Gospel Artist Marvin Sapp’s Wife Dies of Colon Cancer

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

Prominent Gospel Music artist Marvin Sapp recently lost his wife to colon cancer. Marvin's wife, MaLinda, had been married to him for 15 years and they have three children together. MaLinda was an Administrative Pastor at the church they ran together, the Lighthouse Full Life Center, in Grand Rapids, MI.
Before she died, MaLinda was a college professor and licensed professional counselor. The following statement was issued by 92.1 Praise Houston about the death of MaLinda Sapp:

 

Click to read.

ColorOfChange.org Launches a “Turn Off Fox News” Campaign

 

Dear friends,

Many of us already know that Fox News is biased -- but it's actually much worse than that. For years they have used lies, distortions, and race-baiting to divide this country. Recently, it's gotten downright dangerous. Earlier this summer, a heavily armed man got into a gun fight with police after he was pulled over on his way to kill people at the Tides Foundation^[1] -- an obscure non-profit that Glenn Beck regularly demonizes on his Fox News TV show.^[2]

Fox News is bad news for America -- and it spreads, and is legitimized, partly through TVs in public places.

That's why I've joined the TurnOffFox campaign -- the first part of a larger campaign to diminish the influence of Fox. It's about educating people about Fox and getting it turned off in stores, restaurants, and other public places.

Will you join me? It takes just a moment to declare your own household "Fox free", and at the same time appeal to public establishments in your community to stop playing Fox. And you'll get a FREE Turn Off Fox sticker when you do. Click here:

http://colorofchange.org/turnofffox/?id=1870-1096688

No other news organization that's considered legitimate consistently wages smear campaigns based on lies and race-baiting. But for years Fox News has done exactly that, and the pattern has only gotten worse since Barack Obama entered national politics.

Here are just a few examples:

-- A frequent Fox guest, Jesse Lee Peterson, said that the majority of Black people have poor moral character, and cited "what they did to the dome" after Hurricane Katrina as evidence.^[3] Peterson has also used his platform on Fox to claim that 90% of Black people are racists -- against Whites.^[4]

-- In a case of naked race-baiting, Fox host Glenn Beck called President Obama a "racist" who had a "deep-seated hatred for White people or the White culture."^[5] Earlier that week, Beck claimed that the President's health insurance reform proposals were a form of "reparations" designed to "settle old racial scores."^[6]

-- Fox host John Stossel argued that the public accommodations section of the Civil Rights Act -- which prevents businesses from discriminating based on race, sex, and other factors -- should be repealed.^[7]

-- Fox News hosts Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity were the first to air deceptively edited and incomplete video of Shirley Sherrod's remarks to the NAACP.^[8] The video made it seem like Sherrod was confessing to using her position at the USDA to discriminate against White farmers, when she was really talking about the importance of overcoming prejudice. Sherrod lost her job over this misrepresentation, which Fox enthusiastically repeated without seeking the facts. Fox has since tried to pretend it had nothing to do with this smear -- but Fox is the number one reason these kinds of distortions and smears have any part in our national dialogue.

The examples above aren't even a tenth of Fox's vicious lies and smears, and over the years they've just gotten more brazen.

The goal of Turn Off Fox is to reduce the number of public TVs showing Fox News, while spreading the word about Fox's poison (and how it works) to those who don't know.

Signing up for the campaign is just the first step. We make it easy for you to tell us about businesses playing Fox. If you're willing to talk with them, we'll provide you with straightforward materials that explain why they shouldn't be a party to what Fox is doing. And if there are businesses you know that want to tell the world they would never play Fox, you can help them declare themselves a "Fox-free zone."

As businesses Turn off Fox and stand up as Fox Free, and as we encourage our friends and family to do the same, we'll help make clear, to people across the country, what Fox is about. And we'll reduce their ability to do harm.

Please join me in signing up for the TurnOffFox campaign:

http://colorofchange.org/turnofffox/?id=1870-1096688

Thanks.

