Comments on: The New Peculiar Institution

By: Nicole Comrie

Nicole Comrie — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 02:44:44 +0000

Love this post. First, I agree how people (Black, white, Asian, etc.) simply dismiss the history of our country as if it had nothing to do with how Blacks and other races are perceived. Slavery is a part of American history, but most want to say “Forget it, it’s done – don’t dwell on it.” Slavery lead to our civil war, the fame of Abraham Lincoln, the creation of the Republican party and so much more. It is so important. It’s like trying to forget you were raped then wondering why you don’t like intimacy.

Second, I am a light skinned girl who “talks white”, blah, blah, blah…Dumbest stuff I ever heard. Funny because I never wanted to be anything but what I am. Discovering and cherishing that has been amazing. Being Black is amazing and to limit what Black people are supposed to do or sound like is insane, stupid and divides us even more.

Black in America – sounds like a condition. I wonder if they will do a “Female in America?” There still hasn’t been a female president. LOL

By: Coco Deij

Coco Deij — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:49:24 +0000

I think the fundamental problem is that in America “blackness” is often correlated with all things negative. Some of us as black people don’t associate ourselves with anything that is viewed in a positive light. For instance, when some look at a persons vernacular, inflections and overall way of speaking, the more ignorant you sound the more “black” you are to some. If you use words which contain too many syllables and is not used in everyday conversations you are trying to sound “white”

By: B. Michael Honor

B. Michael Honor — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:54:12 +0000

To be totally honest, I don’t trust corporate owned media to accurately report on any systemic structural problems, and much less to depict the vast array of human complexity that is the African American community correctly.

So I’ll watch Black In America like the imperfect media work of art that it is, but certainly not as an authoritative source on the African American experience. What’s scary is some will view it as such.

By: rikyrah

rikyrah — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:51:17 +0000

I hear you. I’m not looking forward to this – at all.

By: eby

eby — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:29:31 +0000

Interesting piece. While I agree that there is often a barometer of “blackness” placed on people by the black community that can change from person to person, I don’t think that’s really the case here. No matter who hosted the documentary — Don Lemon, T.J. Holmes, Soledad O’Brien, whoever –it wasn’t really Soledad’s sense of “blackness” that made it hard to watch. It was the actual programming. It was not well put together and had the takeaway that it sucks to be black, here are a few of the ills in the black community for those who aren’t aware.
Soledad was most definitely part of the documentary’s problem, but IMO, not because black viewers was busy questioning whether she was “black” enough to be hosting this documentary.
Before this doc, I had watched CNN’s “Planet in Peril” Part One and Two and actually came away with something, so I was looking forward to see what Black In America would bring. Besides having no real sense of purpose, BIA 1 also offered no new angle or look into topics that have been talked about before on way better documentaries and specials.

By: Soda & Candy

Soda & Candy — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:07:11 +0000

I just wanted to say I think this is a fascinating discussion, and you make your points extremely well.

By: the uppity negro

the uppity negro — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:46:40 +0000

@ adinasi

That was my point: who determines it. Clearly we all have different POV’s and I think that’s something that’s worth discussing.

By: adinasi

adinasi — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 07:34:53 +0000

At my core I think I profoundly disagree with everything you’ve said here; but since you said it, I’m sure there’s much intellectual merit to your ideas.

When you try to quantify ‘blackness’, the crux becomes who is the arbiter of ‘blackness?’ Who, or what, determines how ‘black’ one person is vs. another? Am I less Black because I don’t speak with a discernible dialect or pitch? Am I more ‘black’ because I feel the blues and traditional gospel/negro spirituals? More insidious is our differentiation of each other based on such subjective classifications, which I believe you discussed.

Dr. King was right: the content of our character should be by which we judge each other vs. culture or color.

By: citizen ojo

citizen ojo — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:31:09 +0000

Kudos to Soledad for bringing so many black folks together under one roof. We have finally found something that we can all dislike in unison. ha ha ha

Good points on ontological blackness.