‘Black in America’

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: July 24, 2008

I watched Part 1 of CNN’s “Black in America” documentary last night.

It was an enlightening two hours for me: I didn’t realize that the black middle class was growing at such an impressive rate—or that an astonishing 70 percent of black babies are born out of wedlock. I didn’t know that the number of black women with college degrees has tripled in the last 40 years—or that some children in Brooklyn are being paid to learn (part of an experiment by a university professor). I wouldn’t have seen the number of black men in prison as a contributing factor in the increasing number of black women willing to date and marry “outside their race.“ And although I knew that the incidence of heart disease is much higher among African-Americans, I never would have made the connection between disease and the availability—or lack thereof—of healthy foods. For example, it never would have occured to me that fresh fruits and vegetables weren’t readily available in Harlem.

If I have a complaint about the program, it’s that CNN has worn me out on the promotion of the program. It had been relentlessly advertised for nearly two months. There was no missing it—commercials, interviews between commercials and even a logo/graphic in the corner of the screen pummled viewers with reminders about the event. Even the hour ahead of the documentary itself was dedicated to it, as was the hour following it. This morning, anchors have the host, Soledad O’Brien, on to talk about the program—and how she’ll be back at noon to talk with people about their reaction to the documentary.

OK, CNN. We get it. “Black in America” is on tonight.

Oh, look! There’s another commercial for it as I write this.

Tonight’s episode is subtitled, “The Black Man.“ (Last night it was, “The Black Woman and Family.“)

Check out more at CNN’s “Black in America” page.