References

1. http://bit.ly/a5F7kW
2. http://mediamatters.org/research/201007290032
3. http://mediamatters.org/research/200510030005
4. http://bit.ly/c060C0
5. http://mediamatters.org/research/200907300019
6. http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907230040
7. http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201005200033
8. http://mediamatters.org/blog/201007200060

Dr. Boyce on Black Voices – 1/4/10

 

Bobby DeLaughter, Medgar Evers Prosecutor, Going to Prison

• Bobby DeLaughter, a well-known former prosecutor and judge in Mississippi, is set to report to ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jan 4th 2010 3:07PM | Comments (1)

Black Men in Prison: What Obama Must Fix Right Now

• The prison industrial complex affects all of us. Most of us in the African-American community have ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jan 4th 2010 1:15PM | Comments (5)

Danny Glover vs. Barack Obama: Is Glover's Criticism Justified?

• Just a few weeks ago, actor Danny Glover weighed in heavy on Barack Obama's work as President of ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jan 4th 2010 11:35AM | Comments (4)

Detention Officer Fired for Being a Member of the KKK

• Detention officer Wayne Kerschner admitted to being a member of the KKK and blogging for a KKK ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jan 3rd 2010 5:33PM | Comments (9)

Four-Year-Old Boy Dies in Church from a Stray Bullet on New Years

• I was in Memphis this weekend, bringing in the New Year with my assistant and her husband. As we ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jan 2nd 2010 11:23AM | Comments (13)

Diddy Announces That He is Married on Twitter- Then Backpedals

• OK, it's official: Diddy is married to Kim Porter. Well, maybe he's not. All of this seems ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jan 1st 2010 11:28AM | Comments (10)

Tyra Banks or Tyrant Banks? Employees Say She's Over The Top

• It appears that Tyra Banks may not be the most beloved figure in the eyes of her former employees. ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jan 1st 2010 10:49AM | Comments (46)

Diddy Allegedly Marries Kim Porter for the New Year

• Update: It seems official: Diddy tweeted at 3:30 this morning that he is "juat [sic] married!" ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Dec 31st 2009 10:56PM | Comments (10)

Fox News May Be Taken Off the Air Because of Money

• It turns out that Fox News may be taken off the air after the new year. Now, before you start ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Dec 31st 2009 6:13PM | Comments (15)

You Can't Blame President Obama for The Recent Terrorist Incident

• People want to blame President Barack Obama for the recent terrorist attack on an airliner from ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Dec 31st 2009 5:36PM | Comments (13)

Lil Wayne Says Goodbye to Fans on His Way to Prison

• Part of me feels sorry for Lil Weezy, also known as Lil Wayne. I am probably too old to understand ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Dec 30th 2009 11:45AM | Comments (38)

Five New Years Resolutions that Black Folks Should Observe

• I'm not one to tell anyone what to do, but I am about to do just that. Not because you should ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Dec 29th 2009 12:33PM | Comments (9)

Jesse Jackson Speaks on Man Shot in the Back by Police at Church

• The Reverend Jesse Jackson has intervened in the case of Mark Anthony Barmore, the man who was ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Dec 27th 2009 12:38PM | Comments (12)

Mark Anthony Barmore: Unarmed Black Man Shot in Back by Police at Church

• I recently found out about the case of Mark Anthony Barmore, an unarmed African American male in ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Dec 26th 2009 10:27PM | Comments (71)

Holiday Spending Tips: Cutting the Financial Fat - Dr Boyce Money

• After the holidays, you are probably going to feel a little chubby: physically fat from all the ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Dec 25th 2009 12:43PM | Comments (1)

Dr. Boyce Talks with ABC News about Tiger Woods

Word that Tiger Woods was involved in an early morning car accident likely rattled not just fans, but also the broad swath of major corporations that rely on Woods' star power to sell everything from sports drinks, T-shirts and razors to golf tournament tickets.

Reports say the golf star hit a fire hydrant and a tree near his home.

"I can imagine that the world stopped for Tiger Woods advertisers when they first heard the news and that, literally, their hearts missed a beat," said ABC News sports consultant and USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan.

