Tony
Brown
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Tony
How To Watch White TV
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The 10,000-member League of United
Latin American Citizens, on behalf of all
Hispanic Americans, has filed a discrim
ination complaint against the nation’s top
television networks, production studios
and advertising agencies.
In a parallel action, November has
been declared “Black TV Image Month”
and Americans interested in seeing
Afro-Americans represented as they are
-and not as they live in the imaginations
of bigots or "liberal” producers who
know them only as stereotyoes and
objects of ridicule-are asked to write
letters to networks, local TV stations and
complain, if necessary and-or congratu
late if deserved.
Why all of this fuss over a thing as
innocent as comedies on TV, you might
be asking, because comedy situations
and Black comedic characters on TV
were bom in the old minstrels. The
ancestors of George Jefferson (“The
Jeffersons”) and J.J. (“Good Times”)
were bora in America’s darkest and mot
racist period.
The "Flip Wilson Show” in the late 60’s
says Dr. J. Fred MacDonald, noted
historian and author of the first book
length study of Afro-Americans and
TV-“Blacks and White TV”-was the
transition back to over self-hatred. After
a period on TV, called the “Golden Age"
for Blacks by MacDonald, Flip Wilson
reintroduced the race humor of Stepin’
Fetchit, Willie Best, Our Gang and Amos
And Andy.
“Flip Wilson deals most in race humor.
Flip Wilson brings back the disparaging
racial stereotypes. I think this is a
transition show from the more noble
images of the late 60’s into race humor
or, if you want, into an age of the new
minstrelcy, where the old minstrel image
has come back. New clothes now. Liberal
producers put them out. But they’re still
drawn from the minstrel show images.
‘Good Times’ has a J. J. who’s basically a
doltish coon-type image that harkens
back to ‘Amos and Andy’s’ Kingfish, that
harkens back to Tambo and Bones of the
nineteenth century. We begin to see new
little picaninny images. Gary Coleman,
as sweet and precocious as he is on
television, still is right out of the camp
that gave us Buckwheat and Stimey and
Farina on the old ‘Little Rascals’ or ‘Our
Gang’ comedies,’’ Dr. MacDonald told
me in Part I of our month long examin
ation on public television of the status of
Blacks in white controlled TV, as part of
the awareness raising during “Black TV
Image Month.”
i v is a lorce so new in our socializa
tion process that we are still trying to
measure its impact. In all honesty,
nobody really knows exactly what TV
has done or is doing to our society. But
there are some things that we do know. It
would be difficult to underestimate the
influence of TV on the American public.
As evidence, there are the numbers
the awesome numbers. For example. 96
percent of all homes have TV sets and the
average home watches over six hours of
TV a day. The average 18-year-old has:
. 4--watch<^l 22,(100 hours of TV as cpjn
parea to attenaing only 11,000 hours ot
school;
-seen 350,000 commercials;
-and Blacks as a whole watch about 10
percent more TV than the general popu
lation and are more frequent viewers of
non-prime time TV than whites.
On the basis 30 years of available
research in “Blacks and Television: A
Review of the Research Literature,’’
published in “The Journal of Broad
casting,’’ the following picture of social
' learning comes into focus:
-Blacks are more likely than whites to
use TV as a source of information when
buying a product;
-Blacks most often turn to TV rather
than newspapers or other people for news
of the Black community;
-Black adults prefer programs which
feature Blacks;
-Blacks perceive TV as representative
of real life more than whites;
-Black children learn aggressive be
havior from TV role models and they are
more likely to imitate a white role model
than a Black one;
-Black adolescents are more likely
than whites to use TV to learn how to
behave with the opposite sex to develop
codes of social conduct. This includes
most of what they know about jobs and
problem-solving.
The image that Blacks get of them
selves from TV didn't just happen. Its
roots go back long before the advent of
the medium of TV. In fact, early TV was
almost colorblind.
TV, Blacks thought, could and would
reverse these centuries of unjust ridi
cule and distortion. Did TV miss the
boat? The answer is a categorical no.
TV t^ps made tremendous strides in
bettering the condition of Afro-Ameri
cans. And there is a discemable trend
towards a more progressive treatment of
Blacks.
But if you ask: Has TV matched
performance with potential in under
standing its responsibility to project
undistorted, honest information as a cure
to the legacy of racism? The answer is
another categorical no.
Next week: “Goodbye Sergeant
R088?”
"Tony Brown’s Journal,” the television
series, can be seen on public television
Thursday, on Channel 42 at 18:M p.m. It
can also be seen on Channe 58 on
Sundays, at «:» p.m. Please consult
listings.
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We Have Nothing To
Fear, But
Continued from Page IB
50 volunteers has put 500
hours into preparation for
the event. Six hundred and
fifty tickets have been
mailed in advance sales,
and about 200 additional
tickets are expected to sell
at the door
As a result of sponsoring
the rally, the club antici
pates making a profit, half
of which will go to the
campaign of candidate
Preston Cornelius.
in addition to the poli
tical stumping, the crowd
will be entertained by
David Erdman, one of
Charlotte’s and the state’s
best known Democrats
Erdman is an attorney but
his hobby is playing guitar
and singing humorous
songs at political functions.
YD David Parker has writ
ten a campaign song about
Preston Cornelius and will
share the spotlight with
Erdman.
After . the ppliticking
from the candidates, when
the crowd gets down to
serious eating, a live blue
grass band will take-the
stage. Mayor Eddie Knox
has arranged for the Carl
ton Moody Band to enter
tain.
Apathy
The Young Democrats
are on the move. Collect
ively, with projects such as
the rally and radio ads, and
individually as well. Can
didates can always count
on YDs for help with
'‘grassroots” campaign
ing, such as placing yard
signs and making phone
calls.
But it isn’t all hard work.
The YDs have monthly
general meetings planned
by the program chairman
and often hold educational
workshops on campaigning
or leadership open to the
community. The members
enjoy an annual spring
party (last April held at the
Mayor’s home) and a
Christmas party.
SAW
Reg. ggy._
*46”
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