I had a wild ride this weekend in NYC, during which I shot my first TV pilot. The show is called Yin and Yang, co-hosted with my good friend Dara Cook from BET/MTV. I agreed to do the pilot because I know that Dara doesn't half step on projects, she's good. Many people don't understand that to be serious about "your scratch", your words and your actions have to move in the same direction. Most people are all talk, but Dara is not one of those people.
Some other high action figures who participated in the show were Marc Lamont Hill (my brother who I respect tremendously), Lady Drama (AllHipHop.com and YourBlackWorld Celebrity Gossip Blogger), Cora Daniels (author of Ghettonation and Black Power, Inc.), Johnny Nunez (a well known celebrity photographer who broke down the paparazzi for us, and shocked us with how much freakin money they make!), Tia Brown from In-Touch Magazine, Jasmine from WBLS in NYC, and many others.
The spot was packed, and I'll admit that I was pretty damn impressed with how professional everyone was. All of the shooters were from major networks, so they knew what they were doing. The office in which we shot everything was in Harlem, a place I love to visit. The day was fun and productive. I had a really good time.
I spent Friday in the media a bit promoting the pilot, along with our new financial program Financial Lipo. I find that alot of people are tired of having financial problems, so I enjoy helping them with what I know. I spent the morning being interviewed by "Free", the woman who hosted BET's 106 & Park. She is a very friendly and beautiful woman in person. I was impressed with her straight forward and down-to-earth demeanor. She repeatedly stated that she wants to write a financial book with me. While I don't usually believe something until someone does it, she did seem pretty sincere. Who knows? I can only say that she was smart and cute, a great combination for a woman.
I also spent time with Wendy Williams at WBLS, one of the best hosts I know. There are others I work with regularly who are very good (George Kilpatrick, Mark Thompson, etc.), and Wendy is right there with the greatest. I must confess that not every host on every network shows the kind of professionalism that Wendy, Mark and George show.
I had a funny moment watching Lady Drama and Wendy interact. Lady Drama loves Wendy, since she is her very reason for being as a Celeb Gossip guru. I thought she was going to pass out and cry as she sat in Wendy's famous "Pink Room" and then met Wendy herself. I was happy for her. I respect Lady Drama for the fact that she sets goals, sticks to them and pushes hard even when there are no rewards for doing so. That is what is going to make her great.
All in all, the trip to NYC was productive. What's crazy though is that I have to go back in 3 days. Also, I just got a phone call from another TV exec who wants to "explore opportunities". I guess we'll see what that's all about, huh?
The schedule for the coverage of the Democratic National Convention on BET and BET J is as follows: Monday, August 25 - BET and BET J will air Michelle Obama's speech live at 10:00 p.m.** - Following the speech, there will be a half-hour of analysis with BET News correspondents, political analysts and special guests from the Pepsi Center.
Tuesday, August 26 9:00 PM* WHAT'S AT STAKE: The Top 10 Issues Affecting Black America
This BET News special will reveal the top 10 issues that affect the survival of Black people, and delve into how the policies supported by both presidential candidates can, for better or worse, affect those issues and bring change to the lives of Black Americans. The dynamic collection of entertainers and political experts weighing in on these topics include Rev. Al Sharpton, Nas, Chuck D, David Banner, Crystal McCrary Anthony, John McWhorter, Boyce Watkins, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, Keli Goff, Clay Cane, Rob Stapleton, Donnell Rawlings, Ardie Fuqua, Godfrey, Jina Johnson, Samson, Sharon Carpenter, Staceyann Chin and Keith Boykin.
For the sake of full disclosure, I spoke with a former Press Secretary for Rev. Jesse Jackson last night about the interesting comments that Rev. Jackson made about Senator Obama. While the conversation is private, I can say that it is my hope that Rev. Jackson's comments, while unfortunate, can lead to a productive national dialogue about ways to strengthen the black community.
I do not agree with the notion that black men are any less moral than others, that we love our children less or that we choose to be less responsible than other ethnic groups. All human beings are created equally and any indication otherwise is ultimately flawed and biased.
I did a recent reflection on the life of boxer Joe Louis. One thing I didn't mention was a part in the documentary mentioning journalists who argued that Joe Louis should not be allowed to fight for the heavy weight title because it would lead to chaos. When the previous black champion, Jack Johnson, fought for the title and won, there were riots around the country. Whites could not stand the idea of a black man being champion, so they took out their anger with lynchings, and other forms of violence across America.
