Living just outside Detroit, I see Black racism/dislike by Blacks every day. It comes from the mayor of Detroit, the city council and many others like Rev Wright's church. My eyes have been opened to not just white's racism, but just as much from Blacks who dislike white people even coming from their churches.

Excellent reporting. But, we should remember that not only African-Americans but also non-whites like Latinos, Asians and others with dark skin suffer the same indignities as African-Americans do.

I am not an African-American but US Army veteran who was stopped twice when I was driving a De Lorean by cops who wanted to verify that I really owned the car! And, mind you, I was then a full colonel in the US Army.

In the civilian community when my wife and I tried to buy a home in a nice neighborhood, the houses on sale were taken off the market. But, that was years ago when the housing market was booming!

Racism is alive and well. But, I will be shocked beyond my wits if Obama wins the Presidency. I hope he does, for the sake of the so-called land of the free and home of the brave. In the privacy of the electoral booth, the Bradly effect will be in full swing and we may end up with another disastrous choice of a President, viz., McBush! So, let us not pretend that the majority of white America is devoid of racist leanings.

CNN,
While I applaud CNN's effort to shed some light through "Being Black in America, as a Black American, I was disappointed. The series did not escape the all-too current trend of journalism in America to settle for surface exposes without in-depth explanations. The "documentary" certainly presented some undeniable facts, but without depth or context. For instance the emphasis on absentee fathers of Black babies lacked substance. I cringed when I saw Soledad (whom I generally admire) interview the young absentee father in such a demeaning manner, treating him like a child. Clearly he deserved scrutiny, but he also deserved a respect for his dignity as a man. It brought to mind too many other instances when I have seen Black men treated as boys and then later in life as someone's "uncle."

The series, though well intended, failed to expose that slavery undermined the Black family in every dimension, followed by centuries of economic, educational and social disruptions to Black life. It failed to mention that the example of absentee fathers began with White slaveholders who raped Black women and left their children fatherless--even to the extent of denying their role in their existence. Strom Thurman is only one example of the mutiple instances in which this occurred. When Michael Dyson alluded to the matter of color, the story failed to explain the origin of these differences in color among Black people in America. The story failed to make the connection between the White ancestry of the Rand Family and the matter of absentee White fathers.

I was also disappointed in the lack of depth among some of your Black paneleists who are either miseducated or uneducated about their own history and the imposed origins of the plight of Black America. True, Black America needs to assume responsiblity for its own uplifting, but while they do, keep in mind that the media have played a large role in separating Black America from its ancestral strengths. When the media flood the screens with images of degradation and irresponsible sex instead of the numerous stories of heroism as Black ancestors overcame the umprecedented cruelties of slavery and Jim Crow laws, the media has to take some responsibility for the identities Black youth have adopted. By the way none of the images of that heroism were shown in your series.

CNN, you can do better.

Sylvia G. Rousseau,
Professor in the Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California

It is my opinion that this documentary didn't show a significant percentage of the experiences of Blacks in America. Such as the experiences of Blacks in the defense or financial industries. These industries contain a large percentage of the working middle-class of Black America. It would be informative to know how they are faring becauses these industries offer the biggest opportunities for future Black economical progress.

JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOT CAN ONLY BE CHANGED WITH BEING TAUGHT IN OUR OWN SCHOOL SYSTEM.THERE IS LITTLE CHANCE WE CAN BE THE PEOPLE WE SHOULD, BEING TAUGHT WHAT SOMEONE ELSE WANT US TO KNOW!!

I am a 16 year old white male, and i think blacks complain to much about there "hardships" white people and black people in this day and age are given the same opportunities and experience the same hardships. But there are no documentaries about our hardships because we dont complain we just take the opportunities we get and go from there. we build our lives from nothing just like blacks. so blacks need to stop complaining and deal with it, just go to work and build a life for your families just like my parents did for me and i will do for my children.

To once be viewed as less then human, to be treated by most human races with a lack of compassion. To deceive, and distort your history, to take away from your self identity, have your history stored with your livestock, to erase your history of your Indian heritage with those who suffered most of the same fate in suffrage at the time an then forth.
To never understand why the world viewed your race as a whole as less then human burying heritage with the cattle of the land because of the view of being in humane till this day justifying harsh and degrading treatment, reflecting stereotypical views that cause mass environmental schizophrenia views with and toward blacks in America.
Without proper knowledge of God a man is capable of doing and believing anything, knowing you can only give what's been given to you as well as share unless you choose to learn something that agree or disagree with the common view.
When I get angry now about mass injustice that would be lacking in end time that I must endure to the end, I turn to the word of God that told me so in order that the works of God made be made manifest in behalf of those who suffer the lawlessness of man.

MS. SOLEDAD OBRIEN
CNN.COM

YOUR STORY "BLACK IN AMERICA" BEGS ME TO ASK WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO AIR THE REST OF THE STORY: "WHITE LIFE IN APPALACHIA" AND "LIFE AND THINKING OF SOUTHERN-WHITE REDNECKS" AND "HISPANICS IN AMERICA"! CAN YOU SQUEEZE ALL THIS IN BEFORE THE NOVEMBER ELECTION? OTHERWISE, YOUR MOTIVES ARE SUSPECT!