Woods has earned more than $100 million annually and, according to Forbes, more than $1 billion during his career thus far, thanks, in part, through endorsement deals with companies such as Nike, Gatorade, Electronic Arts, TAG Heuer and Gillette. The companies declined requests for comment from ABC News.

Nike, in particular, has been especially dependent on Woods, said advertising expert Larry Woodard, an ABC News columnist and the CEO of the advertising agency Vigilante.

"Nike wasn't really into golf before Tiger Woods came," he said. "He helped them take a pre-eminent role in golf."

The PGA Tour also has a lot riding on Woods -- he drives ratings for PGA Tour broadcasts like no one else before him, allowing the tour to rake in greater advertising revenues and higher TV ratings.

"Tiger brought a lot of color to the sport both on his skin and his style of play and that's something that the PGA sorely needs," said Boyce Watkins, a finance professor at Syracuse University.

In the short term, companies tied to Woods likely wouldn't lose too much cash if Woods couldn't fulfill his immediate endorsement obligations; corporations take out insurance policies to cover themselves in case of such events.

"I bet you any intelligent corporation that deals with Tiger Woods has conditions in place to protect them in the event that something like this were to happen," Watkins said. "You have to confront the fact that a human being is perishable commodity. It is a commodity that does not come without risk."

 

Click to read.

News: Klan Holds a Rally at Ole-Miss: Dr Boyce Analyzes

I was intrigued by recent reports that the Ku Klux Klan had a rally on the Ole Miss Campus recently. It might surprise you to know that I am essentially unconcerned by their presence on campus. Don't get me wrong, Klansmen are incredibly ignorant. Also, we cannot deny their historical reign of terror over people of color in America. But I can also give you a list of reasons that we should stop paying attention to the KKK.

1) They thrive off of attention: The KKK has very little power. They don't do very much anymore, and even in this rally, it appears that there were only a few members present. The truth is that the klan only has power because we give it attention. They are like a grease fire: The more water you put on it, the more it grows. But if you starve the fire of oxygen, it eventually dies out. The klan must be starved of attention, and then they will go away. They only remain relevant because we want them to be.

 

Click to read.

Viewership of our Heather Ellis Blog is Growing Each week

The Your Black World Coalition took up the cause of Heather Ellis knowing that she was being ignored by nearly everyone with the exception of Pastor Jessie Bonner from the local NAACP and Pastor Dwight Montgomery from the Memphis chapter of the SCLC.  We stepped in to support their efforts with a national campaign that pushed the issue to CNN, NBC, AOL, the Associated Press and nearly every other national media outlet in America. 

Finally, the world is starting to take notice.  The Rev. Al Sharpton has mentioned on the air that he would like to join Dr. Boyce Watkins if he chooses to make another trip to the Missouri area, Stephen Sokoloff has recused himself from the case, and America is now debating the merits of the justice system when it comes to their treatment of African Americans. 

We want to thank those of you who are supporting Heather and encourage you to tell your friends about the case.  When it comes to saving our children, it takes a village to make things right.

Memphis Benefit Planned for Heather Ellis

Need a Ride from Memphis to support Heather Ellis?

Dr. Boyce Watkins: Michael Baisden Steps to the Plate on the Heather Ellis Case

by Dr. Boyce Watkins 

Just when you thought black celebrities didn't care anymore, the "Bad Boy of Radio,"Michael Baisden announced today that he is going to give $5,000 to the legal defense fund of the family of Heather Ellis, a 24-year old black female college student who faces 15-years in prison after cutting in line at a Walmart.

Click to read.

Dr. Boyce: NCAA May Hire a Black President? Who Cares

by Dr. Boyce Watkins

I am not a fan of the NCAA, a sports league that earns money on the par of the NFL and NBA, but has somehow decided that they don’t have to properly compensate their employees or give them standard rights to negotiation. What’s worse is that the NCAA does tremendous harm to the African American community, sucking up kids with hoop dreams and destroying their futures with inferior educations.

When I recently read that the NCAA may be hiring a black president (Dr. Bernard Franklin), the only thing I could say is “whoopty-damn-doo.” While some of us might be tempted to applaud such an achievement, we must fully understand that the disease of racism is sometimes delivered through the hands of a black overseer.

