Black in America
Encyclopedia
Black In America is a multi-part series of documentaries
hosted by reporter Soledad O'Brien
on CNN
. The series is about various issues regarding blacks (African-Americans) which includes panel discussions on issues facing the black community, and a look at the culture of black families in America, men and women.
It featured exclusive commentary by music mogul Russell Simmons
, Grammy Award
-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco
, comedian D.L. Hughley, award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee
, and actress/comedian Whoopi Goldberg
.
The program was extremely successful. CNN.com’s interactive section for "Black In America" garnered over 2.4 million page views. The "Black In America" iReport.com assignment received over 1,000 submissions. Several viewers of the first episode were so inspired by the program that they launched BlackInAmerica.com, an online community and social network for black Americans who want to address the issues and challenges of Black America.
The success of the program also led to CNN producing additional episodes and making it a series. The second episode, "Black in America 2", premiered on July 22, 2009 and tells the story of "Journey For Change", a youth empowerment program funded and led by activist Mallak Compton-Rock. "Journey For Change" is a year long program that works with 30 teenagers selected from the community of Bushwick in Brooklyn, New York to be "global ambassadors" through community service and fundraising projects. The program starts off with a 2 week trip to South Africa where kids who are used to being on the receiving end of aid are exposed to an environment where they are the privileged and they are the ones who are giving to the needy.
The third episode in the series is a special co-production with Essence magazine, featuring leaders and community organizers, and will be filmed in New Orleans at the Essence Music Festival. Filming will take place in July and episode will broadcast on CNN in August.
On September 2, 2008, the "CNN Presents: Black in America" documentary was made available for sale on Amazon.com
and other retailers. It is also available through iTunes
for download.
An exploration of the varied experiences of black women and families investigates the disturbing statistics of single parenthood, racial disparities between students and the devastating toll of STD
s/HIV
/AIDS
. CNN also reports on the progress of Black women in the workplace and the status of the Black middle class.
Through the personal stories of graduates of the 1968 class of Little Rock Central High School and their sons and grandsons, CNN explores the state of Black men in America. The network dispels the myths and examines the disparities between blacks and whites in education, career, economic achievement and the devastating rates of Black male incarceration.
Black in America: Tomorrow’s Leaders
Premiere airtimes: Wednesday, July 22, at 8pm & 11pm ET/PT. Total running time: 2 hours.
For the debut evening of CNN’s Black in America 2, anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien focuses on solutions aimed at developing African-American leaders of tomorrow. John Rice’s Management Leadership for Tomorrow program has been instrumental in establishing black professionals in positions of power and influence in America’s largest companies. O’Brien also reports on programs aimed at creating opportunities for the next generation of youth leadership. Malaak Compton-Rock’s Journey for Change offers teenagers from inner-city schools the opportunity to see the world and develop self-confidence; and Steve Perry, Ed.D.’s, Capital Preparatory Magnet School creates opportunities for leadership and academic excellence by preparing young, black students for college with “tough love.”
Black in America: Today’s Pioneers
Premiere airtimes: Thursday, July 23, at 8pm & 11pm ET/PT. Total running time: 2 hours.
For the second evening of CNN’s Black in America 2, anchor and special correspondent
Soledad O’Brien reports on how community organizers across the country are creating progress and improvements at a local level. From a Chicago barbershop where African-American men are encouraged to seek routine medical check-ups; to Tyler Perry, an actor, director and playwright, whose life’s journey has led him from homelessness to becoming a filmmaker and television producer who is creating opportunities for others; to the Black Marriage Day project which works with couples in 300 cities to help develop strong, healthy families; these are the programs and progress of people working in ways large and small to make a difference.
decision as the most deadly U.S. riot in 100 years. She conveniently ignores other more bloody incidents like the Tulsa Race Riot
of 1921 when over 300 blacks were slaughtered by white militiamen. What’s up with that?"
Other columnists, such as Askia Muhammad
from the Final Call, also criticized the series calling it "a faulty portrait". One part of his column read: "CNN was able with this report to make what many Black men had rejected as the “American Nightmare,” appear now to be the “New American Dream."
On the contrary, Washington Post columnist Tom Shales
, called it an "expressive portrait". He said that CNN turned ordinary stories into an "extraordinary series." His column reads: "[The series] looms as a tremendous accomplishment for O'Brien and for the many producers, editors and crew members who poured themselves into it. And if no good comes of it, it won't be their fault."
Author PJ Coble, labeled the work "a, poor attempt to conceptualize in a two day documentary a history of a people and a race ".
Raymond Leon Roker, a columnist for The Huffington Post
, applauded CNN for taking the chance with such a controversial program. "This is never easy, as you're bound to misfire on all sides in some ways," he says. "To its credit, the series did give airtime to topics rarely discussed outside the barber/beauty shops, campuses and black kitchen tables of America."
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
hosted by reporter Soledad O'Brien
Soledad O'Brien
María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien is an American Broadcast journalist. She is currently the host of the "In America" documentary unit on CNN, and is best known for anchoring the CNN marquee morning newscast American Morning from July 2003 to April 2007, with Miles O'Brien...
on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. The series is about various issues regarding blacks (African-Americans) which includes panel discussions on issues facing the black community, and a look at the culture of black families in America, men and women.
It featured exclusive commentary by music mogul Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
, Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco , better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco , is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, Lupe is the CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food...
, comedian D.L. Hughley, award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
, and actress/comedian Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
.