SINCERELY,

BRO. CLARENCE "SONNY" COUNTRYMAN
ROCKY HILL, CT
(FORMERLY OF 5TH STREET; SAINT JAMES,NY)
P.S. SAY HELLO TO YOUR PARENTS, EDWARD AND ESTELLE OBRIEN, FOR ME.)

First, I am an 80yo white women who has associated with black people all my life, in school, at work, socially, and have had some friends and happy times I wouldn't change for anything. I have enjoyed the Black in America programs because they are bringing things to light BOTH blacks and whites need to think about.

Second, I have much admiration for the black people of this country because of what they have become. Because of the white men who made slaves of them and sold them, they have unfairly been considered second-class citizens, which I do not agree with and fight whenever I hear derogatory remarks. I am firmly convinced white men who see blacks who are educated and in good jobs are frightened of them from the standpoint they feel inferior to them, which is a scary situation, like the shoe being on the other foot.

Consider this: their ancestors were taken from their tribes and a simple life; put in chains on large ships they had never seen and which were undoubtedly frightening to them; sailed over seas they didn't know existed; unloaded in a land unlike any they had ever known; herded by white men who spoke a language they didn't understand; put to work in fields, expected to work from sunup to sundown, expected to produce and beaten if they didn't, or resold to another buyer; housed in shacks with others with little privacy; fed strange foods which no doubt didn't agree with them; and forced to acclimate themselves and accept their lives in order to survive. Many families were broken up due to sales of one member or another, and in many cases, were never re-united. Over-stated? I don't think so.

Today, many people who have come from those people now are well-educated, live in homes in upper-class neighborhoods, hold upper-level management positions, and best of all, a black man is running for the highest job in the land. True, he is not a descendant of those slaves, but as a black man, no differentiation is made....black is black.

That's why I have only admiration for the black race. I do have one prejudice: I have nothing but contempt for the blacks who bring disgrace on their race, and do nothing to better themselves and make themselves proud to be black. Hopefully education will eventually erase these misconceptions. I may not live to see that, but future generations will.

I am a 57 year old African-American man living in a predominately white community. Overt forms of racism can be delt with. We have laws for those forms. It is the subtle forms that makes things difficult. "Is this person a racist or just a plain jerk. You write a check to pay for groceries and the cashier asks you for an id, but she didn't ask the white woman in front of you for id. Do you battle today, or just let it slide an go home.
The problem is, is that you just don't know.

I noticed a post in here from Smokey. She said her dog was very sick, not once but several times. I felt bad for her and the dog. Here, if your dog is sick and cannot be helped, we have to put the dog down. I never meant any wrong to her and apologize for it. No dog should suffer. I love animals. My comment was taken out of context.

Thank you CNN for your documentary - Black in America.
I'll try and summarize my comments....but first I must agree with one of the featured persons on TV, Mr Brian Sowell from Los Angeles about the fact that you only scratched the surface. It's a good beginning though.

1.JOBS: No job no money, no self esteem. Can you imagine what life can be like when you cannot get a job due to your skin color.

2. Media portrayal: Black men always seen as no good criminals. Look around you, here are some examples;
Sports: What MLB player has been treated the way Barry Bonds is being treated? Is he the only one who used steroids? They cannt even prove he used it, yet white folks booed & threw things at him at parks.
Look at what happened to another BLACK athlete, Ron Artest. This black man lost millions due to suspension for something he DID NOT start. I saw what happened 'cause I was watching the game. The white man who started it all lost nothing. Why? 'Cause he's white.
Oh, and why is it such a "major-league" crime to fight at basketball games? Have you watched Hockey? Again we know the answer - Black sports, white sports.

The POLICE & Law enforcement: Why is cocaine child's play compared to crack cocaine? We know the answer. It's Black vs White. Why make different rules for the same drug? Go figure.

I believe that almost all states with death penalty laws are those with many black population. Is that right? Why?

Just let a white woman holla that a black man assaultd her and you'll see all black men in the neighborhood rounded up. Will the same happen if a black woman says she was assaulted by a white man? Not only will white males NOT be rounded up, but that black woman will live the rest of her life in hell from then on.

In the West County (California Bay area) newspapapers about 2-3 yrs ago, there were 2 articles on same day. One was about a black man who killed his mother-in-law, the other was about a white man who killed his mother. Guess which one made front page, in COLOR? You got it, the black man. The other story was in black and white somewhere in the pile.

And to cap all of the above - a white police man comes to my home while I was at work,(I'm a divorced black mother of 3), says he wants to question my then 14+ years old son. He asks 2 younger girls in the house to give him privacy with my son, so the girls left the house. Can you picture this? My son could have been killed and this white officer will definitely PROVE he shot my son because my son attached him. Luckily no such thing happened. This police man did not call or talk to me before or after coming to our house. Days later when I heard what happened, he said he simply wanted to ask my son questions about incidents at school. He also "wondered why my son never seems to get in trouble" even though, the officer said, my son is witness to some of these school fights. Again, go figure.

Oh, one more thing. Why is it that if, for example two 25 year old men, both college grads, one black, one white, are killed in same auto accident, the white man gets more monetary award than the black man? Why?

And yes, I do agree that blacks need to get education, but that's not the root of our problems. I had a job with over 15 years experience(I have an MBA) but a woman with high school diploma and less experience became my boss just 2 years after being hired by my company. No, she is not black.
And you as a black person can NOT sue and win because the laws are so against us.