RELATED: OPINION: Ivy League Can Teach NCAA About Coach Diversity

Dr. Franklin, while running around the country applauding his organization for giving one opportunity to one black person, should probably think of the thousands of African American families being used up by the very system he has been trained to manage. The NCAA is, without question, one of the most exploitative regimes in the history of America, right next to slavery and the prison system. Billions are earned each year off the backs of African American families, while the league has worked together with Congress to create a nexus of regulations that keep the athlete and his/her family from getting a piece of the economic pie.

Click to read.

Dr Boyce: Spike Lee vs. Tyler Perry - What Gives?

I woke up this morning to see that Tyler Perry is being forced to defend himself against nasty allegations coming from Spike Lee.  Spike has made it clear that he doesn’t appreciate what he perceives to be “coonery” in Tyler Perry films and TV shows. When I saw Perry flat out say that the accusations “pissed him off,” I thought, “Wow, now that’s an honest brother!”

RELATED: Tyler Perry Responds To Spike Lee’s “Coonery” Criticism

I grew up on Spike Lee and I’ll always love him.  I am also certain that images of black people singing, dancing and eating chicken certainly won Perry instant favor with the not-so-in-touch executives in Hollywood.  But here are three reasons that Spike Lee might be wrong about Tyler Perry:

1)    Tyler Perry is not all about Madea: I went onto BET a few times to talk about Hip Hop.  My hoity-toity friends in academia (many of whom pride themselves on writing research papers for journals that nobody ever reads) criticized me for being “unscholarly” by talking to rappers.  But my response was that hip hop culture has a dramatic influence on the young minds that I am trying to reach with education.  You don’t get a baby to eat healthy by only forcing vegetables down his throat; you sprinkle sugar on the food to get the child’s attention.  It’s not always a matter of forcing people to consume what they NEED – you should also be willing to let them have some of what they WANT.  Every positive black movie doesn’t have to be a PBS special.

 

Click to read.

News: 15 Years in Prison for Cutting Line – Pretrial Has Begun

Click to Play

Heather Ellis is a college student facing15 years in prison for cutting line at Walmart - visit www.SaveHeatherEllis.com for more details on the national protest to be held in Kennett, MO on November 14.

According to the family, the prosecutor in the case, Stephen Sokoloff, has asked for the trial to be moved to Bloomfield, MO, a town with less than 20 African Americans in it.

Dr Boyce Watkins and Rev. Al Sharpton are planning a march in Kennett to support Heather Ellis.

Dr Boyce: What’s Wrong with Ebony Magazine?

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins 

 

The black journalism students here at Syracuse often come to me to find out how the industry works. They sometimes instinctively wonder if their professors' stories about being in a CBS newsroom in 1982 are going to help them survive in a world run by Twitter, Myspace and Facebook. The answer is a resounding "probably not."

While respecting the journalism professors teaching their classes, I simply use examples like Ebony Magazine to help them realize that black media is changing, and sites like theGrio.com, BlackVoices.com, and TheRoot.com, are examples of how black media has evolved. In fact, a journalist who doesn't understand technology and business models is in danger of starting his/her career as a dinosaur.

When it comes to recent reports about Ebony Magazine being offered for sale, I admit that I was saddened, but not surprised. The Ebony Fashion Fair has become one of the most celebrated events in black America, and the magazine has been nothing less than a tremendous source of national pride since its creation in 1945. But in the age of the web, oversized bureaucracies can be crushed under the weight of their own arrogance. Bloated payrolls, pompous corporate functions and a sense of entitlement make them easy prey for quick, hungry and rapidly evolving competition.

In spite of the tremendous love we have for Ebony/Jet, the truth must be confronted when realizing that it is what radio was to TV or what the train was to the airplane. Like radios and trains, there is still a place for print media, but that role is no longer dominant. The current economic climate only accelerated the inevitable, since advertisers were eventually going to stop spending $50,000 for magazine ads when they can buy the same number of eyeballs for $5,000 or less.