When I saw the journalists' arguments that "this black man should not engage in free will because white people might get mad", I thought about the election of Senator Obama. I continuously get one email after another, from well-meaning people who want to see the Senator get elected. In the emails, they say something to the effect of "Please don't talk about racism, even if it's true. White people might get mad and Senator Obama will not get elected."
In other words, not much has changed. We are still forced to run from the truth and hug a lie, all so white people don't get mad at us. I'm honestly tired of that crap.
Here is a response I sent to a reader who asked me to hold back my words on Senator Obama during an upcoming BET special so that I don't jeopardize Obama's chances of getting elected.
I hear what you are saying about "keeping quiet till the election". But I was not raised to cower in fear over what White America thinks of our words. I am also not a fan of encouraging leaders to point out flaws in African Americans, while simultaneously ignoring the flaws in other ethnic groups. This is a 400 year tradition, and it's time for this to stop.
So, I'm sorry brother. I plan to hold Barack accountable. That doesn't mean I don't support him. But just like in an abusive marriage, if you don't ask for respect, you won't get it. Black people must support Obama from a position of respect, or we will get another politician with a black face and not much else.
On the parenting issue, I know quite a few kids who aren't black who don't have fathers in their homes (50% of white Americans have absentee fathers). So, this notion that African Americans behave as animals who care less about our children than other ethnic groups has got to stop. We must think highly of ourselves and encourage brothers to try harder, while simultaneously having the courage to challenge the systems that make it difficult for a man in the inner city to provide for his family. We must not be victims of the system and silently take this abuse.
Obama was wrong to attack black fathers on father's day. I would never attack mothers on mother's day, no matter how many bad mothers I've seen. That would be wrong, but for some reason, we feel it is ok to do that to black men. This is not uncommon, since it is not a coincidence that black men are most likely to fill the prisons and black boys are 5 times more likely to be placed in special education (I was one of them). Even successful black men look down on other black men, which I find regrettable. As a successful black man, I encourage brothers to keep trying, and when I point out bad daddies, I don't just point my finger at the black man.
Remember: "tough love" should also involve the word "love". I saw no love in spending all of Father's Day embracing conservative stereotypes and acting as though black men are the only bad dads in America. To hell with that: I didn't hear ONE SINGLE SPEECH GIVEN IN ANOTHER VENUE where Obama took the same tone with any other group. There was a REASON that Bill O'Reilly applauded Obama's comments. O'Reilly, the man who was recorded in the middle of a sexual harrassment lawsuit, feels that he and other white males are morally superior to black men, and such comments by Obama only affirm that stereotype. I won't stand for that kind of behavior, not on my watch. Black people should not accept these double standards either and stop allowing ourselves to be demeaned in ways that are not acceptable for other groups. If I yell at your child and tell him "Your feet really stink and so does your breath. In fact, kids in your family tend to have the smelliest feet in the world.", that is not a positive comment, especially if my breath stinks as bad as his does. The truthfulness of my words becomes secondary to the fact that I have only berated him and excluded him, as if my own feet don't stink. Of course, he may go home and wash his feet and brush his teeth, but the truth is that I don't like the kid and I want to make him feel inferior. Making such a comment, without balance of judgement and positive reinforcement, is not going to lead to a productive interaction, especially if I then try to argue that the scent of my own breath is off the table for discussion.
Black men must move forward with positivity. Negativity won't work and I consider it unacceptable. I respect black men as much as I respect black women. We must respect one another if we are going to strengthen our community.
Again, I support Obama, but I am not an "anything goes" kind of brother. People who fall for the "anything goes" mentality usually get ignored and left behind. I am not interested in being a victim, and I will challenge the systems of this country until the day I die.
Stop hating yourself. Love yourself, improve yourself, and fight diligently against anyone who chooses to berate your people under the guise of "tough love". If they are doing it to black men in the inner city, guess what? They are sitting in the back rooms of your corporate executive suite saying the same stuff about YOU. Don't get it twisted, we are in this boat together.
I just got a call from BET today about being part of a series they are doing on the election and African American issues. BET is a network that has received criticism for some of the work that has appeared on its network. Much of that criticism was quite valid, as there is a heavy expectation of social engagement that precludes the ability of African American businesses to focus on a single-minded bottom line. In other words, I was not happy with the Bob Johnson business model (which I reflect upon heavily in my next book).
However, today BET made me proud. Speaking with the producer, I was led to the impression that the goal of this show is to voice African American issues in the Presidential election and to ensure that both candidates are listening. With all the political flip-flopping that has been going on with both Obama and McCain, it is becoming quite clear that when you don't put carrots and sticks on politicians, they are likely going to take you for granted.
