Kudos to CNN

It’s not often that the major television networks crank out anything particularly thought-provoking in the summer, but this week there’s an exception.
I recommend you check out the sweeping CNN series "Black in America" for a compelling yet ultimately sobering view of the current state of black people in this country.

The series, hosted by an incongruously perky Soledad O’Brien, began Wednesday with a segment on black women and families and continues tonight with a installment about black men.

I’ve only seen the first segment, which walks us through black homelessness and inequities in healthcare, education, crime and more, but from what I’ve read, "Black in America" doesn’t get much lighter.

Taken together, writes TheRoot.com commentator Amy Alexander, the three programs present an "avalanche of facts, figures, anecdotes, summations, mini-profiles and surmisings that barrel forth from the CNN series" and … "cascade down in a fast-moving tide of information that threatens to crush viewers under its cold, heavy weight."

Is it the timing of the series that makes it seem so poignant? I think that’s part of it.

Because it reminds black people that despite the joy many of us feel, poised on the brink of the possibility that Americans may soon actually elect a shiny handsome smart BLACK president, we still have a lot of problems to handle – problems that have existed long before Barack Obama and which will linger long after he is off the national stage.

And for all of the idealistic talk by so many (including me) of a America evolving into a post-racial society, the reality is that there’s still a huge racial divide.
Take the issue of healthcare alone. "Black in America" looks at the racially-based inequities in the quality and availability of health care, at decreased life expectancies for blacks and at high black rates of certain diseases such as asthma, stroke and heart disease.

I know that everyone’s worried about their healthcare right now. But when injustices happen to people just because of the color of their skin, that’s wrong.
The series attempts to place some of the inequities in context, though not enough for some reviewers who’ve seen all the segments.

How much of what plagues African-Americans can be traced back to the time of slavery? How much to the environmental effects of living in stress-filled cities? How much to living in poverty? How much to frankly-expressed racism? How much to more subtle forms? Such questions can’t be nailed down empirically, though many (including the earnest O’Brien) try hard to do so. And I guess you have to admire CNN for trying.

A few black commentators, including the aforementioned Alexander at TheRoot.com, have panned the series for not putting enough emphasis on exploring solutions to the many problems chronicled in the series. But since when do television shows solve real problems and tie them up in a bow (except maybe "America’s Most Wanted" and the late, great "Unsolved Mysteries")?

I reserve hope that by highlighting some of these situations and raising these questions, CNN is opening the door to more serious discussion, both inside the black community and at large. The rising rates of AIDS infection among Blacks, for example, is something no one wants to talk about but which could – and is – decimating some black families and communities. Maybe, by watching the (fairly shocking) section on AIDS, straight black teens will learn just how high of a risk they run of being infected unless they practice safe sex.

Soledad O’Brien may be no Edward R. Murrow, but I learned a few things while watching Part 1 of "Black in America," and I made my 11-year old son watch it, too. As part of a voluminous online component, CNN.com includes a "discussion guide" for tweens and teens.

We’ll be watching again tonight.