How the Black Media is Tearing down Black Intellect

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Editorial: How the Black Media is Tearing down Black Intellect

* Posted by Editorials on July 27, 2008 at 6:30am
* View Editorials's blog

We often discuss the white media and how it has set a course to undermine Black life in America, but we have not discussed how the Black media has helped to destroy what brain cells, pride, and dignity Black America has left. Via the endorsement of star struck vanity, gossip, and a barrage of superficiality, the Black media has managed to deepen the wounds of Black dignity inflicted by white America. How is this so?

The main problem is that the Black media lack originality and draw off the lead of the white mainstream. Fear of what whites will say about them and threats to withdraw support from them, restrain the Black media from being creative and fighting back against the attacks on Blacks from the white mainstream. So instead of being innovative and designing a media agenda to drive progress in the Black community, they feed off the negative of the white media about Blacks and design programs and promotions that address the wrongs that whites tell us we have.

In addition, the Black media copy the white in areas of television shows, radio programming and host, the format, topics, and messages they send. Instead of pulling away from the typical programming format of celebrity this, soap drama that, comic radio DJ this, attitude having stereotypical Black woman that, the Black media pushes this drug on Black America from morning to midnight and wonder why we have not "reached the promise land."

They wonder why Black men lag in employment and fill the prisons, why Black women have no husbands, Black children cannot learn, and why we seem to look so bad in every area of American life as compared to whites. Even though the answer is obvious, they cannot see it and instead react to what they are told by whites and call themselves addressing it through educational media programming.

Though there are Black college graduates in many areas of the country in the field of communications, leading to jobs in television and radio, however, not one has come out of their university with an original idea. But they have all been brainwashed to follow the same sambo script. Even despite the fact that there are "Black Networks," those Black networks have not helped reduce negative Black images or perfect a positive state of Black America not one bit, but have in fact, help destroy it further. Should the people begin to question their motives?

The major Black media outlets such as BET and TV-One, followed by major magazines like Ebony, Vibe, and Essence, are suppose to be alternative to white media and are to represent the Black voice and life, at least that was the mission in the beginning. But today they are nothing more than extensions of white media acting more as henchmen for them.

They all feed the Black community trash. Soap opera-type drama, fashion, glamour, celebrity vanity that has done more damage to the America way of life in white America and double that in Black America. The difference is that whites have a financial base to sustain themselves against the trauma sent by the evils of vanity, sexual seduction and immorality while Black America does not. bling (15K)We cannot protect ourselves against the consequences of the immorality that the glamour lifestyle and sexual innuendos send against our communities. And when we seek help from white America, we are second to all, underfunded and neglected in areas of health, justice, education and other.

The Black media neglects its homework and psychoanalyses of what the Black community can handle in terms of subliminal ethical message through media, television and radio. They believe they can do what whites can do and the Black community can absorb the effects without becoming infected. For instance, low and middle income people cannot afford to pattern their lives after Black celebrities who showcase their homes and lifestyles on BET, or who showcase their cars, designer fashion and bling as if it is everyday affordable to the average working single Black women or child.

Hard working Black people who ride to work in the morning listening to urban morning radio have to suck down the gossip of Black entertainers and their lifestyles, absorb the lyrics of angry Black women and disrespectful Black men, which in turn cause them to emulate a certain celeb or rapper or singer when relating to others around them everyday. It has become so entrenched in the minds of Blacks that they cannot relate to one another without speaking childish street terms, having certain attitudes that they really cannot afford to have, and disrespecting people who have actually done nothing to them except pass them by.

The Black elite and educated cannot see this effect or simply do not care about it and what it does to Black adults and children. They again follow the lead of white America and live by ratings, money, and prestige without care of the actual people who support them from the grassroots with their hard earned money. They suppose that this is what the people want but have not done one ounce of research to actually find out if it is the truth or not, and again, following the lead of whites based on marketing data, what they learned in white institutions.