African-Americans are a patient, conservative and relatively humble group of people. Not all of us, but many of us fit this mold. We want validation from white America badly, for that is how we have historically learned to feel good about ourselves. Getting Barack Obama into the White House is considered the ultimate achievement in terms of receiving the validation that we cherish so much. We have always loved our country and wanted love from our country, even when our country did not love us.
One of the concerns I have, however, is that when you seek love and validation from an historically abusive partner, this may possibly lead to more abuse and disrespect. It also inhibits your ability to demand fairness from that partner. A woman being beaten by her husband cannot simultaneously stop the beating, while still waiting for her husband to tell her that she is pretty. Ultimately, the discomfort created in their relationship by the woman's new demands will provide an incentive for her husband to withhold his love and validation as punishment for his wife "causing trouble in their relationship."
African Americans don't want to cause any trouble, we don't like "making a ruckus". Even if something is true, we encourage that person not to say it in public. We want Obama to get into the White House, and like the abused wife mentioned above, we are willing to tolerate nearly any disgrace, embarrassment, denunciation and humiliation in order to get there. While one can certainly applaud that degree of patience and kindness, one can become concerned that the willingness to take anything in order to receive validation from an abusive partner will only lead to more abuse. By labeling us "radical" or "racist", so-called mainstream media is engaging in the same sort of mental abuse that the violent husband might use to control his wife. By seeking validation from corporate America, so-called mainstream media outlets (not owned by African Americans) and majority white universities, we can sometimes jeopardize our ability to be true to fairness and equality. The man who really wants to be a Harvard professor is not going to speak out on racial equality, even if he knows his words to be true, especially if he is going to be labeled "an extremist" and not be given tenure.
There is a point where you must stand strong. Barack Obama needs to be encouraged by the black community to cherish our support and not take it for granted. He and others need to be informed that strong blackness is not criminal and should be a source of American pride. So, I am glad BET and black bloggers are putting our issues on the table. Having a black president won't mean a thing if we are only happy having a black president. A black president who represents diverse interests of black people as respected members of the American family, now that's something to write home about.
I am not a fan of putting too much pressure on Barack Obama. But I strongly recommend that we all remember: if you ask for nothing and expect nothing, then you will usually get NOTHING. By shutting down any African American who speaks honestly about race, we are further lowering our issues on the table of American priorities. To make it plain, a wife who tells her busy husband that it's O.K. to ignore his family (even for "just a few months") may end up sad, lonely and abandoned. A month becomes a year, a year becomes a decade and a decade becomes a lifetime. We must be sure not to let Obama abandon us, even for a little while.
People have asked me what I think about Juanita Bynum and her post, pre and intra-marital drama. In case you haven’t heard, Juanita Bynum is a well-known black evangelist who was allegedly beaten by her husband Bishop Thomas Weeks. The alleged incident took place in an Atlanta Hotel Parking lot, and received a great deal of media attention.
As one would expect from a woman who’s been recently beaten by her husband, Juanita Bynum held a press conference. No trial, no hearings, no indictment, no conviction: just a press conference. Bynum then declared herself to be the new face of domestic violence in America. That was my introduction to the peculiar world of Juanita Bynum.
I am not sure what world Juanita Bynum lives in, but it can’t be my own. When hearing that she held a press conference after the alleged attack (along with appearances on Divorce Court and Essence Magazine), I immediately wondered if any good could come from this. I was hopeful that the goal was to truly fight domestic violence, thus empowering women around the world from her experience. I also wondered if this was Juanita Bynum’s version of Celebrity Pastors Gone Wild.
It is no secret that Juanita Bynum wants to be the next Oprah. Such lofty ambitions require you to sometimes sell your soul for success: Halle Berry shaves her head and signs a big movie deal. Vivica Fox gives oral sex on camera and then gets a new show. Rappers get shot on purpose.
That’s the celebrity fame game, and Juanita appears to be a part of it.
As a specialist in marketplace buying and selling, I quietly wonder if those responsible for saving souls should be so quick to sell their own. At the same time, there are many in the ministry who’ve made money and power their primary objectives, and spend a lot of time praying to the false God of capitalism. Anybody got a Dollar for the collection plate? How about some Taffi? Praise the Lord, amen.
I don’t consider Juanita Bynum to be a bad person. I just hope that she hasn’t allowed blind ambition to turn her into a spiritual Stevie Wonder. Mixing the idea of celebrity with service to God is a slippery slope, and if Jesus were among us in the flesh, I am not sure he would be appearing on Divorce Court. But spiritual leaders are the first to remind us that they can’t quite match up to Jesus. At the same time, one expects a higher standard from Juanita Bynum, TD Jakes and others who expect to preach to us every week.
