, I came up with an idea. Why doesn’t BET or
TV One answer back and create a “White in America” series. I’ve already
done the work and drafted a letter. Just copy and add your signature at
the end and send off to their respective offices. – CH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear (BET / TV One) Head Honcho, After
watching CNN’s series “Black in America Parts 1 & 2” my initial
thought was “Why didn’t (BET / TV One) do this? They are black
channels, catering to black people in America. This is something that
should have been right up your ally.” Well, I forgive you for dropping
the ball and have come up with a suggestion that will help inform your
core audience.
It’s time that people of color
understand what it’s like to be White in America. I’m talking the full
experience from white collar to rednecks and everything in between. I
figure the program can be split into topics: Angry White Men
– Minority and women get all the breaks. At least that is how some
white men feel. Where is the white man’s affirmative action or
diversity programs? They are losing their grip on the controls and
aren’t too happy about it. It can even feature some KKK and white
supremacists. Poor White Trash
– Black people are to the projects like white people are to trailer
parks. I want to see some Feed The Children type -ish. Show me that not
only people of color are on public assistance.
Wiggers
– Show our influence on the white youth of America. Loving our music,
men (and occasionally women) and swag, what is life like for a white
people who identify more with black culture? You can speak to Eminem,
Michael Rapaport and Kendra Wilkinson about this. The Drug Game
– Black in America talked about D-boys, who got locked up for mainly
weed and crack. Let’s flip it and show how the Meth-boys get it fired
up. I want to see some white dudes with bandannas covering 2/3 of their
faces as they show off their fancy Meth labs and show off their array
of BB guns and hunting rifles spread across their NASCAR bedspread with
dollar bills strewn on top. Religious Zealots
– This calls for a trip to either the Bible Belt or Utah where the
religious movement is administering a beating to liberal America. The Republicans –
Now that Sarah Palin is one of the 9.7% unemployed in America, you can
follow her around as she tries to claw her way back into the graces of
the Republican Party. Maybe she can speak on the goal of the Republican
Party in the upcoming years. Middle America
– This is a large one to cover. I personally think any state that isn’t
on the coast of the U.S and below the Mason Dixon line is apart of
Middle America. I truly don’t know what Middle American look like, what
they do for a living or what they believe in but I have my assumptions.
I believe the Roseanne show gave me a good idea. Overall, White in America should set out to answer the question “Do they really have it better than us?”
There you have it. I’ve done all the work for you.
Don’t screw it up. Sincerely
[Insert Your Name Here] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The X Fact(her) is a weekly column that appears on 99problems.org.
Started on Inauguration Day 2009 by the League of Young Voter’s
Education Fund, 99problems.org is a non-profit initiative that aims to
keep young people engaged in the political process through activism and
community involvement. Please visit 99problems.org to find out how you
can get involved right now! For more on Chloé A. Hilliard
visit www.chloehilliard.com.
