Black History Month: Truths And Statistics

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I grew up on "Black History Month", otherwise known as the twenty-eight days of February carved out of the year to shine a light or celebrate on Black pioneers, innovators and visionaries whose contributions have added to the everyday fabric of "American", or rather United States (since America is a continent), life. Things we take for granted such as the traffic light, blood plasma, engine lubricators and lawn sprinklers, or more recently, the Super Soaker.

Something else we take for granted is what is actually true about African Americans in the United States of America. Just recently a study debunked the notion that Black fathers aren't involved in their children's lives. I was interviewed on national television on this subject two years ago and was ignored when I suggested there was no "black fatherhood crisis."But honestly it's hard to know what to believe when the entertainment industry props up overpaid minstrels to present slices of a culture (and all cultures for that matter) as a culture in it's totality.

I grew up being taught at home about the greats who've walked this planet and share complexions and hues similar to my own. Somehow this caused me to see the exceptions exactly as they are: exceptions. But in 2014 it's a new day in age and storytellers have seemingly infinite powers of persuasion and penetration into society's psyche. Social media is a hot bed for racists, race baiters and racism chasers. And the news is whatever the people who press "Publish" say it is. But what about the truth? The video below seeks to explore the answers to this question by supplanting the mainstream narrative with some very quantifiable realities:




Episode 2 Airs Monday, February 10, 2014. I'm looking forward to hearing more.