Spike Lee On Hollywood's "Coonery & Buffoonery"

At the 2009 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference & Expo, one of the featured speakers was Spike Lee. During his segment, he was asked about the representation of black culture in TV and film. His example of our need for an improved representation was Tyler Perry's "House of Pain" and "Meet The Browns". He claims that even though it is generating a lot of revenue, it is taking us back to the minstrel days of Mantan Moreland and Sleep 'N Eat. Watch a segment of the interview and comment with your opinion.



If you want Tyson's Take on the matter, I feel that Spike makes a very valid point. We have to create more accurate representations of our entire culture or much of our history may be washed away by shuckin' & jivin'. With that being said, I also feel that Tyler Perry should not change his format or characters. Madea, Mr. Brown, and the rest of his lively characters always have a moral or positive religious undertone in each movie and story. I feel it should be less about getting someone to stop doing what he's doing, and it should be more about cultivating NEW black filmmakers to offer other representations of who we are.

- Steve Tyson Jr.

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The 44th Inauguration

Today officially marks the induction of Barack Obama into the office of President of the United States. I'm sure a lot of us, especially those who are Black or of African descent, can see this day as the culmination of “The Dream” Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of so eloquently on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

In my opinion, the dream of our society living in an era where we can “judge each other not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character” is still on the horizon. Just because there have been a lot of people who’s racist tendencies have been put aside in order to make the logical vote in choosing Barack Obama, does not mean that we have made such a great stride as set forth by Dr. King.

Like when CNN took a poll of people they considered "black" and people they considered "white" to see if they thought King's "dream" was fulfilled. 69% of "blacks" said yes, and around 50% of "whites" said yes. So then they run crawl at the bottom of the screen that says "Fact: Most blacks think MLK's dream is fulfilled".

No one asked me. Have they asked you?

The moment Dr. King's "dream" is fulfilled, is the moment when The United States of America will be accepting of not just a Black President, but of an Asian President, a Hispanic President, a female president, an Indian President, an African President, or any other variation of human that our President could be. When we can pass through inductions and inaugurations of those types of Presidents without flinching, will be the day that we can proudy hold our heads high in understanding of “the dream” Dr. King had envisioned.

Congradualtions to President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, the first family Malia, Sasha, & Marian Robinson, and to Vice-President Biden and his family.

This is the beginning of a new era in American history, and I am just proud to have been able to witness it and will pass the emotions I retain inside on to my children and their children in hopes of a brighter future for us all.

- Steve Tyson Jr.

Fear of A Black Planet

Ok, so Barack Obama is the Presidential front-runner in a country that has the worst race relations in modern history, Tiger Woods is on pace to become the first billionaire athlete in the world’s most historically racist sport, yet Nas can’t title his album “Nigger”. Richard Pryor threw that word around in his album titles freer than a slave with papers, but when someone uses it to make a social statement it's shut down. Chuck D said it the best when he said there was a “Fear of a Black Planet”. Not a fear of us coming together for a coup d'état of the government but a fear of us collectively achieving a new social status through more influential professions. That means less brothers and sisters striving to be professional athletes or shakin’ for the cameras and more of us entering fields like the sciences, academia, or politics.

“Too many rappers, athletes, and actors
But not enough niggas in NASA” – Nas

The expansion of blacks into broader professions would send shivers down the spines of a lot of closed-minded people when they realize that blacks all over the world would be able to help pave the way for a new history in humanity. Come on, there's room for everybody!

We’ve already broken the chains on our feet, now it’s time to break the mental ones. When that happens, the sky would no longer be the limit for our young people’s potential.

Americans get fueled by today's mainstream media when they ruminate over meaningless topics like lapel pins, out-of-context soundbites, lack of patriotism, “terrorist fist jabs”, etc. It’s precisely this issue that the artist who drew the recent cover of The New Yorker was attempting to address. Granted, it might have been tasteless, but the flavor of the picture resonated through all who saw it. Mission accomplished.

More and more young African-Americans in this country and blacks around the world are moving up the social ladder. Whether assisted by the helping hands of those who reach down, or pushed up by the ones behind, we shall soon make it to the top. The days ahead don't seem as dark anymore.

“We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama

- Stephen Tyson Jr.