I present the following 5 questions I'd like to ask out loud about both Ebony Magazine and the state of African American media:

Click to read.

Silly Terminology and “Divisive Hate Speech”

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

www.BoyceWatkins.com

As I work to do my part toward the fair treatment of African Americans, I can't recall how many emails I've received from well-intended, yet uninformed individuals who presume that my words are nothing more than "divisive hate speech". It doesn't matter what I say, or how I say it. As long as I bring up the impact that slavery and oppression has on the present, I am accused of using "divisive hate speech". When I bring up the fact that slavery, oppression and economic exclusion have created the massive wealth gap between blacks and whites in America, I am accused of using "divisive hate speech". When I mention the disproportionate black male prison population (an artifact of Jim Crow and slavery) or the lack of tenured faculty at majority universities, I am again accused of using "divisive hate speech".

I now ignore that line in any email I receive. To use that term in response to being confronted with slavery is like an irresponsible father getting angry every time his child's mother reminds him to pay child support. Reconciliation for extraordinary damage and devastation comes with a price. You can't just wish it away.

I know how to look past the critics, they don't bother me. But for some reason, that term (divisive hate speech) was in my brain when I woke up this morning, and I wanted to share some thoughts with those who are bothered by such criticism. Part of the price of admission for African Americans into so-called "mainstream America" is that we must do our ancestors a huge disservice by remaining quiet about the atrocities they've experienced. If you spend just one day thoroughly studying the impact of slavery and the experience of some of the slaves, you wouldn't think for one second that it is ok to forget what they went through.

The reason the term "divisive hate speech" is silly in response to any African American who speaks up on racism is because it is reflective of the lack of personal responsibility that our country teaches when it comes to dealing with the impact of slavery and discrimination. If I am wealthy because my father raped my best friend's mother and stole her belongings, it would be irresponsible for me to say "that's divisive hate speech!" whenever my friend attempts to have my family held accountable for the actions of my father. If I am forcing my friend to remain silent about what happened to his mother as a condition for our friendship, then the truth is that he is not my friend at all. The secondary truth is that I do not respect my friend nor love him enough to make things right after what my family has done.

African Americans are in the same situation. My precondition for being accepted by my colleagues in the academy is for me to remain silent about the raping, castration, murder, robbery and torture of my own historical family members during slavery. Engage in this mental exercise with me (close your eyes and really imagine this), picture having your siblings taken away forever at the age of 6, seeing your mother raped in front of you or watching your father beaten and eventually killed. That gives you a tiny glimpse into the lives of African Americans during slavery and Jim Crow.

The secondary reality that comes from treating another group of people like this for 400 years (that's nearly half a millennium, a very long time to form cultural habits) is that the dominant group is going to gain a sense of comfort and habit in their perpetual attempts to oppress the minority group. The minority group is going to feel comfortable being oppressed and victimized. I refuse to be a victim, so I am fighting back. Fighting back and refusing to be victimized is what leads to rejection by the group that is comfortable oppressing minorities. It also leads to conflicts with other minorities who have grown comfortable remaining silent about the truth (i.e. the “Administrative Negro” – Modern day overseers). That partially explains the term "divisive hate speech" or the use of inaccurate terms like “militant” to describe individuals like myself, who’ve never picked up arms against another human being. In fact, I recall hearing an esteemed black colleague of mine politely tell his superior that "racism doesn't exist in this organization", when privately, he knows that his company has not promoted a black man in 100 years. That is the kind of sick, twisted lie that many African Americans are forced to live, all in the name of "not appearing divisive".

Another reason it is irresponsible to use a term like "divisive hate speech" to describe any man or woman's desire to discuss the impact of slavery is that the truth MUST BE CONFRONTED IF YOU ARE TO MOVE FORWARD. A fat man who is challenged to exercise might want to say "Exercise is painful and unfair!" But he should understand that without exercise, he is going to remain fat. America is that fat man. Every time the term "divisive hate speech" is used as an attempt to silence those who speak out on race, Americans are behaving like the fat man who doesn't have the discipline to exercise. He should realize that confronting his weight problem is the only way he is going to get healthy. There is no way around it.