I am a finance professor and a hardcore capitalist. I fully understand the drug of money. In some ways, I feel like the drug pusher who looks at the church going mother of 3 and says “Ma’am, you don’t want to smoke that crack pipe.” I know that addiction to the drug will cause the mother to abandon her children and destroy everything she holds sacred in order to get another hit. Hearing pastors (i.e. TD Jakes) referring to Jesus as a “product”, or seeing men and women of God speaking on money more than I do is beyond disturbing. It’s just downright crazy.
I don’t consider Juanita Bynum to be the face of domestic violence. Domestic violence has millions of faces of women who never held a press conference. But I certainly hope that she is working to use her newfound fame to support and protect those who are in abusive relationships. But truth be told, I haven’t seen much out of Bynum other than publicity stunts designed to promote the name, fame and wealth of Juanita Bynum.
If the leaders of the flock have been blinded by their own ambition, what does that mean for the sheep? I would hate to imagine that going to church might somehow jeopardize my salvation, since Jesus has been reduced to a product for sale. Perhaps it implies that we should cut out the middle man and find our own connection to God. What would Jesus do?
Tavis Smiley just left the Tom Joyner Morning Show. If I said I was surprised, I’d be lying. The truth is that I wondered why Tavis’ days were not numbered from the jump, because his strong commentary wasn’t quite a fit for the style of The Tom Joyner Morning Show. Black people don’t mind black people being controversial, as long as the controversy only makes white people mad.
The Tom Joyner Morning Show is about being popular. That is what keeps the sponsorship money coming in, and that’s what keeps people bopping their heads to Kool & the Gang and going on your Fantastic Voyage cruise every year. Tom Joyner and Tavis worked together to make black people laugh, cry and think; the show was always fun.
But then Barack Obama showed up and Tavis Smiley suddenly appeared to be a hater. I don’t know if Tavis Smiley is an official Barack Obama hater, I am not so quick to issue Advanced Playerhaterology Certification. But he certainly sounded like a guy with a grudge. Seeing one strong and popular brother turn his vocal gun onto another powerful brother just made black people sick. Tom Joyner doesn’t make money when black people get sick. What is most disturbing is that reading between the lines led many African-Americans to feel that Tavis Smiley’s love for Hillary Clinton, in conjunction with his disdain for Senator Obama, was a function of Ms. Daisy having paid off the help to get some extra support. This is not to imply that Hillary paid Tavis, but there was certainly quite a bit of asymmetry in the way Tavis dealt with Hillary vs. Barack. Having the backing of Black America is one thing. But being too boastful about it and assuming that you control the minds of millions of people is a dangerous game. Tavis sounded no different from a man grabbing his girlfriend by the arm and telling another male suitor, “This is my woman….I own all of thisssssssss…..” No woman would want to hear those words coming out of her man’s mouth, and neither does Black America. The public ass whooping that our readers put on Tavis after the Obama situation would have put the Michael Vick trial to shame. I honestly felt sorry for Tavis.
I don’t hate Tavis, I actually respect him. But all indicators say that he hates me. That’s why I am no good at this social commentary game: you give one small critique and people think you hate their guts. Either way, I am going to keep telling the truth, since that’s one thing I do well.
VIDEO: TAVIS SMILEY LEAVES THE TOM JOYNER MORNING SHOW
Oprah Winfrey’s support for Senator Barack Obama, while certainly admirable, has cost her some support among fans. According to a recent poll, Winfrey’s approval rating was 74% before the election, dropping to 61% after turning her support toward Obama. At the end of the Jeremiah Wright controversy, her approval rating dropped further to 55%.
I admired Oprah a great deal for stepping out in support of Senator Obama. I also knew that she would pay the greatest price for this bold political move. What surprised me about Oprah’s support for Senator Obama was the fact that she was willing to do damn near the exact opposite of what made her a billionaire: take political sides in a nasty race. She also had the audacity to support a highly qualified black man over a well-respected, powerful woman. When reporters asked me about Oprah’s decision to step out on the limb of controversy, I simply said “Damn, I thought I was the only one crazy enough to do things like that. Oprah’s going to get fried for it.” Entertainment is based on popularity. The more of a jelly-like spine you have, the better off you’re going to be. You have to be able to move with the crowd and makes folks feel good. DL Hughley from Def Comedy Jam even appeared on several shows referring to the black women from Rutgers University as “Nappy Headed Hoes”, all so he could build a little extra fame on the back of a very serious issue. Entertainment moguls like Oprah Winfrey and Bob Johnson are the best when it comes to telling people exactly what they want to hear, and they’ve become quite wealthy for it.
