THE NEW MILLINIUM MINSTREL SHOW: REDUX

by Malik Isasis













In February of this year I blogged about Hot Ghetto Mess. Hot Ghetto Mess is a website about African-American ghetto culture. Carmen had first discussed the website over at Racialicious. Hot Ghetto Mess’ editor Jam Donaldson purported that her mission is to usher in “a new era of self-examination. And because I am proud member of the black community, they are my priority.”

Carmen had reported that the website was going to be developed into a television program on Black Entertainment Television (BET). She was right, and wouldn’t you know, the show is titled, “We Gotta Do Better” after the clothing gear, dvds, and cds for sale on Ms Donaldson's website, you know, so to help black folk do better.

We Gotta Do Better premieres on BET, so check your local listings. Viacom, the parent company of BET has set back a generation of progress by their lowest-common-denominator programming, which firms up the stereotypical foundation of African Americans: over sexual, aggressive, ignorant, shallow, conspicuous consumers, uneducated, and uninformed by portraying hip hop culture as 100% of African American culture.

BET’s programming promotes conspicuous consumption, black male hyper vigilance and the praising of false idols that come in the form of car rims—the bigger the better, gold jewelry encrusted with diamonds. So, it makes sense that they would develop Ms Donaldson’s exploitation of people’s need for expression. Ms Donaldson and the black corporatist over at BET people are like Justice Clarence Thomas, and will sell black folks down the river and over the waterfall for a payday and then pretend to be revolutionaries.

No culture is above airing dirty laundry, but this isn’t dirty laundry, this is a minstrel show where black folks are happily applying the blackface and playing up stereotypes to the detriment of a whole swath of people. These stereotypes have real life consequences just take a look at the recent post at Reappropriate, not to mention some of the films that are on offer like, Who’s Your Caddy?

I'm not saying that if those black people in the positions to stop the 21st century minstrel shows that it will address the systemic issue of white supremacy, it won't but it could lead to black youth having a more diverse body of role models rather than just athletes and entertainers.

Fair and Balance

If there were a rich tapestry of imagery of people of color in general, these types of shows would not bother me as much, however, since their isn’t a balance these shows become the ambassadors for white supremacy ideology.

I don't know, you tell me what you think.

When the axe came into the forest, the trees said, “The handle is one of us.
–African Proverb

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