For the overweight man in my example above to think that he can achieve the gain without enduring a period of discomfort and sacrifice would be both weak and irresponsible. That is what many Americans want. They want racial harmony without the responsibility of true reconciliation and accountability. That is something I refuse to accept. So, from this point on, the term "divisive hate speech" is officially deemed silly and counterproductive. If you want to criticize me, you have to come at me with something better than that. But then again, I don’t pay much attention to the haters. Malcolm, Martin and Muhammad Ali taught us that the world will never reward an intelligent Black man for speaking his mind. I encourage all of you to reinforce your commitment to truth.

Dr. Boyce on NPR - Part 2 - Financial Crisis 101

Dr Boyce on NPR Part 4 - Financial Crisis

Boyce Watkins, Marc Lamont Hill on BET Tuesday Night

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.

Fox News Protestors: Are We going to Act?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins

www.BoyceWatkins.net

At Your Black World, we had a strong and powerful protest of Fox News and the racist Bill O'Reilly. Shortly after our protest, I started to notice protests by other websites, such as ColorofChange.org, Moveon.org and others. I love the fact that groups are working hard to challenge Fox News for what they are doing to this election.

However, I am concerned that we in the blogosphere are starting to actually believe that getting petitions and having people sign them is going to actually change something. I spoke with the people at Color of Change, whom I respect for their amazing campaigning ability. When I asked what they planned to do with their petitions, I was told that they plan to present the signatures to Fox News when they reach 100,000. Fine idea, but I think that more might be required.

You see, Fox News can be like the devil: The devil enjoys when you pour grease on a grease fire. Fox enjoys the protests, they enjoy the petitions. They will receive the stack of signatures and likely throw them in the garbage. These individuals are intelligent enough to realize that controversy means ratings, and that the more liberals hate them, the more their conservative (sometimes highly racist) base loves them.

When it comes to Bill O'Reilly and others, you have to hit them where it hurts.

Corporate sponsors are a bit different from highly charged, Jerry Springer-like media outlets such as Fox. They are truly CONSERVATIVE (and not in a cutting-edge, insanely racist, Michelle Malkin- Ann Coulter sort of way...more like the "we don't like rocking the boat" kind of way). They don't like the controversy, because it puts their corporate brand at risk. Shaking their foundation makes the board members nervous and they take away their sponsorship of Fox News. That's how you hit em hard. Well, that's at least how you can marginalize them a bit more than they've already marginalized themselves.

Also, good old fashioned protest works as well. I agree with Rev. Jesse Jackson, who explained that bloggers do a lot of writing, but we don't actually get out there and get it done. I recommend forming protests and having people with picket signs, standing in front of Fox News' top 2 or 3 corporate sponsors.

That might be more effective than a list reminding Fox that 100,000 people hate their guts. To be honest, I think they already know that.

Black Media, Black People, Black News: The Good Negro Behavior Protocol

Does this look like a professor to you? Or do you picture a thug, convict, athlete or criminal?


When it comes to diversity and integration, I have some critics. I created a website called YourBlackWorld.com, a website for African-Americans. The site was created in response to my experience dealing with mainstream media, which typically provided a 1 or 0 dimensional perspective to black points of view. Although I have a PhD in Finance, I was never called by CNN, FOX or CBS to discuss money or financial issues. I was usually called whenever they had a conversation on “black stuff”.

The fact that they saw me as a black man before they could see anything else was no fault of my publicist. A wonderful and energetic woman, my publicist called all the major networks to introduce me as a person well-qualified to discuss the economy, money management, stock markets or global finance. I have trained literally thousands of Suzie Ormans and Wall Street experts through the years, so it was only logical that this be an area that I speak on as a public scholar.

The problem was that many Americans do not see a black man when they envision a financial expert. A black man is more likely to be seen as a rapper, athlete or criminal. At best, they see a black scholar willing to discuss black rappers, athletes and criminals. That became my role with CNN.