But it is Oprah’s willingness to take a serious stand on critical social issues that will serve as the dividing line between the legacies of billionaires Winfrey and Johnson. Oprah will be celebrated and remembered 100 years from today. People will only think that “Bob Johnson” is the name of an exotic sex toy. Johnson’s time capsule will contain DVDs of BET (Booties, Exploitation and Thugs) videos, while Oprah’s capsule will contain pictures of the young women attending the school she built in Africa. I am not a woman, but even I am empowered by someone who stands up so firmly for women’s rights. So, I give a big “You go girl” to Oprah for doing something that many wealthy black entertainers with predominantly white audiences are not quite willing to do.
At the same time, it was Oprah’s decision to be a BLACK woman (not just a woman) and support Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton that led to the backlash from her audience. Simultaneously, it was Bob Johnson’s allegiance to Senator Clinton that led to him being compared to Uncle Ruckass, the first class Uncle Tom from the TV show “The Boondocks”. Both billionaires shifted away from their policies, and both of them are getting hammered for it.
Oprah and Bob were reminded of a valuable lesson: Popularity and politics just don’t mix.
People don’t pay their black entertainers to take political stands. They pay them to dance, sing and make jokes. One can’t wear the white suit of entertainment and swim in the dirty waters of racially-divisive American politics.
One thing I know about money is that it can empower and liberate you. The problem is that money can also enslave you. Many black professors at top white universities fear losing their precious jobs if they speak out on social injustice. So, we spend our entire careers writing research papers that no one ever reads, while a world that starves for our intellect dies around us. There are hoards of angry black middle class Americans who fear opening their mouths because they won’t be able to keep up the payments on the Lexus. We all understand, on some level, the tradeoffs that Oprah, Johnson and Obama are forced to make.
One of the great dilemmas of the black experience is that we judge one another on our ability to obtain wealth, power and popularity, three things in short supply in our community. Rather than asking WHY Bob Johnson has a billion dollars, we presume that he is a great man only BECAUSE he has a billion dollars. Our measuring stick for success is one that provides prominence and respect to those who’ve been most willing to sell their soul to obtain scarce social resources. This creates a sticky set of incentives, as we keep our eyes on the carrots while taking our eyes completely off the prize.
You (Barack Obama) can’t get elected with 13% of the vote, so you are forced to engage in a disturbing amount of diplomacy and “bridge building”. You even become the only major politician to not show up in Memphis on the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination. In addition, you are asked to denounce a different black male associate nearly every week, while your opponents have equally questionable affiliations that receive no attention from mainstream media. You (Oprah Winfrey) are a TV mogul who can’t earn a billion dollars from your black audience, so you build a predominantly soccer mom constituency that will penalize you for supporting a black presidential candidate. The audience helps you pay the bills, as long as you keep feeding them more Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil without even considering building shows for many black experts across the country who DO NOT have that annoying country accent.
You (Bob Johnson) can’t quite get your message onto a mainstream TV network, so you create a network for African-Americans and spend 20 years feeding them nothing but naked women, gold grills, jock-grabbing “gangstaz” with guns and other profitable garbage. You don’t feed garbage for the survival of the network; you feed it because you want to have a billion dollars instead of 100 million. That’s what makes you a “playa”.
The sacrifices are great, and it is my argument that we should not only question the merits of the sacrifice, but also whether the rewards are as valuable as they seem. For every billion dollars of income earned by Bob Johnson, I speculate that there is at least another two billion dollars in lost productivity from a generation of kids who memorized the lyrics from “Back that Ass Up” before they began kindergarten.
Perhaps it is time to reconsider our social currency.
Does Cornel West have to be at Harvard to be important, or will we respect him at an HBCU?
If Barack Obama loses the presidency for refusing to condemn another black man, will he get as much respect from his Black Home as he would from the White House?
Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama, to a measured extent, have earned my respect for putting their vast social capital on the line. As a Finance Professor, I understand Bob Johnson, since I have taught thousands of Capitalists to analyze money.
But one thing I know about money and democracy in a racist society is that if you measure your success by wealth, power and popularity, you end up with a Pandora’s Box of contradictions that keep you up all night and on the toilet all day.
Life is too short to work so hard on things that don’t matter. Perhaps we should set new standards.
Video: Dr. Boyce Watkins Speaks on Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama
