Good Black Men Are Extinct
I'm no relationship expert. I definitely can't claim to even come close but I peeped this video and as hilarious as it is it sparked a few things in my mind.
Now that you've seen it and probably laughed your tail off, here are my thoughts. I am convinced that the conversations surrounding the topic that "there are no good black men" coupled with the subsequent media coverage from news, books, and magazines is really an agenda to silence and drown out the positive ways that hard working, morally driven black men actually contribute. I really think that the media plays on this idea of black men being no good. Do any of you remember the ABC special about how 42% of black women are not married? I believe that Oprah also did a special on a similar topic.
I know these are only a few examples but why is it that this topic persists in the media. C'mon 42% of all black women. I promise you there were millions of black women that were not asked to participate in that study. Now that I think about it, the methodology was more than likely flawed and skewed to come up with certain results and lastly, what institution did this research and how long ago. Complete non-sense. Knowing how the media works and knowing that the media is purposeful in what it displays confirms to me that any type of information that confirms the extinction of the successful, educated, and morally fit black man is newsworthy. My argument is that the media is purposeful at not showing the type of black men described above. I'd like to further explore this topic now that I'm blogging.
We definitely don't lack successful black people in the entertainment and sports realm, but entertainment is a small percentage of the areas in which anyone can contribute. It's great to have successful or seemingly successful black people in these arenas but because this is the only avenue where the media portrays successful and somewhat morally fit black individuals it gives the appearance that this is the only avenue available for black people to succeed. (I know I'm making general statements about black people here but the point is that outside of entertainment and performance related avenues you won't see good black men.)
Let's not get it twisted either. These people represent brands and they do everything their brand requires of them. Let's not act like a few interviews allows us to really know the man or woman behind the performance. Their image is carefully crafted, managed, and maintained. So we are back to the drawing board. The media pushes an agenda that says positive black men are extinct.
I'm off my soap box about the media. The video above made me think about something. Last month I got invited to a fashion show that featured one of my friend's designs. Before the show, a young girl performed an original song. The song was an encouragement to ladies to demand that the relationship be on their terms if they were going to be in one. Altogether the song was pretty dope, but I could tell that she was really young because that topic is sooooooooooo unrealistic. To demand that a relationship be on your terms and your terms only is super selfish. I mean, as an individual you must have standards and expectations, but relationships are about agreement and no one person is going to get their way all the time. That is just NOT what a relationship is. Back to my original thesis, music is another medium that wants to promote the extinction of the educated and positive black man. I say that because this topic prevails in R&B which is a genre that is predominatly represented by black artists. If we have black women singing about bad relationships or ones where they are in control, what does that communicate about the men they are in the relationship with. I know this works off the assumption that they are referring to a relationship with a black man, but all things considered equal I think it is safe to agree that the relationship is with a black man. So I see the agenda being pushed again that good black men are becoming extinct and that amoral, unintelligent, violent, hypersexualized, and ignorant black men are the norm.
Message me if this does not make sense. My thoughts tend to run together so connect with me so I can make this plain.
Now that you've seen it and probably laughed your tail off, here are my thoughts. I am convinced that the conversations surrounding the topic that "there are no good black men" coupled with the subsequent media coverage from news, books, and magazines is really an agenda to silence and drown out the positive ways that hard working, morally driven black men actually contribute. I really think that the media plays on this idea of black men being no good. Do any of you remember the ABC special about how 42% of black women are not married? I believe that Oprah also did a special on a similar topic.
I know these are only a few examples but why is it that this topic persists in the media. C'mon 42% of all black women. I promise you there were millions of black women that were not asked to participate in that study. Now that I think about it, the methodology was more than likely flawed and skewed to come up with certain results and lastly, what institution did this research and how long ago. Complete non-sense. Knowing how the media works and knowing that the media is purposeful in what it displays confirms to me that any type of information that confirms the extinction of the successful, educated, and morally fit black man is newsworthy. My argument is that the media is purposeful at not showing the type of black men described above. I'd like to further explore this topic now that I'm blogging.
We definitely don't lack successful black people in the entertainment and sports realm, but entertainment is a small percentage of the areas in which anyone can contribute. It's great to have successful or seemingly successful black people in these arenas but because this is the only avenue where the media portrays successful and somewhat morally fit black individuals it gives the appearance that this is the only avenue available for black people to succeed. (I know I'm making general statements about black people here but the point is that outside of entertainment and performance related avenues you won't see good black men.)
Let's not get it twisted either. These people represent brands and they do everything their brand requires of them. Let's not act like a few interviews allows us to really know the man or woman behind the performance. Their image is carefully crafted, managed, and maintained. So we are back to the drawing board. The media pushes an agenda that says positive black men are extinct.
I'm off my soap box about the media. The video above made me think about something. Last month I got invited to a fashion show that featured one of my friend's designs. Before the show, a young girl performed an original song. The song was an encouragement to ladies to demand that the relationship be on their terms if they were going to be in one. Altogether the song was pretty dope, but I could tell that she was really young because that topic is sooooooooooo unrealistic. To demand that a relationship be on your terms and your terms only is super selfish. I mean, as an individual you must have standards and expectations, but relationships are about agreement and no one person is going to get their way all the time. That is just NOT what a relationship is. Back to my original thesis, music is another medium that wants to promote the extinction of the educated and positive black man. I say that because this topic prevails in R&B which is a genre that is predominatly represented by black artists. If we have black women singing about bad relationships or ones where they are in control, what does that communicate about the men they are in the relationship with. I know this works off the assumption that they are referring to a relationship with a black man, but all things considered equal I think it is safe to agree that the relationship is with a black man. So I see the agenda being pushed again that good black men are becoming extinct and that amoral, unintelligent, violent, hypersexualized, and ignorant black men are the norm.
Message me if this does not make sense. My thoughts tend to run together so connect with me so I can make this plain.
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