Returning to News & Notes today (12/26) 1pm ET

25 Dec 2007 Author: Baratunde Thurston (Jack Turner)

We’re back on NPR’s News & Notes with three topics in the queue. In addition to Jack & Jill, we’ve got Desmond Burton from Afronerd plus Carmen Dixon from All About Race.

The topics:

1. Is Al Sharpton the new go to guy for candidates? Does he speak for all black people? Why do high profile whites always go to him for advice? Check this article, and see Al gloat over his attention from the top three democratic candidates

2. Habari Gani! Do black people really know what Kwanzaa is? Can it coexist with Christmas in the African-American community? An article in Christianity Today.

3. Enough is Enough. Is there a cultural war in Black America? What’s up with the feel good black movies? Can they really change Americans’ perceptions of black folks?

As always, throw your thoughts down in the comment area if you have em/

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AltonDarwin
I wish more people would understand that Kwanzaa does not and never has conflicted with Christianity any more than President’s Day or the 4th of July.
When I was a J&J teen in the mid-80s, our chapter invited Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu to present during Kwanzaa one year. It was amazing. We basically got together for one long evening and fully celebrated each aspect of the holiday.
Fast forward to 2007, and our new chapter hosted an Xmas/Kwanzaa Extravaganza to placate those who felt Kwanzaa has impinged on Christmas… SIGH!
Karenga’s personal issues aside, I think it’s an excellent celebration and worthy of more widespread support in the Black community.
webber
I have a question about topic 3: Is the POV that there should be more or less “feel good black movies?”
As an artist, I feel that there should be MORE black movies (Period). Whether the films are “feel good” or “feel bad” is somewhat immaterial as long as there is a balance. Neither too much good or bad.
I saw “The Great Debaters” last night, and thought that it was a good film. Did it eclipse “The Color Purple” in terms of artistic achievement? No.
Freedom of Speech is an important right that must be protected. I want the next Richard Pryor or Dave Chappelle to be free to say whatever they want to say unfettered and undeterred.
Vixen
I think all the feel good black movies are great.
I dont know if it will change their perception of us, but maybe our perception of ourselves which is really important
ronnie b.
1. Barack needs to stand tall as a leader on Black issues, rather than kneeling down to kiss Al’s ring. Barack should never have to “ask” what the issues are. Let the others do that.
2. Lukewarm on Kwaanza. I can take it or leave it.
3. I don’t know if there’s a war of Black culture as much as grown folks are trying to reclaim it from profit-driven degredation, and are trying to restore us to some semblance of societal relevance. So as long as our best chances at success still lie in arts and entertainment, then I suppose we can use all the “feel good” vibe that we can get.
Nita
1. Al Sharpton is a coon and a charlatan. He’s a political stepin fetchit. He lives down to every negative stereotype of African-Americans. He’s delicious (for some people).
2. A lot of people don’t. I do enjoy saying ‘Happy Kwanzaa’, though. But I personally don’t know of anyone who celebrates Kwanzaa. I say that as someone who doesn’t celebrate it, Christmas, Hannakah, Ramadan or the Solstice. I hate to say it, but Christmas is a time of consumerism, not spirituality, in my family. Adding 7 more days on top of that doesn’t work.
3. The more good positive black movies, the better. I can’t hate, and won’t hate. I’ll need to read both articles, though, to see where this is really going; what the deeper questions are.
Symphony
1. Does Sharpton speak for and help a certain demographic of Black people? If so, are the people who criticize him helping that demographic?
Has there ever NOT been a culture war in Black America?
And I’m convinced there would be more feel good Black movies if the people who TALK about wanting such things actually SUPPORTED those things.
rikyrah
1. Al Sharpton isn’t the go-to guy. I don’t really think Obama WANTS Sharpton’s endorsement, but I don’t think he can be seen as NOT wanting it – understand?
2. I know what Kwanzaa is..it’s not religious, it’s cultural, and it’s a positive gathering of family and friends. Who could be against it? It begins the day AFTER Christmas, so I don’t see where it conflicts with Christianity AT ALL.
3. Anytime we can have movies that don’t show us shucking and jiving is a good thing. Please go see The Great Debaters. YOU KNOW the ONLY reason that movie got made was because of Denzel and Oprah.
ronnie b.
1. Al Sharpton isn’t the go-to guy. I don’t really think Obama WANTS Sharpton’s endorsement, but I don’t think he can be seen as NOT wanting it – understand?
Yep. My concern was that it’s the politically appropriate thing to do–at least for the average White candidate–rather than the “leadership” thing to do. But I do get the political nature of it.