I can go on and on, but I'll stop so far.
Thank you.

I have watched the Black in America series several times. I find it so difficult to understand how everyone seems so surprised at the situations of Blacks in America. Blacks are now more racially discriminated against than they were in the 70's. Why? Because now noone knows it....It's hidden behind suits and ties and token individuals being hired as a statement that we arent' prejudice. But, the untold story is that most of the token minorities are paid less;but have more education. Promoted less or it takes longer and more proven results. My brother in law just had a noose placed on his work station. The management didn't respond as if it were a problem. They felt as if he should not let it bother him.? Black in America. My husband and I bought a home in a developing neighborhood $200,000 homes have now been built. We had some new neighbors move in..I went to highschool with the neighbors wife...so, I thought it may be okay. I was washing my car and he made the comment: "what kind of drugs are you trying to wash out of that car." I just kept on washing my car;but, I no longer speak to this man. Finally, he made a rude comment to one of my husbands friends that had parked their car in front of his home; on the street and leagally parked. At that point we told him he needed to move back to the country; we were here when you moved in. He has made attempts to want to talk;but, I have explained to my childern that he is prejudice and that this is why they must always be careful don't feel comfortable even in what is suppose to be a "good" neighborhood. I grew up in the 60's and 70's and I hate to say it but, I don't see the progress in the great southeast Missouri. It is very undercover but, it's the same.

As I read all of the statements, only a few made me raise an eye brow as to whether I agreed or not. My own thought are simply this, we must own our own destiny. I have become increasingly discouraged by those who choose not to accept any responsibility for themselves. As a black man living in rural Louisiana, I understand racism to it"s fullest extent. I also recognize that I as well as many other black men rise above these barriers everyday.

I have a son and a daughter and could never imagine not being a part of their lives. Many blacks, including the REV. Jackson have criticized our future president (Yes, I'm claiming it) for stating what is only the truth, we as black men need to stay in the home and be there for our children. Many of us have claimed societal barriers for not doing just that. Help me realize what barriers would cause you to look your child in the eye and the turn your back. Is it money or self hatred?

We need to be accountable for our part in everything we don't like about our society. Until we can look ourselves in the mirror and say that we as individuals, communities, cities, states, and countries have done everything we can to improve ourselves, we shouldn't waist anymore time blaming everyone else for what is wrong (we already know we didn't arrive here on vacation)

I love rap music, but I also understand that there are those who can't differentiate a rap song from what they need to do in everyday life. Many who struggle with this are our young black children living within a certain social class of America. Because of that, my responsibility is to speak against lyrics that defame women, encourage violence and ignore education. I can at least sensor when and how it is played, just as movies and video games are. Or, I can say that rap music represents what the black man is feeling deep in the ghettos (As Russell Simmons did on Ophra) and ignore any responsibility I may have in making my community better.

Let's look inward black people. I think we will find that we are a beautiful, intelligent, creative people with unlimited potential. Every please read "The OZ principle"

I am Puerto Rican. I have been facilitating Anti-racism, Anti-oppression programs for the past nine years as a member of the Unitarian Universalist denomination. The fact that Black in America was conceived, shown and well publiciced in the weeks before airing the program is a great accomplishment. I have to commmend CNN for their efforts.

When I read that the 16 y.o that calls himself <fedupwhiteguy> still believes that blacks and whites and for that matter any minority has a level playing field says that he has not been educated in race relations and white privelege. I do hope that CNN either continues the conversation or the conversation continues on CNN and other major media outlets. We will always have to teach over and over again.

Here's a story posted by an Asian-American from his blog at The Daily Kos http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/5/24/22726/6236:

This evening, my girlfriend and I enlisted two friends to help her move into a new place on the city's far north side. The neighborhood she's moving into was historically very diverse, but has lately become something of a mecca for wealthy white gentrifiers attracted by the relatively low housing prices. My girlfriend and one of the friends involved are of Irish descent. My other friend is Mexican-American. We're moving using an old pickup truck loaned to her by her family, that happens to have a ton of Irish symbols and bumper-stickers on it.

So we've just begun to unload the truck when a white man in a luxury sedan comes into the alley. He immediately pulls up alongside my Mexican friend and I and begins accusing us of waking him up last night, making too much noise, yelling, etc... Needless to say, this isn't true. As we protest, he starts making up things about how he'd seen us, and "our" truck. Consider the racial frames in play here. Clearly the vehicle covered with pro-Irish paraphernalia couldn't belong to the pale-skinned redheads standing next to us. The people he "knew" were making noise and being "uncivilized" were the two minorities in the situation. So I'm rolling my eyes and trying to placate this idiot, but my friend is more willing to express his annoyance and says, "Sir, I don't like your tone." To which the man responds, "Ok, I'm calling the cops."

And there it is, the moment that's been played out millions of times in the history of this country. The few seconds in which a misunderstanding turns into something bigger, with potentially huge consequences for the people involved. Granted, in this case the worst that could happen was probably just annoyance for us, but think about this in a historical perspective. An Indian brave mouths off to a white soldier. A young black man makes a sarcastic comment around a white cop. A Mexican kid in a border state says something in Spanish in the wrong tone around an Anglo. It's a few seconds in which a frustrated white person stops trying to interact with individuals and lashes out against a race just because he can. How dare we, these mud people sitting in an alley, dare to question his authority? The police will know what to do with us. And, frankly, given the class and race of the accuser vs. the accused, it's likely that he would have gotten a result he liked -- a fine, poor treatment, etc. Like I said, something small, but a victory nonetheless.

