As the avalanche of evidence continues to accrue, exposing the deepening racial divide in this country, the mythological concept of a post racial society must be exposed as the propagandistic farce that it is. The nonsensical notion that America has miraculously moved past considerations of human worth and value is a fallacy propagated by those who would seek to maintain the status quo. These gatekeepers of white supremacy and spin doctors who would echo these untruths are the direct enemy of black liberation and progress. That the mainstream media and the handpicked Negroes that they present to us as authoritative symbols of black consciousness would intentionally dupe us into believing that Dr. King’s dream of freedom for the Negro has been achieved, might be for some a tough pill to swallow, but let’s examine the evidence.
They point to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act, the so-called integration of public schools, and the election of a black President as proof positive that racial equality has been achieved. Yes, Mr. Obama carries the title, the indices and most of the perks of past Presidents, but he certainly is not given the respect normally associated with the office. Of all people, Mr. Obama himself faces the reality of racism and the disparate treatment afforded him as the first African American President every day he’s in office. Ironically, the man with the biggest bully pulpit in the world is loath to broach such sensitive topics as race, lest he offend the white majority and be perceived as being too black.
The scripted talking heads with a vested interest in misleading the masses would have us believe that since we now have a few high profile black millionaires in areas of entertainment and professional sports, we now have a level playing field, where all are judged without regard to skin color. This is simply not true, and obvious to anyone with any grasp of reality. More than fifty years after Brown v. The Board of Education outlawed the “separate but equal doctrine,” schools are still segregated. African Americans still lag woefully behind whites in every economic indicator, including employment. We are still the last hired and the first fired. We overpopulate the jails and prisons; our life expectancy is far shorter; our neighborhoods and educational institutions are dying from a lack of resources; and, rampant crime and violence plague our communities. I challenge any white person to willingly trade places with an African American, even a rich one.
Who are these fabricators and manipulators of reality and what America are they living in? Well, whenever white folk want to confuse and distract through subterfuge and deception, they use a black face to deliver the message. I say kill the messengers! (Not literally.) The black CNN anchors of the world do more to set back the cause of black truth than thousands of racist KKK flyers about the dangers of race mixing and predatory black men. Instead, the wealthy white disseminators of news use carefully selected and crafted models of Negro pseudo-intellectualism to promote the image of black achievement and assimilation into the mainstream. While appearing to air the views of a diverse audience through the use of black faces, the public is actually being led down a primrose path that has been carefully created and orchestrated by the gatekeepers of public opinion. These are wealthy and powerful white men who own and operate the CNNs and MSNBCs of the world. It is they along with the major bastions of conservative print media who decide what constitutes news, and what is newsworthy. They also decide and influence how that news is presented and by whom, depending on the particular audience they are pandering to and the interests of those they are trying to protect.
The modern day Negro news anchor/ commentator is the latest reincarnation of sell outs and Uncle Toms, who wittingly and unwittingly use their platforms of visibility and perceived credibility to do the master’s bidding. Those who masquerade as journalists while pushing their and the oppressor’s agenda are a grave threat to the cause of black liberation. We must recognize this trickery and deception for what it is. These so-called black social and political analysts who sometimes wear three and four hats of anchor, reporter, analyst, and social commentator must be exposed for who they are. They do not speak for black people, and are incapable of doing so! No one “can serve two masters.”
This parade of black talking heads on cable news networks who ostensibly speak for the African American while sitting at the master’s table well fed and satisfied, are compromised beyond usefulness to any other constituency beyond the ones that sign their checks. They know not, or have forgotten, the frustrations and realities of the average black man or woman, who eats, sleeps and breathes the daily indignation of 21st century racism, in all its subtleties and complexities. No, they don’t represent me or the vast majority of African Americans they purport to speak for. They have been compromised just like the old plantation Negro, who finally made it to the “Big House.” They’re just happy to be there.
How long will we allow the oppressor to choose our leaders, and hand pick black spokespersons based on their own self-serving interests, then rewarding them with fat pay checks, high visibility, and celebrity status? When will we call out these vultures, for scavenging and picking the bones of each and every new crisis in the black community, real or imagined, while in many cases placing their own financial and professional interests above the integrity of the positions they take, and the stories they cover? They are little more than black-skinned opportunists who are like puppets on a string, responding to the tugs and jerks of the master puppeteer, in exchange for the celebrity and platform of nationally syndicated cable news networks.
Furthermore, these black cable news anchors and socio-political pundits who straddle the fence of journalism and social commentary are the arch enemy of truth and integrity in the news media. Objective news reporting, once the gold standard for journalism, has given way to personalized, subjective commentary by those, who in many cases, are ill-equipped and unqualified to speak on issues in which they have no expertise.
It’s time we start choosing our own spokespersons and leaders, and reject the cable news networks’ attempts to suppress, censure, and proscribe the voices who would dare speak truth to power, and pull back the curtain exposing the Oz-like nature of America—hypocritical and full of bluster and deceit. The mission of responsible journalists should be to report the news, not shape and create the news narrative, based on a pre-determined agenda of their own choosing, or that of the mainstream media conglomerates.
Editor’s note: Gerald Torrence is a lawyer, educator, writer, social and political activist, and motivational speaker living in Atlanta. You can find more insightful opinions from TheTruthTeller at the-truth-teller.com. You can follow Gerald on Twitter @tttspokentruth.