I don’t mind discussing black people, for I have a very strong black identity. However, the limitations of my role bothered me a great deal, and what bothered me most was that it didn’t bother anyone else. If anyone else was bothered, it was for all the wrong reasons. I remember having a debate with a black conservative on CNN about why African-Americans have such a negative image in the world. The conservative, buying into some of the basic tenants of white supremacy, truly believed that the reason black Americans have such a negative image throughout the world is because black people simply choose to behave like criminals. He argued that if black people would simply mind their manners and stop getting arrested so much, the media would have nothing to report.

Apparently, this man had forgotten that there are over 30 million black people in America. So, even if 95% of these individuals were to choose to become perfect angels (or engage in what I call “The Good Negro Behavior Protocol”), there will, by simple statistical fact, be at least 1 million individuals doing things that could embarrass the rest of the community. By virtue of the fact that the media’s lens focuses most on those individuals in the black community who engage in embarrassing behavior, it would be these 1 million individuals who receive the most airtime.
I strongly believe in the idea of freedom. I believe that the black community has a right to be as diverse as any other group of people in America. Rappers have as much a right to exist as professors do. The idea that we can get angry at rappers because CNN and other networks focus on rappers more than anyone else is not the fault of the artists, but rather, due to the one dimensional perspectives of the networks themselves. It’s not who is in front of the camera, it’s where the camera chooses to focus itself.

Another problematic dimension to the “good negro behavior protocol” is this idea that all of us should be “embarrassed” when there is a black person on TV behaving in a comical or criminal fashion. I hear educated African-Americans speak of how embarrassed they are by the behavior of Flavor Flav, the ex-rapper turned reality TV star. I personally find Flavor Flav to be funny and I feel that he has as much of a right to be himself as the white guys on the great MTV show “Jackass”. I have never once heard a white man express that he is embarrassed for the white population because of what the guys on Jackass do on television. I have never once heard a white female say that she is embarrassed for the white race when Paris Hilton is arrested for drunk driving for the 1,000th time. The reality is that they know clearly that Paris Hilton and Jackass do not represent the white experience or dominant white expression.

For some reason, black people are the opposite. Rather than questioning why the media gives us an either-or reality for how we express ourselves in media, we get angry at one another for choosing to express ourselves in a unique fashion. The truth is that Flavor Flav has a right to be a comedian, he has a right to be a jack ass. If anyone in the world watches Vh-1 and thinks that all African-Americans behave like Flavor Flav, then their ignorance is their problem, not mine.

This was an excerpt from the book "Blinded by the Bling: The Plight of the Black Middle Class" by Dr. Boyce Watkins, set to be released August 15, 2008. For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.net.

Barack Obama: First Black President - What does that mean for black america?

The Al Jazeera network wants to get my perspective on what it means for our country to have its first black president. While I am going to vote for Senator Obama, I do not consider a first black president to be the saving grace for the rest of black america. In some ways, there is a tradeoff, given that having a black president will alleviate many Americans of their personal responsibility to help our nation overcome the after effects of hundreds of years of slavery and oppression. The easiest way to make people think that racism doesn't exist is to have a leader with a black face. But that is like saying that a Jewish president implies that the Nazi Holocaust never happened. The only difference is that the black holocaust lasted for hundreds of years.

I consider my Al Jazeera appearances to be more significant and interesting for a few reasons: 1) the audience is much larger than that of CNN, since the network covers much of the world, 2) many people around the world are watching this election closely, 3) I feel humbled by having the chance to represent the perspectives of black men in the United States. It has always been an honor to represent black men to the media, and it is an honor I take very seriously. The support of my people and obligation to my ancestors (many of whom died horrible deaths during slavery) to fulfill this obligation with honor, honesty, decency and courage.


At any rate, I want to hear what you think on this issue. I applaud Obama's achievements, and I am hopeful that he will serve as a source of inspiration for millions of black youth. I am not so happy about all the denunciations that he has had to endure, but I have let the wisdom of Louis Farrakhan guide me in my understanding of Obama's action.

But I want to hear what you think. Please tell me: What will it mean for the image of black men around the world if our country elects a black president? What does it mean for America?