And yes, this is just majority mob behavior. It's happened in every society. It's what makes Hindu mobs kill Muslims, or made Serbs attack Kosovars. Any time you have an ethnically diverse population there's a potential for the majority to start claiming privilege and stop treating minorities as human beings. But in this case, in this country, the majority is white.

Luckily, cooler heads (meaning me) prevailed in this situation. I talked to the guy and got him to leave us alone, leaving him to roll his eyes and drive off to his oversized reserved parking space. But being able to talk the idiot down doesn't mean you don't feel that stab of anger. It doesn't mean you're automatically able to get over the fact that the man just reduced you to nothing but the few micrometers of skin cells covering your body. And after you feel that, it's hard not to react with some racial bias of your own. I for one will feel a lot less secure around the new wealthy white population of that neighborhood from now on.

So we do not have a level playing field and it isn't as easy as pulling up our bootstraps and for us to "stop complaining." It isn't just a racial issue but also classism. Our past does affect our present and our future. Problems are set up for our children to learn not to expect too much especially if they are raised in poor neighborhoods with little availability of positive role models.

I thoroughly enjoyed Black In America. It was a little disconcerting, however, because I did not recognize my life, my upbringing, my family's moral values. I am a black woman in my late forties who grew up in rural Arkansas. By and large, everybody there had two parents living at home, or two grandparents raising them. I don't recognize nor do I relate to the idea that most blacks grow up fatherless. I am concerned that this piece leaves maintream America with a skewed picture of our race. It is broader, more diverse, than that. I know everybody's reality can't be shown, but it just seems to me that it was tilted more towards incomplete families than it should have been.

I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Black in America, I desperately wanted to share with america the story of my father. A young african american man who was recruited to work for a major, mega-billion dollar global corporation. My father at the ripe young age of 25 was recruited by this company to put an Affirmative Action Plan in place. Due to the negative press they were getting from TV, News Papers, and Radio... My father had written speeches for the Vice President of the Company, had flown on the company jet, had a company vehicle and when my father fought for the civil rights of his people and when he was told by members of management to back down and he wouldn't... My father was killed The news papers say that my father killed himself, what those news agencies didn't report is that my father was left handed shot in the back of the right side of his head. When I'd spoken with famous pathologists, they said they'd never seen this type of gunshot classified as a suicide. Yet in my father's case it was... Is this because he was black, I wonder...?

I just watched the segment dealing with health care and blacks. As expected they blamed everyone else for their poor health. They even went so far as to give ample airtime to 'salt sensitivity' despite the theory isn't supported by any medical study or evidence. So, imagine my shock when the many common health problems affecting blacks-heart disease, hypertension etc. were discussed without ever mentioning the number one problem in the black community that result in such health issues-OBESITY. Blacks, especially black women, have much higher rates of obesity that whites. In fact, if you remove blacks from the stats, US obesity rates plummet and fall to the same rates as most European countries. It was hilarious and disgustingly irresponsible for CNN to show obese person after obese person in your documentary and never actually address the issue. I suspect you didn't address it because it wouldn't fall into the narrative of your documentary-namely..."Blame everyone else". After watching your segment on the struggles of parents unable to care for the mulitiple children and the epidemic of black women having multiple children with multiple men and men impregnating woman after woman-I was astounded to never hear your reporter mention the irresponsible behavior of her subjects. No mention of curbing promiscuity. NO mention of birth control. No mention of the sheer mind boggling stupidity of having children before you can afford it. Nothing of the sort made into CNN's Black in America. Oh, they mentioned marrying after the fact, but never got to the real problem-people who can't afford it having multiple children. So, I was hardly surprised when Black in America never mentioned the obesity epidemic in the black communtiy. Proving, definitively that Black in America isn't the least bit interested in helping addressing the real problems in the black community and even less interested in helping solving them. They're interested in perpetuating the black victim and the evil white overlord as victimizer.

I have a problem. Whenever I have tried to emphasize with those who are subject to racism, who are black (or any minority), whatever (I am white), I run up against the view saying "you can never understand what it is to be black." This seems reasonable, so I took this at face value. Now CNN says "People will understand what it is to be black in America." Has this rule changed then? I didn't get the memo.

We as blacks must learn to support and up lift each other; because as long as we don't we will continue to struggle and our black man will continue to work twice as hard for less. This is very upsetting that we pay the same taxes as everyone else but get less then our rightful due. What kind of country is this.

I must also say that Black In America did not address the fact that Black Father as well as any other race were deprive of a father therefore our society was sit up to breakdown the family unit from it inception. How can a family stay united if they are poor and in need of help if the corner stone is not allowed to be in the family. The system should have been sit up to educated the mother & father to be able to provide for self through education and assistance that would have paid for it self in the long run. But we prefer to have a system of dependence with little to no outlet for a family the is sit up with both parents shame on America for all races of poor.