Superficiality in the Black community does not come from the Black community; from the womb or from the minds of unborn children, it comes from televisions and what Black people see and hear each day as to what their lives are about. They get this information from either reading magazines or watching television. Blacks who have limited access to various resources can only reach as far as their television set or certain magazines they pick up at supermarkets in the tabloid section.

ebony (39K)Here is where Ebony, Vibe, Essence, and other Black Hip Hop and celebrity magazines are found and idolized, and it is here young Blacks learn the lingo, fashions, and lifestyle of superficial Blacks made by Hollywood or by the Black mainstream media themselves. Adding to the BET videos and the TV-one sitcoms and soaps, the Black community is saturated with trash and have little means or access to educational material, material that encourage business entrepreneurship, strong families, relationships, or community. Instead they are fed crap like drama; P. Diddy married who, Lil J shot who, Big T went to jail, Basketball great got babies and negative gossip that Black media believes, by marketing data, is what the Black community is asking for.

There are no Black intellectual magazines featuring people like Cornell West essays, Professors of Black universities or Black doctors, or major achievers in the field of math or science, no, there are not even strong Black poets of today published for Black youth; instead there are only vanity star struck Black magazines filled with crap. There are no real intellectual radio talk shows that feature people who discuss why Blacks are in the state they are in and how to get out of it, but radio filled with seductive lyrics, ignorant jokes and parodies, political feed back from white news, and talk of again, the lifestyles of Black celebs.

Black leaders must wean the Black community off ignorance and onto the real meat of intellect. They must become innovative and create radio and televisions shows that address the real issues instead of the stereotypes. They must pull back the gossip and push in the intellect. They must encourage Black minds instead of poison them to the same ills that are killing white America and America itself. If we do not do it soon, the only foundation on which Blacks will have to stand will be their own front porch, because that is as far as the Black media have taken them.

© July 2008 by CR Hamilton ||

Tags: afro, american, media, negativity, urban

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6 Comments

Porche' 9-11 Comment by Porche' 9-11 on July 29, 2008 at 1:00pm
THANK YOU!

Bigg-Byrd Comment by Bigg-Byrd on July 31, 2008 at 10:31pm
That was definately true. But it is also up the the consumer to decipher what is and what is not entertainment. And also be ur damn self because even though u c so n so doin this and that, U ARE NOT THEM!!! Do u. Too many people are trying to learn how to be hard and then make a profit off of it. not cool.

dj butta Comment by dj butta on August 4, 2008 at 8:24am
BET is killing the youth.not enough postive shows.all they show is negative.

DIRadioCast Comment by DIRadioCast on August 4, 2008 at 12:42pm
I am glad that someone has addressed this topic outside of my social circle. As a new media entity we attempt to tackle the stereotypes, ideals and media images often create by our own. I find it funny that when we address these issues it is always the industry insiders that express their disgust with the direction our culture and sub-culture that they themselves have so much power over.
I, (Africa Allah) left a media job in 2003 because I lost respect for the management of the art form. I was groomed with the ideal that my purpose as a journalist/ personality was to bring information to the public with no bias and to promote mental and social growth. As a radio personality in a small town people respected my judgment and followed my lead.How could I then support BS, gossip and ignorance in exchange for rating.
All of us in this industry know the extend of our power over the development of our culture yet, we superman these hoes and promote trapping over rapping. Personally I hate that every artist I meet has the same MO. Everyone (look at Rick Ross) glorifies the ignorance of street life never acknowledging the death, pain, abandonment and disaster it brings.
We create this. We support this and we get rich off the destruction of our community. Mentally we are handicap by the facades that we breed. Yes, I love the ignorance as well but we need a balance. We create the culture so we have the power to change it. Everything is not going to change over night but if we at least open the lines of communication we have a winning chance.
Yes, it is up to the consumer but if all there is to consume is ignorance then what choice do we have? There is no deciphering if you are socially conditioned to live and think a certain way. Art is a reflection of life and life in turn replicates it. If we begin painting new images new action and lifestyles will blossom.
I'm sorry, my point here is ,talk is cheap! We create, control and determine the outcome of over society through our words, ideals and images. Most of us are the industry... " the media" if you will. Question is how many of us feed the fuel that is burning down our social fabric? We are the Black Media. Man up and take responsibility for your actions.

Gif Comment by Gif on August 14, 2008 at 10:13am
We keep writing these articles, I read them, I write. We need to do something, or at least keep in touch until we figure out what to do so we all can move on it. You post this piece, people reply saying thank you, the end. We have to realize that we are not powerless. We know the problem, we need to figure out some solutions.
If I'm unemployed, sitting around complaining about how I can't find a job isn't going to help me get one. Regardless of how many times I'm turned down, I have to keep looking until I find one.
If every person that wrote an essay like this, every reader that read an essay like this and agreed with its sentiments, every person that replied to a message like this in agreement, and everybody who thinks like this can come together we can do some things.

