Social Change and Being Black in America
For the past two nights I have been watching Black America 2, a CNN documentary highlighting the challenges and successes of black Americans. I must admit that approached the documentary with low expectations. I didn’t expect to learn much and for the conversation to be, well, bland.
In fact much of what I saw on Black In America 2 was not new. However, I would be lying if I said I knew about every single issue affecting black Americans and didn’t walk away learning something. This is not because of willful ignorance but rather some topics don’t come up regularly or are not my passion. For example, my passion is education so the Harlem Children’s Zone or Capital Prep were not new. But I did not know that there is a unique form of breast cancer affecting black women that is more aggressive and more difficult to treat and survive. I did not know the myriad of issues affecting black men in prison and the challenges they face trying to rebuild their lives once they leave.
Aside from opening my eyes to the different kinds of issues we face I found the show to be inspirational. Ill be honest and say that throughout my college career and even now the majority of the people I see working on social change in the black community have been white. And while we should welcome all people who want to help those in need, there is something powerful about people taking control of their own communities and addressing challenges on their own terms. For every person who says “black people want hand outs” I just want to point them to the people in the documentary who are doing the opposite.
In fact what I loved is that my work and the work of countless others was put at the center of the conversation, finally validated and celebrated. Non-profits and nonprofiteers stand up! Here are some of the people and non-profits mentioned.
Nisa Muhammad at the Wedded Bliss Foundation, working to increase the number of black marriages.
Dr. Lisa Newmann at the University of Michigan Hospital, researching and trying to treat an aggressive form of cancer that disproportionately affects black women.
Sisters Network Incorporated, a network of African-American breast cancer survivors.
Marcus Murray at Project Brotherhood holistic services to improve the physical, mental, and spiritual health of black men.
Geoffrey Canada at Harlem Children’s Zone, providing a variety of services to children in Harlem from the time they are born (baby college) to the time they are leaving for college (College Success).
John Rice at Management Leadership Tomorrow (MLT), supporting young people interested in MBAs and leadership in the corporate and nonprofit sectors.
Salvation Army of Bushwick, what don’t they do? 
Malaak Compton Rock at AngelRock Project, different services for at-risk youth in Brooklyn, New Orleans, and South Africa.
Government organizations mentioned:
Everett Highbaugh at Project Choice, support for men recently released from prison.
Dr. Steve Perry at Capital Prep: Charter school in Connecticut with 100% of its students attending 4 year colleges.
Looking toward the future (because you know there will be a Black in America 3) I would like to see more focus on black middle class experiences by those both born into it and those who moved up into it. More context on issues instead of anecdotes. For example, we saw how Taniqua’s weakness is fried chicken (I’m gonna leave that image alone) yet no one explored how healthy food in neighborhoods like Harlem are hard to come by. I’d also like to see a shift away from using typical stereotypes as the launching point of exploration (like Taniqua loving fried chicken) and a discussion of people under 30 making big moves.
Inspired by this story my question is how many of us will start telling our own stories, using the media and talent at our disposal? By far the most informative and exciting discussions I’ve seen happened on twitter. We didn’t need to wait a year to discuss being black in America; we could’ve been breaking bread with our communities. And many of us do this but perhaps the trick now is harnessing our resources to make it public, on our own terms.
What organizations would you add to this list? What topics would you like to see discussed?
I found the documentary, “Black in America II” to be rather inspirational. For one, although it focused on the blatant disparities amongst our people; it gave hope and showed the many options out there for success. So often the media perpetuates negative stereotypes of African Americans and this showed the reality that there are a lot of us out there in the world making a very positive difference.
I’d have to agree with you in the sense that I’d like to see more on the focus of middle-class…that way they will be able to give a wholistic overview of African Americans.
Thank you for sharing…I love reading your articles. Keep on striving for excellence! We can and will make a difference in our lifetime.
-Faith
Though I had some issues, I did find parts of BIA 2 inspirational. It made me want to get my act together in regards to grad school and the next stages of my career.
Also have to agree with you on BIA 3 needing to focus on some middle class folks, those born into it and those who moved up into it. In addition, I’d like to see a focus on different cultures- africans and west indians in america, some of their thoughts and experiences being viewed simply as blacks in america.