This documentary about "Blacks in America" is probably one of the biggest frauds that
I have ever seen. As a black Diaspora, this documentary's title and its agenda don't reflect my views or how I think. "Black in America" sounds more like blacks who live in the United States regardless of their origin, but simply their experiences in the states. What I saw was the contrary of that and a completely different story about lazy ass African-American who likes to complain and blame the white man for their problems. Racism still exists, and no one is disputing that. There is also another class of racisms below the surface among African-America where they classify light skin versus dark skin, and they try to blame whites for that too. The real story of Blacks in America is the black man who leaves his country to come to the United States with a dollar and had to learn English and being discriminated against in the process while pursuing his dream of becoming a doctor, engineer, or lawyers not a rapper, an NBA player, or a quarter back. To me this is what I would call "Blacks in America." The title should be change to "African-American experiences in America" or "Black Americans in Today's America." Also, who the hell Spike Lee thinks he is?

Spike Lee is a black man that has respect for his self and his race. The history of America and the black race is shameful. The things that were taken from this race are still being taken away only now without chains and the strap and ownership is now in the ghetto with no freedom to grow as the race should. Education is the key and respect for self first is a must. Each black needs to be able help and pull up another be that person a family member,a friend or a stranger and support uplift each other. The black men that had genitals cut off and women with babies cut out of their belles and were left to die oh what shame. These are only the small facts of shame oh what a long way we have to go. All that makes a human a human was taken away for another race to prosper; that was not God's plan but mans. Now each one must grow to be who they are on their own. I must say we have done much with so little.

"Yes... it helps you to know who you are. It is impossible to know where you are going unless you know where you have been."
MAYA ANGELOU

"Finding Our Families, Finding Ourselves"
"OPRAH AFTER THE SHOW " OXYGEN (2003)

With the presentation of "BLACK IN AMERICA" CNN again lived up to CNN's torch bearing tradition, of going beyond simply covering what is the perceptible news, by examining the seemingly obscure aspects of life that's affecting humanity.

With the end of Apartheid, South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission addressed the pains and tribulations accumulated during their country's practice of Apartheid. The United States participated in The Nuremberg Trials that were charged with examining the atrocities of the Holocaust.

However, after almost three hundred years of slavery in the United States (AND TO DATE), the American government has chosen to not only dismiss ALL of those who participated (PROFITED) in the practice of American slavery but, to ignore the AFFECTS OF SLAVERY. Instead, United States slavery was replaced with the continued practice of OVERT RACISM (KNOWN AS JIM CROW AND BLACK CODE LAWS) that STILL shapes the pattern structure of today's American society.

Marching together in lockstep cadence with all branches of the United States government and in collusion with almost all RELIGIOUS organizations the overt understanding and MOST IMPORTANT PRACTICE among AMERICAN slave holders was the FRAGMENTATION OF SLAVE FAMILIES AND CULTURE. Living in denial (omission) of the history of the United States' PRACTICES OF SLAVERY AND THE AFFECTS OF SLAVERY, in some measure subjects ALL RACES OF AMERICANS to "POST TRAUMATIC SLAVE SYNDROME."

Examining the remnants or ancestral legacy derived from the FRAGMENTATION OF SLAVE FAMILIES AND CULTURE must be the responsibility of every American as an individual and the United States as a whole. UNTIL AMERICA KNOWS WHERE IT HAS BEEN IT CANNOT BEGIN TO KNOW WHERE IT IS GOING AS A PARTICIPANT IN A GLOBAL COMMUNITY (Post United States Civil War reconstruction failed, thus, what RECONSTRUCTION BLUEPRINT is America citing for Iraq?).

I began an assessment of some of my family's ancestral legacy derived from the miscegenation of slavery (CONCUBINAGE) and slavery's FRAGMENTATION OF FAMILY AND CULTURE (ALSO, FAMILY MEMBERS PASSING AS WHITE). This assessment I published in a graphic novel ("AMERICA'S BURIED CHILDREN"). In "AMERICA'S BURIED CHILDREN" I share some of my family's photograph's (1800's/1900's) and oral AMERICAN HISTORY.

HONOR YOUR EXISTENCE BY DOCUMENTING YOUR ANCESTORS' ORAL HISTORY!!
DO NOT WAIT FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO TELL YOUR HISTORY!!!!

I watchd and recorded the "Black In America" series. I basically was not surprised at how bad things are for us as a race. I was somewhat disappointed as I did feel as tho. something was missing; I can't articulate exactly what that something is right now but there are a few things I know for sure: (1) I need to get more involved with a stuggling black person that I may already know or can get to know (2) I pray for more dicipline in this world so that if abstinence is not practiced, then safest sex and birth control is........(3) our world and our black culture is in serious trouble and it's everyone's responsibility to so something positive about it.

In response to BarbadosZimm, same old same old. Time to inform you that America was not built on the backs of the poor black slaves, as you seem to think. Were there slaves, sure, but they were only a small portion of the people in this country that fought to make the Americas.
All races and types of people fought and died for what they believed in and by the way one of the largest slave owners in the South was a Black woman. Don't seem to hear many "Blacks" talk about that one. Neither do they speak about the Black Africans who helped round up and sell their own people to the slave traders. Tit for Tat, you can go back and forth all day. As they say that is history, it is what is happening now that has people pissed off.

Why should Blacks have lower test scores in school that other races? Why should they be hired first for goverment jobs? All this 60's stuff came back to bite you and make everyone racially biased if they weren't so before.

If you don't stop yelling about your color for every bad thing that happens to you it will never stop and only get worse. Bad things happen to all kinds of people, I don't care if they are purple. White people are vastly becoming the minority and people of different skin types and dark hair and eyes are the majority, but not necessarily just blacks. Who are you going to complain to about all of this then? I really don't think the ones from South of the Border are going to care to much....They have their own issues.

Go to school, get a job and do what the rest of us do, work you @%# off to succeed. If you don't like something than vote. Don't look to complain why so many Blacks are in prison, maybe more are committing the crimes, ever think of that?? You have the same chance at going to school amd doing something as everyone else.

Maybe it's time to stop having 6 kids by different fathers that run off and leave. When the kid gets into a gang than blame the community, blame your self, you put your self there and it is not my responsibility to pay for your kids either...Responsiblity starts at home so take some...

WHY IS THE NEWS MEDIA SO RACIST

Let me start by saying it is amazing how on daily bases the news media will quote information on poor African -American's. About Poor African Americans Health, Problem's in the Poor Black Community, problem's with their life etc. But the biggest problem with the information from the News Media (Including CNN) on Africa Americans is it is based on Poor African American only. Now, I grow up in a Upper class African American with both a Mother and Father (I never live in a Poor Black Community).

If I remember right in America there's:

1 /Super Wealthy African Americans
2/ Wealthy African Americans
3/ Upper Class African Americans
4/ Middle Class African Americans
5/ Working Class African Americans
6/ Poor African Americans

• These classifications having nothing to do with African American who play sports and star in movies

So, News Media (including CNN) you are telling all Americans and me that all of these different Classes of African American have the same problems? You are so wrong, stop telling lies to all Americans about African Americans. When quoting your negative information on African American let everybody know the information you report is based on Poor African Americans not the Upper Class African Americans. Why is there no information on Poor White, Latin, Russian, Asian, Native American people? " Remember, everything that happens to black people will happen to white people and everybody else"………

Let the American public know you are too lazy to collect information on Upper Class African American. Because, Upper Class African American have the Power and Money to live any were in this United States and the World. The News Media refuses to collect data on Upper class, Wealthy and Super Wealthy African Americans( that do not Play Sports or Sing, Star in movies) Look, New Media (including CNN), there are Upper Class African American Community all over the United States you do not report on. Why, is the New Media (including CNN) afraid that it will scare the whites in US with progress of the Upper middle African Americans?

I have to give credit to African American Lives 2 Executive producer Henry Louis Gates Jr (This is the best positive Report on African Americans Ever…….) on PBS. Executive producer Henry Louis Gates Jr went to Chicago to talk to Upper Class African Americans Community (No poor Africa American were in this Report)

These Upper African American in Chicago, Seattle, California, Georgia, Atlanta and more city have million dollar homes, great careers, professions, own corporations, have insurance for everything, own boats, cars, land, and more. One African American lady that Executive producer Henry Louis Gates JR interviewed at her million home in a upper class African American Community. Said that when white people found out that the million dollar home community was all African American that she lived in, they (the white people) did not want to move into the million home community of African American. African American Lives part 1 and 2 is much better than CNN's show Black in America. Why because African American Lives part 1 and 2 was for 2 or 3 hours a night for a week on PBS. CNN's show Black in American spend to much time in the black community and not with Upper class African Americans that live outside the poor black communities. Nice try CNN, if you want to do better call Executive Producer Henry Louis Gates JR as him for a copy of "African American Lives part 1 and 2" then take note.
But the News Media (Including CNN in Chicago,WoW this is were a lot of upper class African Americans are that do not play sports or star in movies. CNN what is your problem) do not like to do positive reports on African American .Why not do more reports on these Upper Class Africa American all over the world and the united States, the American public heard enough about poor African Americans. Also, If Africa Americans are doing so badly (by what the News Media (Including CNN) says) how can Africa American put over 7 Trillion Dollars into the United States a Year.

P.S.
Why does the American News Media Black out the African Stock Market?
By GC Williams,
Vancouver Washington

MS. SOLEDAD OBRIEN
CNN.COM
I Dare You to create a show that is 2 hours long on Upper Class African American ( With no Poor or Middle Class African American or African Americans who play sports or star in movies) YOU CAN CALL THE SHOW CORPORATE BLACK AMERICA. THE SHOW NEEDS TO BE 2 HOURS LONG.

MS. SOLEDAD OBRIEN
CNN.COM

WHY DOES THE NEWS MEDIA BLACKOUT THE AFRICAN STOCK MARKET?

WHY DOES THE NEWS MEDIA NOT SHOW AFRICANS IN AFRICA WHO HAVE MONEY? THERE ARE BLACK PEOPLE IN AFRICA WHO HAVE COMPANIES.

MS. SOLEDAD OBRIEN
CNN.COM

YOUR SHOW BLACK IN AMERICA, HAD TO MANY LOW INCOME AFRICAN AMERICAN STORY.

NOT ENOUGH UPPER CLASS AFRICAN AMERICANS.

MS. SOLEDAD OBRIEN WHY IN THE HELL DID YOU NOT GO INTO ANY UPPER CLASS AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUITY WHERE AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE MILLION DOLLAR HOUSE.

THERE UPPER CLASS AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY ALL OVER THE USA.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT UPPER CLASS AFRICAN AMERICANS DO NOT HAVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS LIKE POOR BLACK COMMUNITY. GET YOUR FACT RIGHTS.

NOT EVERY AFRICAN AMERICAN IS FROM A POOR BLACK COMMUITY

MS. SOLEDAD OBRIEN
CNN.COM

NO MORE POOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STORIES. I WANT TO SEE UPPER CLASS AFRICAN AMERICAN STORY ONLY ON CNN. BLACK PEOPLE WHO SPEAK GOOD ENGLISH. NOT THE BLACK PEOPLE WHO SPEAK GHETTO CRAP!!!!!!!!

MS. SOLEDAD OBRIEN
CNN.COM

THE REASON WHY UPPER CLASS AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE NOT TALK ABOUT IN THE NEWS MEDIA IS BECAUSE, THE POOR BLACK COMMUNITIES GIVE US ALL A BAD NAME.

THERE IS COMPUTER AND THE INTERNET TO MAKE YOU RICH, BUT THE POOR BLACK COMMUNITIES CAN NOT GET THEIR SH*T
TOGETHER. IT'S AMAZING HOW PEOPLE COME FROM AFRICA,BROKE AND MAKE SOMETHING OF THEMSELVES IN AMERICA. BUT THE POOR BLACK COMMUNITIES ALWAY HAVE A REASON FOR THEIR PROBLEM.

THIS IS WHY UPPER CLASS AFRICAN AMERICANS DO NOT WANT TO HELP POOR BLACK COMMUNITIES.
GCW
E-MAIL :p9448625@yahoo.com

Sometimes I feel that with this constant rhetoric about how mistreated Black people have been, it is almost like giving an excuse for young people to not be responsible and to blame all their problems on White people. The choice to misuse drugs/alcohol is a personal decision, and not the result of perceived mistreatment by another group of people.

So much for Black in America and Soledad O'Brien.

See, fedupwhitegu, that is just the point.

You say that "white people and black people in this day and age are given the same opportunities and experience the same hardships". But you are mistaken.

Unfortunately, even in this day and age when many would like to believe that it is no longer true, the US still struggles with racial discrimination and blacks don't always get the same opportunities that are offered to whites.

Even though a black candidate may have the same educational background, experience and maybe even hold seniority over a white candidate for a promotion, often the white candidate will get the promotion over the black candidate. Why?

Studies have been done where identical resumes were submitted for a position. The only difference was that one resume had a "white sounding" name while the other had a "black sounding" name.

When the resume is assumed to have been sent by a black candidate, the supposed submitter of the resume often does not even get an initial interview. Why?

When the same identical resume is thought to have been sent by a white candidate, the supposed submitter of that resume often gets multiple invitations for an initial interview. Why?

It has been shown that sometimes when a black couple applies for a home loan and has a comparable credit record as well as comparable income and comparable job longevity to a white couple, the black couple is often denied while the white couple is granted the loan. Why?

And I certainly agree with Hank57. It isn't the egregious overt racism that is the problem. It is the subtle racism that is difficult to deal with because it isn't acknowledged for what it is and often cannot be directly challenged.

And to mrcee, I have seen shows about poverty in the Appalachians and Hispanics in America. Perhaps not mainstream news shows but these kinds of shows are out there.

However, you are correct about one item. I've not seen anything specific to the Life and Thinking of Southern White Rednecks though. Unless you count Jeff Foxworthy.

Why for crying out loud can we as African Americans get away from segments like "Black in America" This was a disgrace, this does not depict me or the average African American.

In 1978 I worked on the northside in pittsburgh, pa and took a bus, at nite to get home from work. It was scary under the bridge by the mall, lots of black men saying stuff to a white blonde teen waiting for the bus. I didn't learn that there were blacks that were polite until I moved to CA. Previously, I was working at a mall kiosk store in PGH where two blacks grabbed my bank bank and ran, and I ran after them, but i stopped when i realized I could be killed for that stupidity. I only cared that blacks were scary because they WERE, generally, in my neck of the woods. I wasn't around blacks then, but I wasn't raised to hate them either. Inexperience with races make a person fearful I guess.

When I moved west, I met many races that were NOT scary and realized that it all depends on the surroundings . I hope that all races can live together as one, and that the rednecks and minorities can stop feeling entitled or persecuted and just be considerate. Trash is trash, no matter the colour. that includes all the nut cases that are so prejudiced that they don't realize we are all humans.

RESPECT. Give it, get it, be deserving of it. PS, I was alot more scared of white state troopers in Georgia in 1980 than the blacks under the bridge in PA.

CNN's recent presentation of Black in America raised several issues confronting the African American population. The documentary examined issues varying from single parent families, education, and interracial dating. The statics presented in the documentary did manage to detail some of the continued struggles faced by people of African decent in the United States. Soledad O'Brian relied primarily on Michael Eric Dyson and Roland Fryer to explore topics dealing with African Americans. O'Brian's reliance on these two individuals as the ultimate authority on issues facing black America, depreciates the value of the documentary. O'Brian could have ascertained a more varied viewpoint by interviewing a broader spectrum of individuals. It seemed as if both the opinions of Dyson and Fryer were the driving force behind the documentary.

