As you might have noticed, I’ve been listening to a lot of Public Radio recently. Not because I think it’s cool or because I think listening to Public Radio makes me smarter or enriches my perspective. I listen to NPR because I can’t afford Basic television or Internet. And Public Radio is free—it’s pretty much my only source for knowing what’s going on in the world.
There are two shows on NPR offering a “black perspective” on current events. I’m sure white people (like myself) are allowed to listen to these programs—but the aim of these shows seems to be to represent the “black voice” because it’s so vastly underrepresented in the media. I don’t know.
I’m not a racist. I totally get that black people are criminally misrepresented, if they’re represented at all, in American media. But anytime I encounter a show or some form of content where race is the basis for that show or content, my mind immediately jumps to: Well, what if there was a white show for white people offering a “white perspective” on current events? And I mean explicitly “For White People.” Because: let’s face it, every current events or news program—nay, the majority of content in general--is made by white people--maybe not for white people—but white people generally make up the majority of the audience. But what if a show used the same exclusionary angle as these other shows: “for one race, by one race”?
Like: I get that black people need a voice—not just one voice but more black voices in the media and on television and in general. But why does that, specifically, always have to be the main issue? Why can’t we just green-light more “black” shows—that is: intellectual content produced by or starring black people, based on its own merits and not because we feel compelled to throw the black community a bone and say: “Oh, here you go. Here’s a show. Now you have a voice. So you can’t complain about that anymore.”
I don’t know. Maybe that’s naïve. I’m trying to not be offensive. I like these “black” shows, but I was listening to one today and the host was asking specifically “black questions”. He even called them that: “black questions”. He had a panel on composed of one black guy and two white (or I guess it was possible they could have been other nationalities) people. They were doing a year-end recap sort of thing and the subject of Obama came up. The host was like: “Well, I hate to ask the black guy the black question but….” Like he had to not only frame it in those terms but he was required to ask “the black question” in the first place.
Do we have to talk about race when we talk about our black President? Does it always have to be about race? Can’t we just talk about Obama as a person doing his job as President and judge him by that criteria?
I don’t know. It made sense—I mean, it was acceptable within the context of their discussion. They were talking about the “black vote” and if this person in particular thought Obama still had the black vote and how that would affect the upcoming election. But it didn’t seem like a topic the host was interested in. I mean, maybe he was. But it seemed like a question he had to ask. Like: he’d just received a folded scrap of paper from his play-the-black-card producer in the middle of the show that, upon unfolding it, he saw that it read: “Ask the ‘black question’ like we talked about before! Do it!” With an addendum at the end that said: “P.S. Ask the black guy.”
I don’t know. This all begs the question: if black people (and black people aren’t the only minority in America) are disproportionately represented in the American media, should we force this kind of equal representation? I’m sort of torn because: I feel like there is a real need for a “black” program or more “black” programs but I also feel like people should be rewarded or allowed on air simply based on their own merits or the merit of the content they wish to produce. By that same token: I do believe that there is merit in a “black” show for black people—so it should be allowed on the air. But in a perfect world: crappy white shows wouldn’t be given a free pass just because they have this star or this personality and black shows wouldn’t be given precedence either simply because they’re “black shows”. Like I said, though (I feel like I’m talking in circles, here): there’s a need for black shows so there’s inherent merit in these shows so I get why they’re given precedence. I just wish we lived in a culture where everyone was represented in the media so we could start weeding out the crappier content and rewarding entertainers or talking heads based on their talent or their unique op inions/perspective vs. how unfairly we treat members of their race.
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