The Discussion on Race

Senator Barak Obama’s game changing speech on race relations in our country sparked a lot of talk about the speech itself, though mostly on what he didn’t say rather than what he did. A lot of the discussion on talk shows and blogs still focused on the controversial statements of Rev. Wright, whether condemning Obama for not outright repudiating his pastor or offering up videos that showed the reverend in a more ecumenical light.

Here in Nashville, a discussion of the speech and a subsequent discussion of race popped up on one popular local aggregator, Music City Bloggers. There are a suprising number of comments from a small number of readers, and, as one person noted in the replies, a dearth of African American voices (or for that matter, any people of color, Asian, Latino, or otherwise).

I hope that FREESTYLES listeners check into the blog linked here and that they will continue the discussion here and over there (mostly here, hopefully)

African American Audiences Deserve Better

This weekend the first buffoon comedy of the New Year debuts at a theatre near you. Perhaps First Sunday isn’t as idiotic and threadbare as the trailers make it look, although the early interviews I’ve read with Tracy Morgan don’t leave me much hope for the subject. While everyone has the right to earn a living and I’m sure there are plenty of fans out there who’ll be attending this one, it saddens (but doesn’t amaze) me that in 2008 the easiest way for any artistic property involving Black people to get made either in films or television continues to be accent the mugging, physical comedy, vulgarity and idiocy.

Frankly, until and unless enough people go out and support those things that don’t play to that type of audience there won’t be much, if any change. Without wanting to get into a lecturing mode, two of the finest films that I’ve seen in recent years (Akeelah and the Bee, The Great Debaters) haven’t exactly been huge box-office sellers. We can go up and down the line for hours about outstanding films that didn’t do much box office, but the sad fact is that buffoonery made money in 1958 and it’s still making it in 2008 (will probably be doing so in 3008).

My fondest wish would be for some genuine variety to emerge within Black cultural circles. Contrary to what some would like to believe, no one is asking that the only things out there for Black audiences be documentaries and period piece material. Some intelligent comedy would be welcome, as well as entertaining mystery, great science-fiction, a good piece with a sports or music theme, in general a series of shows and/or films that truly reflected the diversity of the Black experience on every level. There are Black folks who ride motorcycles, swim, ski, fly airplanes, attend classical concerts, hunt and fish, ice skate, etc. Why that can’t be reflected on film and television on a regular basis astounds me, but then it also baffles me that there can’t be dramas with Black leads.

You would think this type of dialog wouldn’t be necessary anymore, but if you look at the images and the numbers things seem to be going steadily backward. The fact that Kelsey Grammar of all people would be expressing amazement and indignation about the lack of Black faces on television speaks volumes about the problem. I’m not going to blame the audience for this because in many instances people will support almost anything when they don’t get much offered as an alternative.

I won’t be going to First Sunday, but even if it bombs that won’t really address the problem. Right now one thing all of us who care about integrity and quality in programming can do is insist that cable systems around the nation as well as both Direct TV and Dish Network satellite systems pick up TV One, The Africa Channel and the various BET music channels. These are outlets offering viewers something else besides the same old stuff. When viewers have a chance to really see something different, some of them will be inspired and informed.

Exposure Day: The Mitchell Report

It’s been funny today to watch the media hordes coughing, gulping, seeking air and falling all over themselves as the name of Roger Clemens has popped up on the long-awaited George Mitchell list. For those who neither care about baseball or haven’t been following this witch hunt for the past 20 months, it is now evident that many, many others besides the evil Barry Bonds were using anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and many other things. But while Bonds has been racked over the coals for years because he committed the cardinal sin of breaking Henry Aaron’s home run record, Clemens has been operating without much controversy. Oh there were rumors every now and then, but no one dared really broach the subject without proof.

The funny thing is that there’s still not proof, at least not in terms of what you’d need to convict someone in court. The lengthy Mitchell report includes canceled checks, supposed dates of purchase, and some other items, but a first-year law student could probably beat any indictments in court, which is why this nonsense won’t proceed much further beyond today’s headlines and tomorrow’s sports talk. Like this nation’s problem with handguns, no one really wants to seriously deal with drug abuse in sports, which is what we’re talking about.

For example, the specter (or is it spectacle) of team doctors shooting up injured athletes so they can go back into games. Where are all the outraged columns about that?  Sure you’ve got to have some serious mental problems to risk permanent health damage for a few more home runs, but this pretense that no one knew about it other than the players is the worse type of hyprocisy. Decades ago Jim Bouton exposed in his book Ball Four the rampant use of uppers, prescription pills and many other drugs. Now we’re in another century, and this is still being debated.

The moralists rage on about the integrity of the game, but the truth is that professional sports always has been, and always will be,  about money. Those who want to cheat will always be a step ahead, mainly because all they care about is short-term profits, not the long-term ramifications of pumping junk into your body. The only way to stop this is to insist on rigorous and regular testing from an outside body totally unconnected with whatever sport is being monitored. The second the leagues get involved the process will be corrupted.

