I must commend CNN on producing and airing this very intelligent and thought provoking series. I watched the first installment of "Black in America" and immediately thought - "These topics and stories are too powerful to do them justice in 4 hours!" As a college educated, 30-something, single, Black mother from the South Bronx I identified with many of the stories presented. Overall I found the program to be well researched and well presented. However I was disappointed by the fact that most of the topics were thrown out there for consideration with little to no follow-up or rebuttal. For instance when addressing the issue of the number of single parent households the message that was repeated was that both parents need to be in the home to ensure the child is set-up for success from the on-set. I was waiting to hear that the character of the people in the household and not the number was the real determining factor. I grew up with both of my parents and their relationship was so dysfunctional my sister and I sometimes marvel at the fact that we "turned out" as well as we have. My father was emotionally unavailable and carried on at least two affairs that I am aware of. My mother suffered from depression and low self-esteem as a result of this. I remember being very young and writing a letter to my mother trying to convince her to leave my father. She did not and my sister and I grew up in a very emotionally unhealthy household because of that. After the birth of my son his father and I lived together for some time. During our time together I came to see some of the same behaviors that my father exhibited. I knew I could not suffer in silence as my mom had and knew that it would not be healthy for my son to grow-up in a home filled with tension and strife. I decided it would be in my son's best interest to live in a home filled with love instead. Also, where was the story about Black women and depression? You cannot talk about the Black woman and the struggles she goes through without talking about the Superwoman syndrome - taking care of everyone else first and never taking care of yourself.
Again I applaud CNN for this much needed presentation and I eagerly await tomorrow's installment. In the future I hope these issues are really given the time and care they deserve because there are so many sides to these stories.