The program was extremely successful. CNN.com’s interactive section for "Black In America" garnered over 2.4 million page views. The "Black In America" iReport.com assignment received over 1,000 submissions. Several viewers of the first episode were so inspired by the program that they launched BlackInAmerica.com, an online community and social network for black Americans who want to address the issues and challenges of Black America.
The success of the program also led to CNN producing additional episodes and making it a series. The second episode, "Black in America 2", premiered on July 22, 2009 and tells the story of "Journey For Change", a youth empowerment program funded and led by activist Mallak Compton-Rock. "Journey For Change" is a year long program that works with 30 teenagers selected from the community of Bushwick in Brooklyn, New York to be "global ambassadors" through community service and fundraising projects. The program starts off with a 2 week trip to South Africa where kids who are used to being on the receiving end of aid are exposed to an environment where they are the privileged and they are the ones who are giving to the needy.
The third episode in the series is a special co-production with Essence magazine, featuring leaders and community organizers, and will be filmed in New Orleans at the Essence Music Festival. Filming will take place in July and episode will broadcast on CNN in August.
On September 2, 2008, the "CNN Presents: Black in America" documentary was made available for sale on Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
and other retailers. It is also available through iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
for download.
Parts of Series
- The Black Woman and Family: First aired on 23 July 2008; two hours long.
An exploration of the varied experiences of black women and families investigates the disturbing statistics of single parenthood, racial disparities between students and the devastating toll of STD
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
s/HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. CNN also reports on the progress of Black women in the workplace and the status of the Black middle class.
- The Black Man: First aired on 24 July 2008; two hours long.
Through the personal stories of graduates of the 1968 class of Little Rock Central High School and their sons and grandsons, CNN explores the state of Black men in America. The network dispels the myths and examines the disparities between blacks and whites in education, career, economic achievement and the devastating rates of Black male incarceration.
Black in America: Tomorrow’s Leaders
Premiere airtimes: Wednesday, July 22, at 8pm & 11pm ET/PT. Total running time: 2 hours.
For the debut evening of CNN’s Black in America 2, anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien focuses on solutions aimed at developing African-American leaders of tomorrow. John Rice’s Management Leadership for Tomorrow program has been instrumental in establishing black professionals in positions of power and influence in America’s largest companies. O’Brien also reports on programs aimed at creating opportunities for the next generation of youth leadership. Malaak Compton-Rock’s Journey for Change offers teenagers from inner-city schools the opportunity to see the world and develop self-confidence; and Steve Perry, Ed.D.’s, Capital Preparatory Magnet School creates opportunities for leadership and academic excellence by preparing young, black students for college with “tough love.”
Black in America: Today’s Pioneers
Premiere airtimes: Thursday, July 23, at 8pm & 11pm ET/PT. Total running time: 2 hours.
For the second evening of CNN’s Black in America 2, anchor and special correspondent
Soledad O’Brien reports on how community organizers across the country are creating progress and improvements at a local level. From a Chicago barbershop where African-American men are encouraged to seek routine medical check-ups; to Tyler Perry, an actor, director and playwright, whose life’s journey has led him from homelessness to becoming a filmmaker and television producer who is creating opportunities for others; to the Black Marriage Day project which works with couples in 300 cities to help develop strong, healthy families; these are the programs and progress of people working in ways large and small to make a difference.
Controversy & Criticism
Syndicated columnist Kam Williams harshly criticized the series in a widely circulated DVD review, saying that it was full of "infuriating mistakes". One part of his review read: "My biggest overall problem had to do with the program’s periodic factual inaccuracies, such as when [Soledad] O'Brien refers to the riot which erupted in L.A. after the Rodney KingRodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
decision as the most deadly U.S. riot in 100 years. She conveniently ignores other more bloody incidents like the Tulsa Race Riot
Tulsa Race Riot
The Tulsa race riot was a large-scale racially motivated conflict, May 31 - June 1st 1921, between the white and black communities of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in which the wealthiest African-American community in the United States, the Greenwood District also known as 'The Negro Wall St' was burned to the...
of 1921 when over 300 blacks were slaughtered by white militiamen. What’s up with that?"
Other columnists, such as Askia Muhammad
Askia Muhammad
Askia Muhammad is a poet, journalist, radio producer, commentator, and photojournalist. He has been multiply awarded by the National Association of Black Journalists for his work on National Public Radio, with first place "Salute to Excellence" awards for his commentaries on "Mississippi and My...
from the Final Call, also criticized the series calling it "a faulty portrait". One part of his column read: "CNN was able with this report to make what many Black men had rejected as the “American Nightmare,” appear now to be the “New American Dream."
On the contrary, Washington Post columnist Tom Shales
Tom Shales
Thomas William "Tom" Shales is an American critic of television programming and operations. He is best known as TV critic for The Washington Post; in 1988, Shales received the Pulitzer Prize...
, called it an "expressive portrait". He said that CNN turned ordinary stories into an "extraordinary series." His column reads: "[The series] looms as a tremendous accomplishment for O'Brien and for the many producers, editors and crew members who poured themselves into it. And if no good comes of it, it won't be their fault."
Author PJ Coble, labeled the work "a, poor attempt to conceptualize in a two day documentary a history of a people and a race ".
Raymond Leon Roker, a columnist for The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
, applauded CNN for taking the chance with such a controversial program. "This is never easy, as you're bound to misfire on all sides in some ways," he says. "To its credit, the series did give airtime to topics rarely discussed outside the barber/beauty shops, campuses and black kitchen tables of America."