But with baseball’s profits soaring past the six billion dollar mark this year, and the Players Association more interested in securing record contracts than in the health of their players, don’t look for any changes. The arrogant and pious attitude of many media members has only served to further cloud the issue, as well as their selective coverage and outrage (there still haven’t been any columns I’ve seen remotely as angry or strident regarding Clemens as those directed at Bonds the past four years). As a result the public, especially the non-white sports fan, is  also  less concerned.

Ultimately, sports needs to be cleaned up to ensure that its participants don’t have 70-year-old failing bodies when they’re still in their ’40s, or don’t permanently damage themselves just trying to hit a few more homers. However you can’t do that until arguments and decisions are made on the basis of informed self-interest, rather than inflated egos and hypocritical rants.

Ron Wynn

Imus Returns

The National Association of Black Journalists is about to find out how little corporate America really cares about most things other than money. One of the worse kept secrets in media circles made its way into the New York Daily News this week regarding the ultimate re-hiring of Don Imus to do a weekday radio show for Citadel Broadcasting. The NABJ is on record opposing this, while some other Imus critics like the Rev. Al Sharpton maintain that they didn’t want Imus permanently barred from the airwaves, just disciplined for his language misdeeds.

Personally I always found Imus to be someone I didn’t want to hear, so I never listened to him. But I also never thought he’d stay off the airwaves for one main reason: HE MAKES MONEY FOR THE CORPORATIONS. That’s why a hate-monger like Bob Grant can find his way back onto New York’s airwaves, and why right-wing talk radio, complete with its reliance on racial stereotypes, myths, bigoted overreactions and nonstop ranting and raving, remains a potent commerical force. Advertisers get nervous about being on programs with sex scenes, but have no problems bankrolling shows where people joke about killing immigrants, bash any and everyone who’s not an upper-class white male, and serve as undocumented house organs for the Republican Party.

The best way to avoid getting hot and bothered over this stuff is not to listen to it, but one thing that no one should fool themselves about is why it exists. It’s there because it appeals to a sizable segment of the American population who believes in much, if not all, of the vile rhetoric these people truck in day-to-day. It’s also there because corporate advertisers subsidize it. They dumped Imus not because of what he said or the furor it generated, but because so big name advertisers decided that he was temporarily a bad investment. They’ve subsequently decided he’s suddenly a good one again, and they’re not going to be swayed by anything other than someone being able to show that it’s still not a good investment to advertise on Imus’ show.

Personally I’d rather see more effort expended on getting and supporting alternatives to right-wing bile and corporate radio. Those black shows that are out there on satellite or commercial radio need listeners and exposure. Let’s spend more time getting them a larger audience and not waste it on the Imus’ types out there. Because no matter what the corporations may claim, they aren’t interested in limiting access for anyone who they feel will make them money, irregardless of the inaccuracy of their comments or the negative images and messages they present.

Guns Do Kill People

Reading about the latest local and national insanity regarding gun violence makes me both extremely sad and angry. As a parent you can’t help feeling bad about reports of 14-year-olds going around wounding and killing people and committing suicide. But what is so incredible about the story of Asa Coon, the suspended Ohio teen who shot two teachers and two students at the SuccessTech Academy Alternative school in Cleveland Wednesday is what he had in his possession and the reaction to it.

Perhaps it’s become so old hat it doesn’t stun people anymore, but what is a 14-year-old doing with two 38-caliber revolvers, plus a duffel bag stocked with ammunition containing three knives. How have we reached the point as a society when someone who can’t vote, legally drive or buy a drink can routinely get access to that kind of firepower? It’s also interesting that he was wearing a Marilyn Manson concert shirt. I’m waiting for the calls to have Marilyn Manson’s music banned (not necessarily that bad an idea from what I’ve heard of it), and for someone to pen another column blaming video games, hip-hop, or television for this atrocity.

Here is Nashville we also have the death of a 70-year-old East Nashville store operator who spent her life trying to help people in her community, including plenty of folks like the one who killed her. Her killer was also a 14-year-old. Tennessean columnist Dwight Lewis offers in his Thursday column a litany of disgraceful statistics regarding murders in Music City so far in 2007. Of the 51 murder victims, 21 are Black males. I won’t take time to do the percentages, but that’s obviously not a good figure.

There’s one inescapable fact about all this ugliness, and that’s until easy access to firearms is addressed, these stats won’t change. People can do all the wailing and complaining about hip-hop culture and BET and video games that encourage rape and killing (and these all play a part in this to some extent) they want, but that all takes a big back seat to the free flow of guns in certain communities, particularly Black and Latino neighborhoods as well as the poor generally.

I’m not remotely naïve enough to call for the abolition of handguns. Aside from dredging up the Second Amendment rhetoric, I grew up around firearms. Both my father and uncle were World War II veterans, and my uncle was a hunter to boot. They had handguns, rifles and shotguns and weren’t in the least bit reluctant to use them if anyone threatened any member of their family or them. But they also taught me that these things weren’t toys but dangerous weapons that should be avoided at all costs unless you had to use them for self-defense. They also repeatedly said no one should be permitted to own a gun before they truly learned how and more importantly when to use it.