The documentary focused too heavily on the victimization of the African American individual. The story has been told for decades of the ill that has plagued the black community. While racism no doubt contributes to an extent to the issues facing African Americans, there comes a time where the focus on these struggles need to be directed inwards. Black America should begin to examine with urgency their own actions as it relates to their current state of affairs in this country. America has come a far way in paving a better path for African American compared to the 1960's. I admit that there is still a long way to go. But perhaps we need to focus less on the issue of race relations and more on the plight of the poor. The struggles facing African Americans, such as increased school drop out rates, poor living conditions, high prison incarcerations, and low college enrollment, is descriptive not only of the African American, but of poor individuals nation wide. In many developing countries we see the same situation facing the extremely poor population.

It may be argued without a doubt that African Americans form a larger pool of the economically deprived, and therefore we may be led back to the discussion of race. However, in the documentary one important statistic detailed the high rate of absentee fathers in African American families. These single parent families almost always reveal declining conditions for the children involved. Children raised in single parent families are more likely to underperform in schools, and get involved in criminal activity. There is an absence of good male role models available to young men for them to emulate. I do believe that this situation contributes significantly to the plight of the African American population in America.

To continually play the role of victimization ignores the issues of which only African Americans have control. In the American collegiate environment we see annually the success rate of international students from around the world, many of which are of African decent. These individuals tend not to carry the baggage of racism, and a victimized mentality. Instead they conclude that they are just as capable as anyone else, and deserve the best. Until young African Americans realize that their destiny is in their hands, they will always continue to face adversity. Playing the race card all the time, and being a victim does not yield success. Success comes from the realization of self worth, and the determination and focus toward specific goals. Maybe if more people focused on the importance of building strong and solid nuclear families then the condition of the African American will improve more greatly. Less emphasis needs to be placed on the degrees of victimization, and more on self determination.

Speaking as a black woman who watched the show in its entirety I was thoroughly disgusted and disappointed. I think the "examples" profiled in the program were one-dimensional and not a good or accurate representation of the black race. The stories you highlighted were not issues specific to the black race or related to the black "struggle". Most of the individuals you focused on with their down trodden, down on their luck stories were mainly products of bad decisions and perhaps bad luck. These issues (recovering drug addicts, single mothers, and absentee fathers) are prevalent in ALL races.

You cited several "statistics" but no information on how the statistics were gathered (who conducted the studies, how many people participated in the studies, what region of the country were the studies based, etc.) The reporting seemed very one-sided and as if it was intended to show black people in a negative light.

I am more than 100% certain the reason CNN decided to put together this show is rooted in the thought that America will very likely have it's first black president and being the "responsible" journalists that you are you wanted to make sure America understands what it means to be black. Well, you failed miserably. If I were a non-black person and I saw your show I would walk away thinking to myself, "What a bunch of lazy, oversexed, drug addicts who constantly make excuses! That's why all the men are in prison." But that's pretty much how black people are stereotyped in this country anyway.

Your program was so far off the mark about what it means to be black in America. Do you want me to tell you what it REALLY means to be black in America? It means working harder and longer than anyone else so, that we can get the same opportunities as our white counterparts and it means trying to maintain our dignity and respect because no matter how good we are we will ALWAYS be portrayed negatively and often treated differently simply because of the color of our skin.

Why weren't more successful black people featured? Why didn't you visit a historically black college or university and show black students furthering their education? What about the black church? What about black people who've defied the odds due to a disability? We are just like any other race of people- we have poor, uneducated people in jail and on drugs but also educated, very successful people who are defying odds and breaking barriers. We don't want America's pity or "understanding"; we just want to be treated like people based on our individual merits instead of some "oddity" that needs to be explained.

I was outraged that 99.9% of this entire program portrayed only the negative aspects of African Americans.
You should be ashamed.
It was no conincident that this program aired at the very same time Obama was visiting other countries,portraying all African-Americans as negative people to the entire world.
Now that the entire world hates America, America turns on those they are use to kicking and stomping.
Gil Noble on ABC's Like It Is yesterday portrayed the rich, historical, cultural values obtained and sustained by the majority of African Americans. Why not show that to the world?????????

I think that the series was informative although I was quite disappointed with The Black Woman and Family segment. It didn't focus on the struggles of the black women in regards to making it up the corporate ladder and getting educated to do so. It just mentioned successful women who can't find a mate ( for the reasons mentioned in The Black Man segment) and therefore can't get married to their "ideal black man". How about focusing on how black women have overcome the statistics of pregnancy, violence, abuse - mental and verbal, homelessness, poverty, and education to get where they are now.

Other topics that I thought were ignored and have to do with black women and children include these:

What about black women and incarceration? How are families affected?

Do black women face the same challenges as men when they are trying to educate themselves or get a job?

How do black women deal with poverty, drugs, violence, or abuse within the homes? How are the children affected?

Do black children face homelessness? Juvenile corrections? Foster programs?

I had higher expectations from just The Black Women and Family segment. I think more topics such as the ones I mentioned should have been covered. Maybe next time, we can address these issues and/or clarify if these issues are impacting the black community or not.

Why do we have to have a program "Black in America" when we are all in this pot together. I am a white guy who has been locked up and have had hardships along the way, but I can't complain or sue someone every time something bad happens. Life is hard for everyone. Why don't you have a show "Life in America". All communities are having issues. Not just the black community. I don't know anyone who is not dealing with an issues. What about "Unemployment in America" or "Foreclosure in America" or "Gas prices in America". We have much bigger issues why can't we spend all the hours spent on this dealing with all these other issues we can do something about.