One of the first well-known inductees into the H.O.Y.R. (Hatin’ On Your Race) club was Bill Cosby as he continues to tour the country and simply states what we read in our newspapers, watch on the evening news, or what is celebrated in Hip-hop culture. Apparently there is some limit out there of just how much a person can publicly condemn some of the self-destructive behavior that is found (but not exclusive to) in the Black community as folks like Cosby has been repeatedly accused of “beating up” on poor Black folks (mind you, these same “poor Black folks” have paid to have him come to their events and have traveled on their own dime to hear what he has to say).
I have not really been following the press surrounding Oprah Winfrey’s new school in South Africa as I just thought it was gesture on her part. This morning however, I came across an interview (via this post) she did with Newsweek magazine where she made the following statement that is sure to give her a speed pass to the H.O.Y.R. club.
“Oprah also knows that some people will complain that charity should begin at home, even though she has provided millions of dollars to educate poor children in the United States, especially via her Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program. But she sees the two situations as entirely different. “Say what you will about the American educational systemâ€â€it does work,” she says. “If you are a child in the United States, you can get an education.” And she doesn’t think that American studentsâ€â€who, unlike Africans, go to school free of chargeâ€â€appreciate what they have. “I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just isn’t there,” she says. “If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don’t ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school.” (source)
Typically, I would highlight a line or two in a quotation, but in this case I think that all of it needs to be taken in context. If you sort through most of the criticism that is thrown to people like this, you will find that the one thing missing is little or no mention of the millions of dollars that folks like Oprah and Cosby have invested to fix the problems they are addressing (did you know that back in 1971 Cosby did an album warning kids about drugs? See “Bill Cosby Talks to Kids About Drugs”. Was this and example of him “beating up” on Black folks by talking about the problem by having a few Black kids on the cover of this album?). To read about how Oprah’s has addressed some of the problems that affect the undeserved here in the US, click here. You won’t hear any testimonies of folks who have actually been helped by their charity ($20 million to Spelman college, “$1.3 million gift to Fisk University in 1986; another $1.3 million divided equally among four other Black universities–Central State, Howard, Florida A&M and Shaw–in 1987; and $1.5 million divided between Meharry Medical College ($800,000) and Bethune-Cookman College ($750,000) last year.” [source] from critics . All you will see is a knee-jerk reaction anytime these individuals say anything critical about the Black community. Where a person cannot be accused of being a racist, there is always classism.
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January 6th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
I have to agree with you on this one. What Oprah and Cosby have done to help is above and beyond….The criticism is warranted. At some point there needs to be a realization of personal responsibility on the part of those who are in a position to need help. If illegal immigrants can come into the USA and end up owning thier own house a few years later, while sixth and seventh generation, native born people are still renting, and on section 8, you have to wonder…
January 7th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Actually, Oprah is guilty of the broad brush.
I go into why, here
January 7th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Oookay!
Here is a simple question for you. Why does the accusation of using the “broad brush” only apply when folks like Oprah says something negative about the Black community? Can she also be accused of using a “broad brush” for the millions she has spent addressing the problem? Following this logic here, one can easily make the argument that she has spent way too much on a few Black colleges (this could be a case that the brush was not broad enough), or just overkill to prove that she is down with her peeps. In fact, if she REALLY cared about the education of Black folks, why did she not donate any of those millions to Black colleges like Martin University or Voorhees College? While I will be the first to tell you that this “other” argument is weak, it still has some validity to it in this line of logic. Because to state that a person is using a “broad brush” when addressing negatives in the Black community is an admission that a person can equally use a “broad brush” in their philanthropic input to the solutions. The question then becomes “Has Oprah been too generous?” I think that if you are going to use this argument, you are going to have to use it both ways for it to make any real sense (to me at least).
I think that most fair minded folks understand that when she said the following in her comment “If you ask the kids (referring to inner-city kids) what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don’t ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school.â€Â, she is not talking about ALL inner-city kids or all Black kids for that matter nor is she talking about all South African children wanting uniforms. If that was the case, then she would have to pull the plug on her Angel project or kick out the 80 or so families that she built houses for down in N.O. if she believed that ALL inner-city kids were not worth the investment.
Having to go out of your way to make it clear to folks that you are not speaking about the whole I think has run its course in open forums. While I always believe that assumption can be very dangerous, I am always willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt especially after knowing something about the person and past actions.
Despite all of this, while my wife loves the show, her getting me to watch it with her is like getting my teeth pulled and following it with a kerosene wash.
January 8th, 2007 at 8:34 am
Well I got some pliers and a kerosene lamp for you. Go watch. When I first heard about the school in African I did think why there and not here. But then I thought hell it is her money she is intitled to do with it as she chooses. I believe we place so much responsibility on these celebrities and place none on the comman folks. If all these kids are wanting is a pair of sneakers (which I believe would be most American kids take a look at my sweet 16 on MTV) then it is up to the parents to change that mind set. I often wonder what do the people making the criticism do about the problems.