I guess I was just hoping that a credible presidential candidate had finally come along and was able to say, “thanks Al, but I got this …“.
The Christian Progressive Liberal
Al Sharpton as the Black spokesperson? As long as crackers like Don Imus and Dog Chapman keep him on their speed-dials, he is. I think they cut Al a check for this shyt.
I like any movie featuring Black casts that show us as productive, intelligent, educated citizens, and not the stereotypes the white man is used to, because they don’t make him feel threatened in his concept of superiority. I like knocking down a white person’s “superior” thinking every chance I get.
I like the principles of Kwanzaa, but honestly, if we lived those principles out every day of our lives, there wouldn’t be a need to be reminded of them every December. Kwanzaa might be able to co-exist because if you read Galatians 5:19-22, the fruits of the Spirit are very similar to the Principles of Kwanzaa. Maybe Christianity Today’s editors have a problem with Blacks having their own Holiday that’s not celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?
Zhana
Kwanzaa celebrates positive African values that are relevant to all African people, such as self-determination and collective responsibility.
Kwanzaa has nothing to do with Christianity. Christmas as we know it is a pagan festival which was basically reinvented in 19th-century Britain.
Christmastime was used to oppress enslaved African people in the United States, who were often required to get drunk and act the fool by planters who were afraid of potential insurrections at that time of year. Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington both wrote about this.
webbuh
Oh, now I see how this works…let me respond to 1 & 2.
1. You’ll only see “high profile white” Democrats going to Sharpton. “High profile white” Republicans are ready to invoke the name of Tawana Brawley in future, subtle attacks against whichever candidate gets too cozy with Al.
2. A few Christmases ago, my G_dmother had a major Kwanzaa celebration at her church, thus co-mingling the Kwanzaa tradition with the birth of Jesus…you know my people are innovative and love to improvise rituals…by the next Christmas, she was with Christ.
My mama said that my G_dmother should have never brought that Kwanzaa stuff into her church–it was ill-advised…you know my people can be superstitious, G_d fearing people…
I’m liberal. I believe in evolution but I go to church every Sunday too. I’m not allowing anything to coincide or detract from a celebration of the Almighty G_d’s greatest gift to mankind…and yes, Jesus was Black.
Kwanzaa should be kept secular and external to the church. If Kwanzaa is not meant to replace Christmas, then celebrate it in Jan, Feb, or Mar…otherwise, a new religion should be founded to sustain it.
Zhana,
Now, let me take some of this paycheck down to the liquor store, so I can buy some booze to help me forget the plantation…oops…workplace that I must return to in January as opposed to starting my own business.
G.D.
1) Al Sharpton is kinda like Pat Robertson. he’s outspoken, so reporters pay attention to him because (whether you like him or not) he gives good quote. Also like Robertson, his views often reflect the views of a larger group even if his pull is dramatically overstated. I don’t know that Sharpton’s eventual endorsement matters, one way or the other.
2) Kwanzaa will never matter enough to even warrant the discussion re: its relationship to Christmas. *shrugs*
3) okay, okay. ‘The Great Debaters’ and ‘This Christmas’ are ‘positive’. and? I care more about whether or not it’s good or not. we already know it’s gonna be full of cliches and because both Oprah AND Denzel involved we also know it’s gonna be soul-crushingly earnest. i mean, damn. more positivity than i can stand. i’d rather not support simplistic portrayals of black people, whether its ‘This Christmas’ or ‘Soul Plane.’ it just means more simplistic portrayals of black people get greenlighted in Hollywood.
Filmfest
The Great Debaters is the best movie of the year.
G.D.
The best movie of the year?
uh…right.
Webbuh
I have an addendum to my #1…
NYT published a great piece on Obama tonight: Biracial Candidate Walks His Own Fine Line.
Wish I could do a hyperlink in a comment, but here’s the link…or better yet, just go 2 NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/us/politics/29obama.html?hp
This story deserves a post on J&J.
I’m very proud of Al Sharpton’s rationale below:
“A black candidate doesn’t want to look like he’s only a black candidate,” the Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, who ran for president in 2004, said in an interview about Mr. Obama. “If he overidentifies with Sharpton, he looks like he’s only a black candidate. A white candidate reaches out to a Sharpton and looks like they have the ability to reach out. It looks like they’re presidential. That’s the dichotomy.”