I’d love to see that simple motto extended to this nation’s attitude towards firearms. In fairness, the National Rifle Association does stress responsible gun ownership as part of its general code, and while they seem to feel anyone who’s not in an asylum or prison should have a firearm, they aren’t completely to blame for the lunacy plaguing so many communities. The real villain remains easy access to weaponry, coupled with the mentality that would lead a 14-year-old to feel just revenge for a suspension from school is returning with a pair of 38-caliber revolvers and shooting people.

Somehow we’ve got to do something about both these things, guns in the hands of people with no business getting them, and severely warped feelings about what constitutes manhood and respect. Those two battles are far tougher and more complex than the blame everything on hip-hop and video game bunch want to admit.
Ron Wynn

Tonight on Freestyles

Tonight on Freestyles with Ron Wynn on WFSK 88.1 FM in Nashville, we’ll discuss the Marion Jones steroid use admission and the future of Black owned businesses in the US. Join Ron Wynn, Tim Dillenger, Diallo and me at 6:00PM.

Nashville mayor’s race

Last night on our radio show “Freestyle” (Airing locally on WFSK, Monday at 6:00PM) I predicted Karl Dean would win the mayor’s race by a couple of percentage points. We shall see . . . .

The Law According to Robert Johnson

Former BET and current Charlotte Bobcats owner Robert L. Johnson has long known that the best defense is a good offense. Anyone who observed him a few years ago here at the Gaylord Hotel during a Black Enterprise conference turning the tables on those who dared question BET’s programming content knows he clearly understands that idea. Johnson’s explanation was a simple declaration that “We’re not trying to be PBS or appeal to Ivy League intellectuals.” That reflects his complete understanding of how to exploit the constant fear some African-Americans have of being deemed not part of the so-called “masses.”

Michael Vick’s Media Treatment: Unreasonable and No Doubt

Michael Vick once looked like the future of the quarterback position in the National Football League. Today he is on borrowed time, his career and reputation in ruins. The 19-page federal indictment brought against him for various dog fighting charges, among them one for conspiracy that allows the government to charge Vick for various offenses even if he were neither at the site nor had direct knowledge of the events, is devastating. This isn’t a bumbling Cook County prosecutor’s office walking around afraid to press a case against R. Kelly for five plus years, nor some publicity-seeking type up for re-election trying to ride headlines back into office.

Instead, this is the federal government waging a case against a high-profile athlete, easily the most visible Atlanta Falcon,  and someone who just a few short years ago was widely seen as “the face of the NFL.” Now a state prosecutor who only last week said he didn’t think there was enough evidence to proceed is talking about bringing state indictments against Vick on top of the federal charges. You can also bet the government has already cut deals with witnesses willing to testify against Vick to lessen their own time behind bars.

People who rail about innocent until proven guilty like Stephen A. Smith on ESPN radio Thursday are both right and irrelevant. Vick’s guilt or innocence must be proven in court in order to convict him of a crime. No such indicator is necessary for corporate America to declare him persona non grata, or the Atlanta Falcons to send him on his way. The good folks at PETA also aren’t interested in waiting for a trial. They’ve already started protest marches at Falcon headquarters demanding Vick be cut from the team or at least suspended.

Quite frankly the deck is stacked against Michael Vick. He put himself in this position by, at minimum, dealing with questionable types and not monitoring what was happening on property he owned. Whether he engaged directly in the training of dogs for fighting, or aided in the malicious and brutal destruction of animals who lost, has to be proven and at this point remains just an allegation. But listening to the hordes at EPSN and on sports-talk radio, many people aren’t willing to wait for a trial. They want him disciplined, and right away.

This is what happens when you have an NFL  commissioner who says publicly he doesn’t care about due process, and will  take action solely on the basis of charges and/or past problems. The overwhelming attitude of sports fans is it’s long been time for a crackdown on excessive athletic misconduct. Such concerns as the presumption of innocence have given way to a lock-em-up and throw-away-the-key mentality that sees people immediately assume an indictment means guilt. Michael Vick at this point is guilty only of extreme bad judgment in terms of association and fiscal choices, but that won’t save him in an era where supposedly objective media types decide guilt or innocence in 10-minute monologues between commercials.

Ron Wynn

Isaiah Returns

Seems that reports of Isaiah Washington’s career death have been greatly exaggerated. AP reports he returns to series television with a recurring role planned for NBC’s remake of the old Bionic Woman TV series. I for one thought that with all the accusations and back and forth following his being let go by ABC, his career was pretty much over. However, looks like NBC hopes to draw viewers, rubberneckers and controversy freaks to it’s new series with the addition of Washington.

Questions of his talent should not be in dispute. According to Ben Silverman, NBC co-chair, it was Washington’s reputation for talent, rather than controversy, that got him his new job. The job talks began not long after he was fired. Well, for Washington’s sake, I hope it works out, lessons learned, etc.