I see the same thing in the music, everyone talks about the artist they don't like but they don't through any names of artist that are making good music. We're still promoting negativity, but in the spirit of positivity.
We turned off the radio, the kids didn't so the radio stations just completely altered their format to cater to them. It was bad before but look at it now. If we would have been like, "Okay, you don't want to play what I like. I'll listen to this other station." When that other station started killing them in ratings they would be forced into catering to that audience to compete.
The bottom line is that the pattern of thought we are up against is, "If it don't make dollars, is don't make sense." We can make our sense make dollars, but it's going to take unity and support.
This is my contact info for anyone down to build and try to work on some solutions: iamthegif@gmail.com www.myspace.com/dagif

Rosette Peyton Comment by Rosette Peyton on August 18, 2008 at 9:38pm

*Parents It's our Responsibility to explain reality vs. fiction*


-Just a thought
I remember there was a time when our parents listened to one kind of music and kids another. Now we riding bumping to Solider Boy or Gucci Mayne etc and low and behold who's in the back seat of the car singing back up? You singing "Girl he geeked up" and lil so-n-so (yo kid) singing " B@#ch I might be"! What's even worse have of them can't even remember what they learned in school that day!
What happened you say ? Our parents used to take time with us to study, you know be parents. They monitored what we was doing ??? They listened to there own music like "You Got to have a J-O-B if you wanna be with me...ain't nothing going on but the rent" and we was listening to "Warm it up Chris...I'm about to"Kriss Kross.


The thing is now the parents and the children listen to the same music and watch the same shows. We don't differentiate reality vs. fiction. So here we have moms favorite artist is LIL Wayne and so is the kids, the problem with that? Every generation the parents are getting younger and younger. Young impressionable minds,we fall prey much easier. The Bling Bling Era got us, we victims of conditioned response! We see rims and and fore in cars on the video, and think the life they live is what's happening. They making it rain and we just gotta have it. You said it right GIF, I agree. Problem is after the cameras cut off they leave the mansion set, pick up they money, send the rental cars and jewelery back. Nobody puts that shot in the video, probably wouldn't sell? It looks so good that we imitate it at any measure. No body is saying
" Hey son, Lil Wayne is an entertainer his job is to sell music and please his audience. He's supposed to make hings look flashy and make our eyes bulge, wouldn't be much of a show if he didn't !Everything he says is not necessarily the truth nor is he someone you should look to as a role model. He had to deal with setbacks and work hard to get to his level, this is just a video. So don't think it's all fast money and easy sailing, he's is still human. He's had money issues and so has a lot of other entertainers. Everything that glitters ain't gold, kid!"

Now you may say that is ridiculous to say to a child! The fact of the matter is , if they too young to understand that. Then they too young to listen to that kind of music anyway!!!! They don't even know what they talking bout 5 singing "Lollipop".



*Media it is our Responsibility to inform with Balance*

So we know what we see on T.V. and in Magazines...negativity! Actually I take that back you have magazines like "O" Oprah's magazine etc but it's just not appealing to this crowd. They rather read the norm, cause they feel like they can't relate to her. Why, cause they haven,t done their research to know her story! Look, I can't say I 100% have the answer but it's worse than ever! The question is what can we do NOW?

Well, I tell you what my team done sat down and formulated a plan. I'm a single mother so it is especially important for me to contribute to a change, for the sake of my child. It came to a point I was fighting myself writer vs. journalist but why? What better time than now to bring to present a magazine that focuses on entrepreneurship and entertainment. Formula 808 Magazine, we find the formula to each persons success to date . In turn we aim to educate as well as entertain that aspiring doctor, entertainer, producer, scientist, publicist, lawyer etc ."Balance" You have to decide to be a trendsetter do things that will make you stand out from the pack! Media we are obligated to BALANCE!
If you gonna talk about Mater P and what his music done then Talk about what he's doing as Percy Miller " THE ENTREPRENEUR".

I'm willing to do what it takes and I definitely can't do it alone. I need you! email me
-Rosette P
rpeyton@formula808.com
What's your Formula?
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