So, Al appreciates that there is a dichotomy. He is openly acknowledging it and more importantly BEING STRATEGIC by staying neutral. This is a BEAUTIFUL thang and I’m loving it.
Nita
Al Sharpton waited how long to come to that conclusion,Webbuh? Al, who had so many problems when Obama was reaching out to DINO/IINO Lieberman. I’m not buying it — mostly because I’ve heard it come out of several grassroots blacks’ mouths, usually in discussions with other blacks who felt Obama wasn’t ‘black enough’ and thus not trustworthy enough to deal with black issues, months before this.
Al Sharpton is parroting. If Al Sharpton really felt this way, he would have applied it to himself during his own buffoon run for the limo libs. It’s not real. I can only assume that at that breakfast him and Obama came to some sort of ‘compromise’… maybe not of the sort that Edwards had to supply to get Jackson’s support (I am firmly of the opinion that money changed hands on that one; no, I have no proof; it’s not fact, just feeling) or the Clintons have supplied to get black journalists, black op-ed, black ministers, and black congressional members’ support (Hillary was caught paying $200,000 to SC state Senator Pastor Darrell Jackson’s consulting firm before he officially pledged her his support; and the rumor mill is going that the same deal is going down with that new black minister. Yet it’s Obama who is the antichrist to gays of any color who already supported Clinton and Edwards — because of McClurkin) … but a compromise was reached between Obama and Al just the same.
Webbuh
Hey Nita,
If it’s a compromise, i’m proud of it. I’d take it.
I thinks it’s more of a realization necessary for AL to keep his street credibility.
How could the former road-manager for James Brown, the G_dfather of Soul, be caught endorsing the “white” candidate over the “black” candidate…after IMUS…after JENA?
You can not talk that talk, walk that walk, and then kiss Billary’s ass. Sharpton’s doing the right thing.
What’s sad for me is the # of african-american politicians and former civil-rights figures who have not remained neutral. Regardless of the outcome this Thursday, they have seriously disdained themselves. If I were them, I would not be able to sleep at night. Racial Judases…
AAPP
1. Al Sharpton is a Angry Black Man hustling himself and his people to whites and to any black who will listen for mighty dollar, as a quasi preacher-pol. He speaks for himself and those black folks who are willing to get on TV after he speaks to say “right on.”
2. Most Black folk don’t know what Kwanzaa is and don’t know how to spell it, say it, or know any of it’s principles. Kwanzaa already coexist with Christmas.
3. “Feel Good Black Movies vs Feel Good White Movies, Feel Good Latino Movies, Etc.” How about Feel good movies? No cultural war, just a delay in black folks creating a variety of movies for the various taste of black folks. Black folks have many stories to tell, and have created limited movies. I’m all for enjoying films of all types.
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Cheryl Contee aka "Jill Tubman", Baratunde Thurston aka "Jack Turner", rikyrah, Leutisha Stills aka "The Christian Progressive Liberal", B-Serious, Casey Gane-McCalla, Jonathan Pitts-Wiley aka "Marcus Toussaint," Fredric Mitchell, Keith Owens, Anson Asaka, Barbara Moore, Deborah Small, Lisa Coffman, Michael Patton

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