And I will not count the stuff by Tyler Perry and
Ice Cube on TBS and I be damned if I’m going to include anything on BET (sorry
guys but come on guys, really!).
One day I came to
realization that there are not any shows out there that feature a black person
or anyone of color in the lead role. I am not implying shows are devoided of
any color amongst their cast. But the days of such great TV shows like “The
Cosby Show” are unfortunately history.
I know most of us don’t
want to admit it or even acknowledge it, but people of color having their own
shows on network TV is something of rarity. If memory serves me right the last
show to feature Black lead was JJ Abrams “Undercover” (which didn’t do so well and was later cancelled) and I think before
that, there was Chris Rock’s “Everybody Hates Chris” where the entire cast was
Black.
And I do apologize if it
sounds like I’m getting on a soapbox and preaching (that’s for another time and blog entry). But one of the few memories
I have, is of me and my family gathering around the family room TV watching “The
Cosby Show”. “The Cosby Show” was one
of those external factors that persuaded me to want to go to college and become
a doctor (should have thought that one
out since becoming a doctor was harder than I thought). To see those
Huxtables kids (Sondra, Theo..I think Vanessa. Denise went but dropped out) go
and graduate from college was something inspirational to me. It should people
who looked similar to me accomplishing something that I didn’t think was
possible at that time. But where are those role models today. Most of the time
people of color are being portrayed as rappers/musicians, athletes or
gangsters. Where are the Harvard
graduates, military leaders, and other positive role models?
Heavens forbid if someone
of color talks intelligently, then all of a sudden he is not “black” enough (which I hear quite a lot). If talking like
I have marbles in my mouth and have no sense of the English language means
talking “black” then I want no part of it.
When someone talks, skin color should not be attributed to it. It’s
either you talk like an educated person or not!
To be continued…
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